ever hear about Burnside skatepark in Portland?

Back in 1990, motivated by the lack of parks in the area, a renegade group of skaters focused their creative energy into pouring concrete under a bridge in a neglected part of Portland, constructing a renegade three-foot-tall by three-foot-wide bank against a slanted wall under the Burnside Bridge.

There was garbage and graffiti everywhere, so the skateboarders started cleaning it up and introducing themselves to local business owners. Ultimately, the skaters persuaded city officials to let them keep building because they turned an eyesore into an attraction.

Over the following years, that initial undertaking eventually evolved into a 10,000-square-foot legit park, arguably the most famous DIY project in the world. It also spawned a modern concrete skatepark revolution that became prevalent in the North-western U.S and beyond.

To say Portland’s concrete park scene has evolved quite a bit since that first lump of concrete was shaped in 1990 is obviously an understatement. And that evolution sparked what is currently one of the strongest riding scenes in the country, as Shad elaborates: “When I first moved here in the early 90s, there were like ten dudes who rode. Now there are hundreds.”

While Portland has many attributes that contributed to the abundance of riders, one significant reason is access to the many concrete parks all over the area. With fifteen more slated to be built in the Portland area, and an additional five alone in Vancouver, Washington in the next ten years, Portland will be even more of a cement transition Mecca.

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/theredbulletin/DIY-Skatepark-Treasure-Island-In-Bay-Area
https://www.redbull.com/us-en/concrete-paradise-2016-28-08

By the way, if you want to read Red Bulletin online, https://issuu.com/redbulletin.com