Ed Benedict progress
Newline Skateparks and California Skateparks have some concrete poured at Ed Benedict Skate Plaza in southeast Portland, Oregon. I hadn’t been out there for over a month so I was excited to see some concrete. The sign says it’s supposed to open early fall 2008. Looks like there is still a lot of work to be done. More phone snaps after the turn.
Here’s a stair group looking from the southeast.
Looks like two paths enter the west end of the plaza forming this little hip.
Detail of the hip from the southeast.
curved ledge. check out the top edge of the bank opposite.
Chunky rail down some steps.
Pretty good sized transition templates at the east end of the park.
looks rad, can’t wait to skate it…
Nice.
Thanks for the photos. It’s good to see the progress.
Can see the potential already. Can’t wait for this one. Thanks for the pics.
Am I the only one who think stairs are a waste? I mean if it was a bank you could still clear the bank… like stairs. But a bank offers other options that stairs don’t. Is it just perception? Is it so kids can feel like they are street skating?
Anyway, I don’t mean this to be a criticism of the park, Im really looking forward to it. I just think its something to think about when trying to get the most bang for your buck out of “street” plazas.
It seems like everyone ignores stairs in the NW parks. The only time I ever see anyone skating them is in videos. Maybe the kids will step up. In any case, it’s only one small part of the park.
Stairs are for squares.
Sorry kids.
It’s too easy to cheat tricks down a bank. Stairs you can’t cheat on and the last step is going to be a little taller than a bank at the same spot. Besides kids can’t claim they ollied a 5-stair if there aren’t any stairs to count.
Glenhaven stairs were being heavily sessioned last time I was there.
Stairs are as useless as a deathbox- why not pretend it is not there? -b/c its fun to get scared/ challanged- is why. Personally, I’d prefer the bank option also but that gives you too much opportunity for wusssing out.
Good points. Maybe an alternative would be to have like a 2foot wide set of stairs in the middle of a bank. Extream-o, but also functional… with lots of possibilities.
How about that cool firecracker down stairs? I’ve seen Skreech go down the Glenhaven steps smacking his tail on every step.
I think kids don’t use the stairs at parks as much for 2 reasons.
1) They are usually put in a crappy spot that makes them completely impossible to get to (with a few exceptions)
2) It’s hard to commit to hucking yourself down a stair set when there’s a whole bunch of rippers and kids flying around the park in front of your landing, usually skating back and forth on the transitions.
(in addition) I think it’s the equivilent of when I’m trying to find a line at glenhaven and there’s 10 kids standing at the bottom of every tranny waiting in line to skate the ledges.
Open early fall 2008? When is that Oct. 1st.. lol..
I could paint some stairs & deathboxes..! Gaarhhh
The park looks sick. you guys can hate on skating stairs all you want (mostly cause u cant). If you wanna see a proper (meaning built well) stair set go to the department and see how much good use it gets. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate all aspects of skateboarding (time for some of you to diversify… if you knees will allow it), and I’m sure you bowl trolls are plenty happy as am I about the recent parks that have been built. but its time to serve more than just one aspect of skateboarding. Just wait and see how much this skatepark (and its stairs get used).
Shake – Don’t be a dick. Nobody is “hating on stairs”… just trying to have an intelligent discussion about them as they appear in skateparks. That’s hard to do when you start calling people names. Oops. I guess I shouldn’t call yo u a dick then. That park does look fun.
damienhialation – Good points. I agree with your theories about why they might not be used much. The Dept stairs don’t suffer from the problems you described, and thus get used more.
Welsh Pete – the stairs or the bank with the one step gap? I see that thing used all the time, but the stairs proper, not so much, if ever, and it’s not because I’m in only in the bowl I like to skate that whole park.
Shake – You don’t actually skate stairs… you ollie over them, so it doesn’t really matter how well there built. This was kinda my point… maybe we could have something that could be SKATED as well as being ollied over. I dont know, maybe stairs are good because they force skaters to ollie over them instead of having to make up a line by ollieing over something that doesn’t need to be ollied over. Anyway its not my intention to spark a transition vrs “street” war.
Maybe we should STOP putting stairs in pools too… or at least start putting rails on them and ollying over them. 😉
Or we could paint them on!
Aren’t there stairs everywhere?
I used to huck myself down stairs on a skateboard… when I was 12!
This just goes to show the generation gap in skateboarding. you guys grew up watching Grosso, Mountain, Hosoi, and all those guys rip… My generation on the other hand grew up watching Reynolds, Jamie Thomas, and Koston. We skate ledges, stairs, manual pads, and do flip tricks… you don’t or rarely do. My arguement is that street skating is now is more popular and so the skateparks built should reflect that demand. That being said, I also feel that there should also be diverse skateparks that challenge and entertain skateboarders… Do I have more fun skating a snake run than an 8 stair… yea, but that doesn’t mean I want all of the skateparks to have a snake run, or a cradle, or a full-pipe. Its all apples vs. oranges, everyone interprets skateboarding differently, thats partially why we all love it, because it allows us to express ourselves any way we want to. and to argue which aspect is better is stupid.
