Cleveland Skateboard Park
A new world-class skateboard park is coming to Cleveland.
The City of Cleveland has completed the conceptual design phase of a new skateboard park to serve local residents and to help spearhead further development of the Columbus Road Peninsula. This section of the Flats is already home to the Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op and the proposed home of the Cleveland Rowing Foundation. Columbus Road Peninsula will become a people-powered recreation district nestled along the Cuyahoga River.
Grindline completes the conceptual design phase.
World-class skatepark design/build firm Grindline has finalized the conceptual design of the skatepark. Based in Seattle, Grindline is one of a small handful of world renown design/build firms that have ushered in a new era of skatepark design and construction. They engaged with Parkworks to design the new skateboard park for Cleveland and will be one of the main candidates for construction.
Final Conceptual Design
Three different conceptual designs were created based on all the ideas and comments from the first public meeting on April 28th 2010. These concepts were refined based on feedback and ideas from the public starting at the June 22nd public meeting and comments and ideas collected since then. The final design chosen was the “Snake Run” concept featuring an iconic snake run and deep kidney bowl along with various street/flow elements and double ledge lines around the edge. Materials feature a mix of concrete, brick, granite, and pool coping.
More angles of the Cleveland Skateboard Park
Sample proposed Site Plan off Merwin Ave.
What about the skatepark at North Coast Harbor? It is finally gone.
The temporary steel ramps at the Cleveland skatepark at North Coast Harbor outlived their useful life and were damaged beyond repair. The ramps were dismantled and the public art surrounding the skatepark has been preserved.
I’ll have to check out their new park when/if I take a tour of the Evergreen Cooperative.
Great post! Of course I am a bit biased
skatepark for an urban, mostly YOUNG black southern populace ?
we’re not in Ohio, LA, or upstate NY..
that’s like putting a range of lighted tennis courts in Cabrini Green, eh ? or soccer fields downtown
Aaron,
Don’t mind dumb, he does not get out much and apparently does not realize the numbers involved in this activity locally let alone regionally or nationally. I was once a critic, but I have seen the light- and the number of users- that support making this facility and others a reality.
All I ask is we don’t put it at the southern most point of Mud Island. I’m not sure what should go there even though I’ve seen and heard a lot of ideas. Regardless it should be the most public, universally accessible and used space in the city. It is the bow of the ship and a very unique spot on the river.
With the completion of Beale Street Landing, there will be little use for the large boat landing/ramp and access between the pedestrian bridge/monorail and the amphitheater. Perhaps we can locate the park there? The graded slope that supports access between the monorail and the amphitheater could lend itself to both the Skate Park’s unique design and layout as well as seating for those of us that are better equipped as an audience to such activities.
I see the ‘light’ too and in my sole opinion, it’s crazy to buid a skateboard park in a city whose favorite ‘sport’ among the vast majority of its YOUTH is NOT skateboarding !
That seems pretty easy to understand. Most black youth in a city with over 60% blackness, DON’T skateboard..
Duh, everyone knows that Memphis is a basketball town, from the blackktop to the University Of Memphis Tiger High
Build a bunch of outside hoops for the natives, chainlink fences, and maybe some guard shacks for late night play..lol.
Look, black kids OF MEMPHIS (maybe of LA or Poughkeepsie) are not going to flock to a skatepark.
it’s designed in mind for white kids, that’s the motivation clearly so, or they would spend money in the smae place for a few basketball courts, and then see which ones get used by the majority of users/comers.
~Dumb City Inc.
Dumb City:
On my street alone, there are at least two African American skateboarders every day, and two white skateboarders at least, and then a close neighbor is a professional skateboarder, and no skatepark anywhere near.
This city is FULL of skateboarders. I wouldn’t have thought it either but I see them everywhere.
I think we should call Memphis BLUE CITY. If we don’t fit negative African American stereotypes, white stereotypes, or even Mexican American stereotypes, then skin color doesn’t mean jack here. We are all one color and that color is BLUE.
Maybe the African American youth population of THIS city is tired of being stereotyped and having those stereotypes prescribed/imposed upon them without permission. Maybe they want to be free to think their own thoughts and safe enough to be able to express themselves outside the box of stereotypical thought.
THAT should be supported, not restricted.
If we get this right, there will be one generation of kids who must be braver than the previous, brave enough not to succumb to the automatimacy of public conventional thought that informs them to conform to expected norms no matter how unnaturally stereotypical and fruitless they will end up being.
Personally, I think that kids here need to be trained that they WILL succeed and how that will happen through that brave effort on their part.
Skateboarding is a boost for those that can.
From what I’ve seen IN MEMPHIS, skateboarding is an activity that can bring the youth of this city together in a fun and civil, albeit RAD manner, regardless of race.
Well said Brian.
Everyone has their own opinion.
Here are some facts you can chew on. Stereotypes always have an element of truth. Second, skateboarding is not pervasive in black youth culture. Basketball drawfs most all sport in black youth culture.
Blacks dominate college basketball. Whites dominate soccer and lacrosse and hockey. Blacks dominate professional basketball. Blacks dominate professional football
Whites dominate professional ‘skateboarding’. “DUDE”…lol
I BET YOUR NEIGHBOR PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER IS WHITE..dude.
Look, go to some school yards, or Whitehaven mostly black neighborhoods and count how many skateboarders you see. surely you can’t be this blind or naive
Since the city has mostly youth that are black, don’t you think that adding facilities that meets the desires and interests of the majority community is a good idea ? lol
Want to ‘bring people together’ ??? hey, pick another strategy pal, skateboarding with a few blacks is not likely to do a damn thing to achieve that goal in my opinion based on long time experience in dealing with white and black stupidity and racism in Memphis.
Want to ‘bring people together’ ?? Try schools, churches, synagogues, outreach programs, etc. Those activities will bear more fruit through actual learning and exposures.
Memphis is great at focusing on the wrong things.
This stuff is like “putting a 50 dollar hat on a NICKEL HEAD”. Grow up Memphis…hopefully by the next century.
~Dumb City INC
Urbanut: Let’s hope something creative is done with the tip of MI. It’s definitely a focal point with an Achilles heel- lack of accessibility.
What to do with the South end is definitely worth a discussion over coffee sometime
DCinc: One word- Access.
For example, a year ago a half-pipe was built inside Greenlaw community center located in Uptown where almost no kids skated in the neighborhood. One year later you will see kids skating all over the neighborhood in transit to or from the half pipe. They just needed access and the opportunity. I recommend stopping by and checking it out.
Somebody needs to pick up a copy of Thrasher on a wekkly basis and see who and what the profile of a real skateboarder includes. It’s hardly ‘southern black’ or Mississippi culture.
our kids need “access” to learning how to speak English, knowing how to read, knowing how to think critically, have access to approachable role models, access to birth control/sex education, access to religious leaders, access to the outside world, access to the www, access to learning environments, access to safe communities, access to higher education, access to technical training, access to career paths, access to entrepreneurial efforts, access to capital……..access to truly master teachers, not access to urban planners..they can’t and won’t help them to succeed one bit.
we don’t need no stinkin’ skatepark..not right now, and that should be plain as the nose on your faces