Portland’s Ed Benedict skatepark is nearing completion. About two weeks to go according to the boss man on site. Poachers have been a problem so a security guard has been hired. Almost all the concrete has been poured, save about half of the short halfpipe section and a small part of a bank. There’s a lot of granite yet to be installed. It looks pretty amazing. I was overwhelmed when I was on site taking the pictures. Now that I’ve had a night to sleep on it, there’s only a few things that I would take issue with. Mind you, I haven’t ridden it yet. At one of hte entrances to the park there is a really nice looking wedge bank, but it looks like it’s not placed in a very practical spot for hitting both sides. Also, the rest of the banks could use a little variety as them seem to all be essentially the same pitch. Still, there are ledges galore and stairs and rails and gaps. Yes, there is already a line of guys camped out waiting to hit that launch ramp transfer. Portland’s first street plaza is sure to be a hit. Built by California Skateparks and designed by New Line.
57 comments
shawn
Can’t wait to check this out, I wish all skate parks had this big of a street course along with bowls.
Livmo
Dig the rocks and the coi pond
cold ones
What’s going to go in between that ramp to ramp gap? Alligators? Punji stakes? Broken glass?
Kilwag
I heard they plan on filling it with bowl trolls.
IEATSTEAKANDANNOY
Maybe they could fill it with fat white chicks, there seems to be no shortage around here.
Sure, you could even feed em chum like at the hatchery in Bonneville.
But caution, you could loose your board for good if it goes there. I hear you can get the roundest,whitest chicks at any local places of civil service employment.
ie: DOL, Parking Enforcement, Courthouse, USPS etc.
Welsh Pete
Nice. I was out there yesterday and thought the same about the little wedge banks at the top but I think both sides might be approachable if you can use the general park path as a run up…
Tom Miller
Looks pretty sick. Put an equivalently sized and well-designed tranny section next to it and years of group moaning and groaning immediately become moot. Amazing no town has really done that yet. (Maybe that Winnipeg park.) The 10,000 square foot de facto standard is our common enemy.
I guess I would share Randy’s concern that the monotony of the bank angles may be a missed opportunity to mix things up a bit. But the street skaters should weigh in on that.
If memory serves, that gap will be a bioswale, i.e. plants selected for their ability to absorb rainwater and the contaminants that follow when rain mixes with hardscape. Instead of using pipes and chemicals and lots of ratepayer money to treat contamination in stormwater, the plants do it for us. Ecosystem services at work. Props to Taj and Rod for pushing this at this site. Gabriel has one too, by the way. All the stormwater from Gabriel feeds into that ditch next to the tennis courts.
LP
sorry to threadjack, but my pics of the trip to england are here: http://skatingatyourage.blogspot.com/
t-roy
What?! No Vert??
bailgun
nope. you’ll have to go to one of the other 6 bazillion parks in oregon.
zed-word
Some of you Oregon skaters are so spoiled with great skateparks that you bitch and moan everytime you don’t get a skatepark exactly like you want it. Like bailgun just said, if you want vert or pools or a snake run or a rainbow rail or whatever, just go to another park.
nweyesk8
or build your own
Kilwag
What, no over-vert?
Come on guys, sometimes people, you know, make jokes.
nweyesk8
I still think every skater should go out and spend 50-100$ on DIY concrete at their house, their friend’s house, or some local empty lot. 100$ isn’t much, but it is enough to build a 3ft tall 8ft wide QP. Get six friends together and you have a small bowl with features of your own dreaming. My fish pond is nothing epic but it is hard enough to ride that I have hours of fun trying simple things. Plus, there is nothing like a backyard beer, bong, and bowl session with your friends, away from the public nuisances that haunt our public parks landscape. as a matter of fact, after my bowl is totally done, i will be traveling to Newport to help the locals there with a rad DIY spot on the beach.
“SKATE AND BUILD”
nweyesk8
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/nweyesk8/lifesabowlskateit086.jpg
colin walsh rules
i alrready tried that and it got torn out.. it was fun while it lasted though…
nweyesk8
buck up little fella, there is always tomorrow and the next spot. My 1st DIY at corvallis park got removed after two days, I hope my next little DIY project for Crvallis lasts longer.
Carl
The banks are pitched correctly for doing tricks.
Tom, I only want one park.. you can have all the rest. I promise I won’t ever go to any others if you just back off this one.
Kilwag
Oh, I didn’t realize there was only one correct pitch on a bank you could do a trick on. Are we not even allowed to constructively criticize this park just because it’s a street plaza?
jakedy
this will be cool i cant wait to jump the gaP ON MY BIKE
Carl
What you’re doing is not constructive criticism. You’re complaining that the banks are the correct pitch for the type of skating that the facility is designed for.
I’m not trying to be a smartass.. I’m just weighing in like TM said I should.
Kilwag
BS. There’s no “correct pitch” for skating on a bank. The banks are separated into separate areas, each the same. Boring. It would be the equivalent of a bowl park with all the same depth and transition.
What about all the street skating going on on jersey barriers and an other banks of differnet pitches.. I guess those are all designed wrong?
nweyesk8
I bet Carl doesn’t think skateboards over 7.75″ are ‘correct’ skateboards either. I think there should be multiple banks with varying degrees of steepness if you are building banks in a street plaza.