Will somebody please build a skatepark that has a sidewalk with a slight incline to it and a 90 degree turn at the bottom. 🙂
Signed: The Skateboarding Peanut Gallery from the 60’s
for a person of the street skating era,you totally missed MC’s Nike SB commercial reference…
Circa 97′. my favorite was the tennis players on the court at night, running from the bust. And I think it was, “I used to go running, when i was eight!”
i agree about arguing tho….that we shouldnt.
I think you will all be happy!. Just got back from Ed Benedict Park (Tues 9-30) and they’re putten in a stair on the one side of the “Chunky rail down some steps” and on the other side of that is a bank. If you look at the photos, you can see that one side of that rail is framed for steps and the other side is an open box , where the ramp side is. They were smoothing out that ramp area while I was present! There is also another rail with both sides steps. That one has been poured and is dry. They were also smoothing out the upper pathway into the park. 2 dump trucks came and left in about half hour! So there busten it out!
I think that commercial was refering to people that had the mindset that skateboarding was a toy for kids. And there are plenty of pro “street” skateboarders that rip and are in the 30+ range. just watch Guy Marino’s part from the Lakai video… Why is it that skateboarders can’t just appreciate skateboarding and not catagorize it into little cliques of “vert” vs. “street” or “hesh” vs. “fresh”. Watch Tony Trujillo’s part from In Bloom and tell me which is gnarlier, him ripping a hand rail or him blasting a huge air. There both rad… like I said apples and oranges…
Aiereee! You’re the only one talking about street vs. bowls. (Most of) The rest of us are talking about the typical poor implementation of stairs in skateparks.
How about a entire park just with stairs. At the top a runway with a two set for beginners, then a run way, then a three, then five, seven, nine, ten, twelve, fifteen, on down to a major twenty stair set, with ledges and rails on the one side, slant path on the opposite to get hauling to hit the twenty set. I can design you the baddest, phucking gnarliest, sickest STAIR PARK ever. That’s what really needs to be done. The gnar factor needs to be stepped up. Like a snake run in LC. A STAIR RUN PARK for all to enjoy. STAIR RUN PARK!!! That’s the next level. I said it first.
As for my opinion on Ed Benedict. IT’s PHUCKING stupid. NO imagination, nothing challenging, just another autocad turd with Mexican, non skating labor, with some so called used to be pro who skated overseeing it or who designed it. yippie phucking ki a.
Build something radical, something never seen before, challenging for all and mind bending for those who don’t skate. Thank you and have a nice jay.
Sorry!!! The HIP on the southeast side is the coolest thing I’ve seen in that park and those good sized transition templates on the far east side GO TO WHAT???
Stupid park. stupid noline/california kook park builders. For phuck sake put a frickin pump bump somewhere or a god damn twinky to keep a little flow going.
I’d vote for a stair park, but it would have to look like an MC Escher drawing (at least each side going down so you can walk up the ones at the end of the park to go down stairs again) How about a ladder in a pool. If I just seen a square pocket, lets step it up!! Or at least a killer pool light that works! you heard it here first! Blah
Again… not really a street vrs tranny debate. I to grew up skating street. I still skate street… although I don’t really consider park obstacles street. More like advanced freestyle areas. (its kinda like calling car camping, camping) BUT ANYWAY LETS NOT DEBATE THAT. I just think its important to create skate parks that will reap the most fruit. If your going to build something specifically for skating it gives you WAY more options. A typical set of stairs just seems uninspired. Again… its a skate thing… not street vrs tranny. And I really look forward to this park. Cheers to all involved.
New Line and California skateparks can take there design and stick it! And the Mexican, non skating labor makes me want to puke. Seems a little strange to have all mexican labor. Cheap ass mexican labor drives the wages of the hard working, tax paying, RED blooded americans wages down. PHUCK that company.
Dang, I ain’t been up in this piece for some time, but this forum still just straight sucks. What is up with this Propinas freak spouting off with some racist bullshit? Mexicans will always out work your typical honkey construction goons with their drug addled brains and macho, self centered, and close minded demeanors.
Newline is creating masterpieces. The “americans” in Washington and Oregon who are building all the bowl parks are just doing pathetic remakes of the great parks they built almost a decade ago. Look at those photos of the new parks in southern Oregon. Does 3 full pipes = radical?
Propinas seems to be hating on the SKATE PLAZA
saying it needs a pump bump and a twinkie?
this is a fucking SKATE PLAZA not a skate PARK
this is meant to be a place where street skaters can skate street and not get kicked out
not talk to bums
not get run into by cars/cops
personally i think this design is sick as fuck
it will probably have some flaws JUST like EVER single park in portland
oh yeah and you can skate stairs
its called firecrackers!
He’s back!
3 Full pipes does = Radical.. DUH! And who else are you gonna get to build stairs? In the history of DIY spots or home made skate obstacles has anyone ever actually BUILT stairs?
RYAN ROSALES:”not talk to bums “?
Since when did skatepark fences keep bums out? If anything, skateparks(or “street plazas”) attract bums looking for cigarrette butts and beer cans.
“And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply”
Since when was conversing with bums a bad thing?
