Solid Surf

An Assessment of the Heritage Value of late1970s–early 1980s Concrete and Asphalt Skateboard Parks, and Strategies for their Protection and Conservation

Authors

  • Patrick Quinn Institute of Archaeology, University College London
  • Iain Borden Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.25151

Keywords:

concrete, conservation, heritage, late twentieth century, protection, skateparks, skateboarding, sports

Abstract

Skateboarding is an important part of 21st century culture and has considerable cultural, financial and entertainment value, as indicated by its recent incorporation in the Tokyo Olympics. It is practiced on human-made surfaces such as pavements and roads as well as on wooden ramps and within asphalt and concrete skateparks. Hundreds of examples of the latter were built worldwide during the skateboarding’s ‘Second Wave’ in the late 1970s–early 1980s, but nearly all were subsequently closed, infilled or destroyed. Very few original concrete parks of this key period survive and many are currently threatened with destruction. The historic status recently ascribed to two well preserved examples in the UK and Australia underlines a need to assess the heritage value of the other remaining original skateparks, as well as to consider possible strategies for their protection and conservation. The present article tackles this topic using selected examples of these unconventional historic structures from around the world.

Author Biographies

  • Patrick Quinn, Institute of Archaeology, University College London

    Patrick Sean Quinn is Principal Research Fellow in Ceramic Petrography at University College London Institute of Archaeology. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the scientific analysis of ancient ceramics and has written several textbooks on this topic. He is also a long-time skateboarder and is interested in the heritage of late twentieth-century cultural phenomena.

  • Iain Borden, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London

    Iain Borden is Professor of Architecture & Urban Culture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, where he is also Vice-Dean of Education. His most recent book is Skateboarding and the City: A Complete History (Bloomsbury, 2019). 

References

Bale, J. 1988. “The Place of ‘Place’ in Cultural Studies of Sports.” Progress in Human Geography 12 (4): 507–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/030913258801200403

BBC News. 2014a. “London Rom skatepark given listed status.” BBC News, 14 October. Online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29801513.

BBC News. 2014b. “Southbank Development: 60,000-Strong Petition Handed In.” BBC News, 2 January. Online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25576097

Beato, G. 1999. “The Lords of Dogtown.” Spin 3: 114–121.

Borden, I. 1998. A Theorised History of Skateboarding: With Particular Reference to the Ideas of Henri Lefebvre. PhD diss., University of London, London.

____. 2019. Skateboarding and the City: A Complete History. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781474208420

Brooke, M. 1999. The Concrete Wave: The History of Skateboarding. Los Angeles: Warwick Publishing.

Campsie, A. 2023. “The ‘Legendary’ 1980s Skatepark In Line to Become Scotland’s Newest Heritage Site.” The Scotsman, 13 April. Online: https://www.scotsman.com/news/national/the-legendary-1980s-skatepark-in-line-to-become-scotlands-newest-heritage-site-4102055

Cliver, S. 2004. Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art. Berkeley, CA: Ginko Press.

Doherty, D. No date. “Crabble Bowl – Dover”. Part of R. Pearson, “Concrete Relics.” Ride UK BMX. Online: https://rideukbmx.com/longform/concrete-relics-searching-for-englands-forgotten-transitions

Drury, P. and A. McPherson. 2008. Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment. London: English Heritage. Online: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/conservation-principles-sustainable-management-historic-environment/

Durrett, T., dir. 2010. The Bro Bowl: 30 Years of Tampa Concrete [film]. Longwood, FL: Islander Entertainment. Online at EyeSpliceCollective YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZRLqVh9L9Q [].

French, P. 2021. “Gillingham.” In Snakes and Moguls Redux Edition: A Scrapbook of Britain’s Seventies Skateparks, edited by Trawler [M. Lawer], 118–123. Croydon: CPI Books.

Gaffney, C., T. Sparrow, A. Corkum, H. McCreary, C. Harris and J. Wood. 2019. “The Archaeology of 20th Century Sports and Leisure: Topophilia, Interiography and Texture.” In New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection. 13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection. 28 August-1 September 2019, Sligo, Ireland, edited by J. Bonsall, 148–149. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Gesmer, D. 2004. The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography. Thornhill, Canada: Concrete Wave.

Gillogly, B. 1976. “Skate Parks: Kickin’ an’ Slidin’ in Valleys of Cement…at Last.” SkateBoarder 2 (6): 48–55.

Graham, J. and J. O’Malley. 1977. Skatepark Development. La Jolla, CA: Skatepark Publications.

Green, S. 2012. “The Archaeology of Baseball: Landscape and the Power of Place.” Archaeologies 8: 313–329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-012-9207-y

Harris, M. 2020. Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad [film]. Grays, UK: Pixelwork.

Haythorpe, G. 1978. Skateboard Annual. London: Brown Watson.

