I found out about this from a non skater, you know, a civilian. Turns out the new indoor park is next door to one of those warehouses full of inflatable bounce houses for kids. My informant was there for a kid’s birthday party. I went to go check it out on a Saturday but nobody was there. The place looks like it’s still under construction. From what I can see, it’s standard indoor street course type fare. Basically a one hit back and forth affair. From my vantage point ( standing on the roof of the SUV backed up against the roll up door) it also looks like really close quarters. There’s also what appears to be long miniramp with one end bowled in. Before actually seeing this place I thought it might ease the pain of The Department shutting down, but I’m fairly certain it’s not going to fill that gap. Ripzu is admittedly run by parents of skateboarding children looking for a sterile environment for kids to skate. Not that the Department is especially gritty. The rates seem high but this place might actually survive based on the fact that a lot of parents are already going next…

Toxic Skate in Vancouver is having a summer kick of bash this Saturday. It’s indoors so even though summer is still MIA from Portland, you can still skate. Saturday, June 19th, 3-11pm.

I’ve heard from a couple of different sources (some of them reliable even!) that The Department of Skateboarding, or D.O.S., will be shutting down at some point mid-summer. The rumor is that the building was sold, and the bowl is scheduled to be closed down as early as June, with the rest of it to follow possibly in August. This seems at odds with their posted summer camp schedule. Colin has an associate of D.O.S. scheduled to appear on his radio show on June 16th. Maybe we’ll get an answer then. It will be a blow to Portland’s skate scene if D.O.S. does shut down. It’s the only indoor street course of any mentionable square footage accessible to the public in the greater Portland area. No word on what this might mean for the attached Cals Pharmacy skate shop, a long time fixture in Portland. [Image: SkateAllCities]

I’m pretty sure we posted a picture of this ramp some time ago. It’s Chad from Small Beating. New surface, new concrete coping. Wheee! Man that looks small. – Thanks to Theo for the tip.

Toxic Skate in Vancouver, Wa is showing a Low Card video this Saturday the 17th at 8 pm.

I posted this one on East Coast time, just for our readers from Maine. Thomas Dupere sent in a couple pictures of a basement bowl and the beginnings of some DIY crete in the woods. I think they planning to pour this weekend.

I don’t think California’s Epic Indoor Park lasted a year. This one is in Marseille, France. It’s huuuuuuuuuge. The halfpipe alone is looks formidable. Check out the Palais de la Glisse on the Constructo blog of skatepark architecture. They have some public official looking types at the ribbon cutting ceremony, this might even be a public skatepark. The building looks beautiful, and not just some dusty old warehouse. Actually, it’s truly confusing now. If you scroll through this set of photos, it appears to be built on the site of a hockey rink. Could this in fact be a temporary installation? – Thanks to Doc Murdock for the tip.

Hey, don’t let me scare you away. Here’s some heavy ripping at the Department. What was the occasion? Well I thought it was just because I wasn’t there, but it was actually overflow from the Bacon premiere for their new video Unheard. – Thanks to KC for the vid.

Skateboarding is an inherently risky activity. Make no mistake about it. The more you skate, the greater your chances of eventually getting injured. What I can do without is the added risk involved when a facility that you pay to skate in does not sweep frequently enough, especially in the case of a wooden bowl. I know what you’re going to say, plenty of other people skate there without managing to blame their mishaps on dusty conditions. Truth is, I saw three different people eat it that night in the back bowl due to slippery masonite, but none of them were seriously injured. Fact of the matter is, my injury was 100% preventable. Believe me, I eat it all the time there without complaint, but this particular injury was caused by a dusty bowl. Maintenance will likely say “But we clean and sweep the bowl X times a month/week,” to which I reply “Not good enough. You need to increase the frequency.” Rant over. What’s the prognosis? No torn tendons or ligaments thankfully, just a lot of inflammation, fluid and a nasty contusion. Yes, I had knee pads on, thankfully, as I haven’t been wearing them there lately. 187’s with…

Rip City’s indoor bowl is almost finished, but the sessions are not going to flow freely until an arrangement is reached with the next door neighbors. It seems like the construction and skating is just too much noise for the business that shares a wall with them. What sort of business needs a cap on the decibel levels? Are they doctors, lawyers or accountants? It turns out the spoil sports operate a juggling supplies operation with mostly online sales. Nope, you heard right. Skateboarders are disturbing the jugglers. At this point in the post I’d like to publicly heckle my friend Shawn Fendick for owning juggling supplies and a unicycle. Am I some sort of clown that amuses you? Yes.