I served on the selection committee and read all the proposals for the Glenhaven skatepark in northeast Portland, Oregon. Dreamland Skateparks’ proposal was the clear favorite of the committee, even though there was a street skating faction that didn’t believe that Dreamland could build a good street park. The committee pared the field to three firms who would be interviewed but in the end only Dreamland was properly licensed to do work in the state of Oregon. Grindline’s license had expired and NewLine didn’t have the proper licenses in the first place. Here is the original Dreamland proposal for Glenhaven. This was actually one of three designs originally proposed for Pier Park. During the Pier Park process there was a lot of static from street skaters about the designs being favored by Skaters for Portland Skateparks. This of course pissed off the guys who had spent three years doing public outreach and fundraising and lobbying. The funding was available and we knew Dreamland was going to build the thing, all we needed was a design that would please everyone. I have posted a lengthy rememberance of the project with many of the design drawings I did between February and April…

Yes, I’m struggling again. Here’s some pics of Chris Nukala from April of 2004 on his ramp in his back yard. The point of this is not to mention the crappy photos (my fault) or the fact that Chris hadn’t gone through puberty yet (his parent’s fault) but rather to point out that he recently had to tear down his ramp due to complaints from the neighbors or some city ordinance problems. Typical BS you have to deal with whenever you decide to take matters into your own hands. This was a quirky, but cool set up. Fortunately, Chris lives near Pier Park now. He’s a lot better skater post-puberty. Puberty. Puberty. Puberty. And death metal. Enlargements and a more recent shot of him after the jump.

It doesn’t open until June 4. Do not skate. The kids you see were subjected to extreme rendition and are currently being interrogated in a secret facility in Eastern Europe. If people start showing up there I’ll bet the local police will step up their efforts and write a few trespassing citations or haul a few guys in. Oh yeah, click the images to see them bigger.

You can usually tell when I don’t have a lot of time to devote to updates. Old pics fron the 80’s should be the tip off. About once a year our family would visit my grandparents in Florida, usually around spring break time. These pics were taken in Clearwater in the mid to late 80’s, by my mother or possibly my sister. Enlarged with fashion commentary after the jump.

Irrigon’s grand opening is just a month away – April 14, 2007 – according to SkateOregon, where you can view images of some test rides by the crew. Find more photos at the Skaters for Public Skateparks forum and at Dan’s Skate Pages. photos:top left and right – SkateOregon; bottom left: copinggrinder1 from SPS; bottom right: Dan Hughes

Ten guys working out there this morning plus a couple of inspectors – I had to shoot through the fence. Notice all the bricks are done. Click the picture for a larger view. Beautiful day here, I heard they have another pour today.