This is a random shot of Matt Swan, Smith grind at Newberg Oregon, circa 2002. This is not a bail. This “kid” barely ever skates. We’re talking a handful of times a year, but he can still pull these super lapped over front sides at the drop of a hat. Infuriating! Click the pic to enlarge. Check out the woolly mammoth legs.

One Iowa City post deserves another. En route to Portland from Florida, I passed through Iowa City again on New Year’s day 2002. Coincidentally, Bone Man was there, and it was 1997 all over again. I crashed for the night, and the next day we went to check out the new skatepark. It was well below freezing so it’s mostly inaction shots.

Even though that hotel sign doesn’t say “pool,” there’s still good skating to be had. We decided to check out the new Woodland Washington skatepark on Saturday because we hadn’t been there, and we thought it was such a nice day that Pier PArk would have been crowded. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. MC has a comic about it and I only got one decent pic, after the jump.

I’ve seen pics of this park in a newspaper article that I thought we posted but I can’t find it now. These pics of the recently opened Granite Park in Sacramento CA come through the unknown courtesy of Thrasher Magazine and photog Schmitty. Definitely worth checking out the larger versions and additional pics. The park appears to be spread out all over the place with street track like elements as well. The most notable feature is the not quite full pipe. It’s not even a 3/4 pipe. The design is a good one, it has the over-vert elements of a full pipe while still being open air, and interesting to look at. I’m leaning towards a grade C execution of a grade A idea though. It looks like you can grind the top of over-vert sections, but the true feeling of riding a full pipe requires a higher wall. I think they should have made the side walls higher, or at least a section of them. What say you? Regardless, it looks like a heck of a park. Thanks to Troy Sliter for the link.

$1,092,000,(!) to be exact, and we need to thank them. The point is to make a few calls thanking the right people. Word is that a phone call carries more weight than an email. All you need to do is call and let the office know that you appreciate the money and effort being directed towards public skateparks in Portland, and they are doing a good job. The end result is that they will be more inclined to follow through with money for the rest of the system. Phone numbers, links and more after the jump.

Up here in Portland we may not know much about New Zealand, but we do know they have pools. So it should come as no surprise that there are skate parks too. These pics are of a spot called Chafers Skate Park in Wellington, New Zealand. The top shot is from Wellington Daily Photo and the bottom two are from Zoom In which is the best way to explore New Zealand, right? It’s funny how you can look at a skate park just as you can look at a general view of any city and get a vague sense of where it is based on the architecture. It’s like when you are watching a movie or TV and you think “This looks like it was shot in Canada.” I don’t know where on the map I would have put these shots, but they don’t look like anything I’ve seen in North America, they are just a little peculiar. Remember, I’m strictly talking about the skate park architecture. In any case, it looks fun. Certainly a lot more fun than the old one. (Although the banks look promising from afar, via the Interwebâ„¢ ) Check out these two pages for links…

If you live near Sammamish Washington here’s one more thing to be thankful for. This new street park should be ready soon if it’s not already open. It’s got a lot of curious features that are a tip off that it wasn’t designed by skaters (who are experienced skatepark builders). On the plus side, they packed it full of terrain and made it interesting, and it’s fun to say “Sammamish Mammy.” More pictures here.

That’s right. Stop sassing them and say “Sir” and “Ma’am” and you just might be rewarded with a new skate park. A November 17 article in the Pitsburgh Tribune-Review titled Retired teacher puts a lot of stock in skate park tells the story of James Peach. He bought some Standard Oil stock after the war (occupation of Japan) and at age 78, in a fit of grieving and good will, turned it over the county of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania on the condition that the money be spent on the local skatepark project. Turns out that the original $900 investment was worth $161,000! I hope the park they build looks better than it does in the plan above, but with an advocacy group named Westmoreland Street Park Alliance, I wouldn’t hold my breath..

Springfield Nuclear Power Plant anyone? Thanks to some recent dry spells it looks like there’s been quite a bit of pouring going on in Battle Ground Washington. It’s no longer just some framed holes filled with muddy water. Of course the surroundings are one big bog fest. Hit the jump to see more pictures of construction than you’ll ever really need. New to this layout is a corresponding reference shot showing the approximate location and field of view that each shot was taken. Tedious? Yes, but I bleed for you, man. Designed by Grindline but built by Dreamland. Check it out.

This pic is from a SLC skatepark called Real Ride. I don’t know if it’s still open because this was taken way back in 2002 when I was part of the work crew building a vert ramp for the Olympic Village. You can see a larger full frame version after the jump.