“If god was here he’d tell you to your face, man you’re some kind of sinner”
I am excited to be able to wake up in the morning and think, Do i wanna go skate a box with some coping (Ed Benedict) or some tranny (Pier, Gabriel) or something completely different (Beaverton, Donald).
I feel like Ed Benedict can go sour very quickly depending on the types of skaters it’s attracting (101st and Powell will attract Milwaukee, happy valley, gresham, and NE portland). IF Ed benedict isn’t well built, it was flat out suck. People hucking into other people basically, however i don;t think it as a real skatepark, simply a training and fun area for people who occasionaly like to kickflip some stairs or hit a box. variety is the spice of life and dont go there if you dont think its going to be fun (all those who talked shit on gabriel park, same thing, I think it’s really fun, and many dont)
I like Gabriel too. It’s not my favorite, but it’s different and fun. I agree, variety is good. I’m excited about Ed Benedict too.
I want a skatepark with nothing but pump bumps! An entire parking lot sized skatepark of pump bumps… Little whippy ones. Haul ass to more haul ass to more haul ass until pretty soon you’re hauling so much ass that you eat shit! It will be awesome! And to appease the masses, I guess we can stick a stair set right in the middle and a vert wall at the end.
You want pump bumps? Go to Burnaby in BC
Hass, you beat me to it. That pump-bump-bowl at Burnaby is a blast. No matter what you hit or how you hit it, you can go faster and faster. Pumping over, through the corners, popping over the top. Every park should have a twinkie-bowl to fly around in. Good for learning, and kids, too.
ha! yeah i only want RED BLOODED Americans building shit in MY cuntry. As opposed to hispanics with brown,evil blood. Propinas, if you’re a mexican you should be shot in the face on principal,that was some crazy talk. And not as in native American. And it couldnt matter less. You think a white dude has sewn every piece of clothing you ever bought?or pressed every board you rode? shit,who do you think cooks your food when you eat out. Sera mejor que espero que lea este peralte. Anyway, i feel like we are spoiled everywhere we go in wa,or man, CA is supposed to be the epicenter and there are so many slippery, bunk, pad nanny-police bullied parks out there. Parks up here are for rippa’s, not crybabies. NO FEAR! I EAT PUNKS LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST YEAAAAAAAAHHHH RWAAAAAWR YOU REAAADDDDDY?!!!
all i know is this is a skate plaza
it should be mostly street
and the whole bum thing had nothing to do with skateparks i was talking about street skating
downtown portland is shit for skating
but who cares this park is just going to get filled with the people from glenhaven that got bored of fighting there
we should call it THE OCTAGON not ed benedict skateplaza
We are spoiled, and we pay for it. Beso mi culo jake.
It’s like Debate and Annoy. Do any of you out there ever look how much Oregon State TAX comes out of your check? And don’t tell me “we don’t have sales tax and we get kicker checks once in a while” WE pay alot, every check. And when there is a california builder coming in and hires a whole crew of american/mexican (for all I know) of non-skaters I am skeptical. Bottom line, ILLEGAL labor drives wages down. That is a fact and NOT racist. I also cook for myself and make the best salsa. Yes, I hate that park and I will skate it. You want to eat me, fine.
Yeah, I read my other post and I was not specific. I appologize…
PINCHI WEY! Greedy, corporations, lack of diligence, responsible business practices, among other reasons drive american wages down. Illegal labor is only one factor, not the only one factor. I dont live in OR so i dont pay state tax i live in Wa, nee-hee.
My point was just that if your worried about mexican americans doing our skatepark labor then look at where the labor of all your other consumptions comes from-thats no way to live. You cook for yourself sure, but you have been to a restaurant before right? and they cooked your food for you. and they were mexican. dun-dun-dun!!
you go to mcdonalds, and food that was once cooked by retards is now cooked by mexicans. won’t someone please think of the retards?
Hey man, I work used to work at McDonalds. WTF is that!
What about retarded mexicans? That should be cool.
I want someone to build a a skatepark pool with 20 death boxes, and maybe a 10 stair with a deathbox at the bottom. Retards Rule!
how about a set of these?
– LINK
Thats cool and I even have a name for it.
The MC Esher Skatepark for Retarded Mcdonalds employees and 15 year old kickflippers.
Our motto is “DO a Kickflip!” Yelled at the top of your voice.
DONE DONE DONE. POUND SAND!
Kiiiiiilllllll!!!!
So
people are complaining about stairs and people are complaining about transition.
sure banks can be jumped over but its not the same in the end as its been previously stated stairs give you something to clear you cant just land in the middle of them and still pull your trick.
Similar to why put a death box in a bowl? its something to go over and is a challenge if it was just a regular tranny wall with no deathbox it wouldn’t be as gnar or the same.
you put a set in a park you gotta clear it if your park is “street style” with all banks for flow and just rails and ledges down banks it’d get stale quick.
Of course there’s alot of bowls in Oregon and not so many street plazas, almost the exact opposite of how it was in my town tons of street and had to fight for a bowl.
skateboarding is so diverse and the skatepark systems should show that weather it be street plazas, snake runs, flat ground, bowls, vert ramps w e
it’s all skateboarding
this whole argument has been pretty stupid