Henry, B. 2004. “Skaters on Board in Fight to Save Raceway”. North County Times, 16 October, A1, A6.

Heritage Consultancy Services. 2002. A Sporting Chance: Extra Time for England’s Historic Sports Venues: Manchester Pilot Study. Internal Report for English Heritage, London

Inglis, S. 2014. Played in London: Charting the Heritage of a City at Play. London: English Heritage.

Jones, R. 1999. “Dreaming of a California Sky in the Golden Age: Growing Up Skating in England.” In The Concrete Wave: The History of Skateboarding, edited by M. Brooke, 42–43. Los Angeles: Warwick Publishing.

Marcus, B. and L. D. Griggi. 2011. The Skateboard: The Good, The Rad, The Gnarly: An Illustrated History. Minneapolis, MN: MPV Books.

Mayor, E., dir. 2012. Digging [film]. Online: https://www.digging.es/

Macdonald, N. and Adams, D., eds. 2023. London Calling! London: London Calling!

Muckle, R. and B. Emmett. 2016. “Never Say Last Run: Skateboarders Challenging the Terrain and Becoming Involved in Archaeology.” Paper Presented at Theoretical Archaeology Group Annual Meeting Southampton, UK, 19–21 December.

O’Connor, P. 2017. “Handrails, Steps and Curbs: Sacred Places and Secular Pilgrimage in Skateboarding.” Sport in Society 21 (11): 1651–1668. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2017.1390567

O’Malley, J. 2019. Urethane Revolution: The Birth of Skate-San Diego 1975. Charleston, SC: The History Press.

Penrose, P. 2012. “London 1948: The Sites and After-Lives of the Austerity Olympics.” World Archaeology 44 (2): 306–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2012.669647

Peralta, S., dir. 2001. Dogtown and Z-Boys [film]. Culver City, CA: Sony Pictures Classics.

Peterson, R. and D. Robinson. 2012. “Excavations and the Afterlife of a Professional Football Stadium, Peel Park, Accrington, Lancashire: Towards an Archaeology of Football.” World Archaeology 4 (2): 263–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2012.669643

Powell, B. 2018 “The Duffnell Project – Southsea Skatepark 40 Year Makeover.” Sidewalk, 2 July. Online: https://sidewalkmag.com/skateboard-news/duffnell-project-southsea-skatepark-40-year-makeover.html

Prados, A. and P. Temboury, dirs. 2013. Monopatín: Un Recorrido pour les origins del Skate en la España [film, a.k.a. Skateboard]. Madrid: Jocántaro Films.

Ramshaw, G. and S. J. Gammon. 2017. “Towards a Critical Sport Heritage: Implications for Sport Tourism.” Journal of Sport and Tourism 21 (2): 115–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2016.1262275

Sharp, W. and O. Ausband. 2017. Back in the Day: The Rise of Skateboarding: Photographs 1975-1980. Berkeley, CA: Ginko Press.

Skateboard! 1979. “Skatepark Supertest: Black Lion, Gillingham.” Skateboard! 17: 26–28.

Skateboard GB. 2020. Design and Development Guidance for Skateboarding: Creating Quality Spaces and Places to Skateboard. Sheffield: Skateboard GB.

Smith, J. 2000. “An Introduction to the Archaeology and Conservation of Football Stadia.” Industrial Archaeology Review 23 (1): 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1179/iar.2001.23.1.55

Snyder, C. B. 2015. A Secret History of the Ollie, Volume 1: The 1970s. Cambridge: Black Salt Press.

Trawler [M. Lawer], ed. 2021. Snakes and Moguls Redux Edition: A Scrapbook of Britain’s Seventies Skateparks. Croydon: CPI Books.

Turner, T. 2016. “Transformative Improvisation: The Creation of the Commercial Skateboard Shoe. 1960-1979.” In Skateboarding: Subcultures, Sites and Shifts, edited by K.-J. Lombard, 182–194. London: Routledge.

Wood, J. 2005. “Talking Sport or Talking Balls? Realising the Value of Sports Heritage.” Industrial Archaeology Review 27 (1): 137–144. https://doi.org/10.1179/030907205X44420

____. 2016a. “Archaeology and Sports History: Towards an Inclusive Methodology.” International Journal of the History of Sport 33 (6–7): 752–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2015.1124862

____. 2016b. Breaking Ground: Art, Archaeology and Mythology. Manchester: AP Publishing.

Zafir, M. and T. Zafir, dirs. 2016. The Snake Run [film]. Online at Tim Zafir Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/163048758

Published

2023-10-25

How to Cite

Quinn, P., & Borden, I. (2023). Solid Surf: An Assessment of the Heritage Value of late1970s–early 1980s Concrete and Asphalt Skateboard Parks, and Strategies for their Protection and Conservation. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 10(1), 139-169. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.25151