The DJ
All right now, for all you boppers out there in the big city, all you street people with an ear for the action, I’ve been asked to relay a request from the Benedictine Riffs. It’s a special for the Skate’n’Annoys, that real live bunch from Northeast, and I do mean the Skate’nAnnoys. Here’s a hit with them in mind.
conahan
I bet there won’t be enough banks of the desired pitch. That place is going to be packed!
Abegnegal
So is this the end then? I’ve been looking all over the internet and there is no mention of what’s to come.
Bidding process, design stages, what’s the next slated park to build?
I doubt they’ll make all 18 but even if they don’t, as many as possible would be cool. I just hope it doesn’t end at Eds.
conahan
The plan is actually for 19 although it will take some time. Word from city hall and the world for that matter is that belts will need to be tightened for the near future. A rumored 2010 parks bond measure may provide funds if passed by the voters. We will keep the Skaters for Portland Skateparks nonprofit going to raise money at the grassroots level but that can be slow going.
ryan
who cares man this place is going to be so freakin sickkkkkkkk
Bryan
Anybody know if Ed Benedict will be open on Saturday 11/15? No Rain!
buckyTb503
are bikes going to be aloud at this park
bailgun
probably. portland park and rec loves bikes. all 19 skateparks will most likely allow bikes. its the sucky lining of the silver cloud.
portland can’t be PERFECT, can it?
colin walsh rules
just put sticks in their spokes.. or stop crying cause u have 19 fucking parks in one city.. spoiled old men… corvallis have one, and it is the best….
Kilwag
I guess you’ll have no reason to come up here then.
bailgun
colin-your park sucks, and that just an unfortunate reality you’ll eventually have to accept.
Zed-word (formerly benny b bones)
colin walsh comes off as a whiny loser sometimes.
Bryan
Stopped by Ed B. this weekend — not too much progress since the above photos taken a month ago. There is a new concave ledge, curved up on both ends and about 12 feet long, and the transition section looks complete (no coping) but no granite or finishing touches yet. The concave ledge looks like the bottom of a canoe just sitting there in the middle of the park. I’ll post a video on Youtube. I Hit the kicker transfer real quick as I was leaving. It’s actually kind of small but still sure to be real busy.
nweyesk8
so when does Ed B. open?
ride some bikes?
When does this place open
steeze magee
too bad they picked the wrong season to make it.
stintage
any new pictures?
Bryan
Here’s a few new photos I took on Saturday 12/13:
http://podwys.com/edb
Not a ton of progress… pool coping is waiting in the transition section, some ledges have been finished. They said January opening when I spoke with parks but who knows with all this snow.
Bryan
I just spoke with Beth at Portland Parks. There’s good news and bad news…
Bad news: Incorrect materials were received and they have postponed the grand opening until Spring.
Good news: They are doing a soft opening — the mostly finished park should be open today!
If anybody is in the area and can verify this, please let us know. I won’t be out that way until Wednesday.
chomp
Jeeezus, it seems like it’s been 90% done for a couple of months now… They’re killin us!
Kilwag
Wrong materials for what?
chomp
They were sent loaves of bread instead of coping blocks I guess….
conahan
I can hardly wait to take my bike off those sweet jumps.
conahan
I went by the park at about 4:30 Monday afternoon. It was raining and wet, construction fence was still up, no sign of a soft opening. On the bright side, coping was in place on the mini. there was some crap lying around but the site was pretty cleaned up. Pretty much like Bryan’s photos with coping. I didn’t see if the ledge forms were gone or not.
I called and left a message at Parks. I’ll update if I hear back.
Bryan
Well I guess Beth was mistaken… The boss man Van Starr just called me back finally (I’ve been leaving messages for him) and said they are going to do the landscaping before the soft opening. He expects to open the gates at each end in 2 weeks, then when the granite gets here from China they’ll close up again and get that installed. Kilwag, I guess they received granite that wouldn’t work for the ledges.
Van also said California Skateparks is really screwing with them trying to get about $60k more than agreed upon, which has been holding things up.
chomp
Wow, good job Caliwacker Skateparks. How about we agree to pay them 60k if they build a roof over it too.
Rich
Granite from China? Uh? OK. Pretty soon we won’t be able to breath until someone ships the oxygen from China. Got to believe there’s some granite locally.
conahan
Hmm, I hope Portland Parks remembers how smooth the process was when they consider the bids for Steel Bridge.
Mark
(California Skateparks) Maloof Money Cup vs Ed Benedict.
Build a whole street plaza, have a contest, tear it down and,….. Ed Benedict still isn’t done? I’ve tried to get a few building permits over the years. I’d venture a few guesses as to the cause of delay.
Decapitation in opperation
The park should be good for skating. It’s right next to a cop station so for everyone thinking about selling or smokin weed don’t get your hopes up. If you want to get high go to glenhaven, the locals there smoke more often then they skate, and they skate every day… But yeah tear that shit up
chomp
Anyone heard anything new about Ed Benedict? I went by a couple of weeks ago and although the fences were still up, it was filled with kids. I took the chance to ride the halfpipe at the entrance of the park. Its super mellow and the pool coping is up, but they still hadn’t poured any of the decks yet. I wish I would have had my regular board with me, because it seems like an awesome park. Its been over two weeks since they delayed the opening…
jake
the fucking skate park is open go to tomorrow i swearer skate park now it is open go to fuck
Ben
I expected the opening news to be covered somewhere online. Hmm.
benji
got to go there