Turf Skatepark, also known as "Surfin' Turf" or "The Turf", is a former skatepark located in Greenfield, Wisconsin, United States, less than one mile south of the city of Milwaukee. [1] The Turf was an indoor/outdoor facility consisting of five sculptured concrete pools providing some of the best terrain of its time.
The Turf included five sculptured concrete pools:
Designed by legendary Skatepark designer, California Architect Art Kent (aka Footie) in 1979 through the Foxfire Skatepark Development Group. Art is the original designer of the Three Leaf Clover and Side Entry Capsule Bowl in 1970's. The Park was Originally opened by Jerry Steuernagel in 1979 as Surfin' Turf near Interstate 894 and West Loomis Road, his unique indoor skatepark designed by Kent consisted of in-ground concrete pools for riding skateboards. The overhead warehouse side doors were open in the summertime and closed during inclement weather to allow for all year round skateboarding. The park had a unique mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced year round skate elements. As skateboarding lost popularity, it closed in 1982 and the building was repurposed as a strip club called Bell E. Buttons, though the pools remained intact under the floor.
In 1987, the original owners of the skatepark were able to reacquire the building and reopen it for skateboarding as The Turf. At that time, it was one of only a handful of skateparks left in the U.S., and the only indoor skatepark in the country. It attracted professional and amateur skateboarders from around the world.
In 1995, skating any kind of transition was considered "uncool" and people and magazines alike thought Vert skating was in its death throes. This prompted the owners to fill the bowls with gravel, take off the pool coping that was on the Clover and the Keyhole bowls and cover the entire indoor portion of the park with concrete, and built a street course, hoping to make the park profitable once again. Unfortunately, this did not work and in 1996 the Turf closed for good. The building then housed a cabinet company and a lawn and garden shop for nearly 15 years.
In 2010, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation acquired the property for use as a staging area during the construction of a new freeway ramp. It did not destroy the concrete bowls, however, which remained filled with gravel. In 2010, local skaters tried to dig out the bowls. [2]
In 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation sold the site of Turf to the City of Greenfield for $1. The city hopes to revive the skate park. [2]
On February 19, 2020 The Turf Skatepark Association and Grindline (a skatepark design company) hosted a design workshop to get community input aimed at rebuilding and reopening The Turf. Currently, the plan is to investigate restoring some of the original park as well as adding new features that will cater to all types of skaters.
In 2010, former owner Jerry Steuernagel described the skatepark at its peak: "We had 10,000 members from all over the world. Every kid was a member. That's how I sold it." [3]
Steve Alba | Tony Alva | Ray Barbee |
Bill Danforth | Adrian Demain | Eric Dressen |
Aaron Draplin | Dave Duncan | Mark Gibson |
Tom Grolholski | Jeff Grosso | Omar Hassan |
Tony Hawk | Jason Jessee | Craig Johnson |
Lester Kasai | Jeff Kendall | Tom Knox |
Al Losi | Keith Meek | Lance Mountain |
Chris Miller | Jim Murphy | Monty Nolder |
Corey O'Brien | Jeff Phillips | Eddie Reategui |
Rob Roskopp | Mark Rogowski | Steve Saiz |
Ben Schroeder | Reese Simpson | Wade Speyer |
Todd Swank | Ed Templeton | Mike Vallely |
Shawn Stubing | Cyndy Pendergast | Michael Banta |
Patti Hoffman | Mark Grass* |
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A funbox is a standard element of a skatepark. It generally consists of a box shape with a flat top and a ramp on two or more sides. A funbox may also include other elements that allow for more complicated skateboarding tricks.
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Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced that freestyle park was to be added as an Olympic event to the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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A skateboard style refers to the way a skateboarder prefers to ride a skateboard. Skateboard styles can be broadly divided into two different categories: skateboarding to perform tricks and skateboarding as a means of transportation. Styles of skateboarding have evolved over time and are influenced by a number of factors including sociocultural evolution, mass media, music, technology, corporate influence and individual skill level.
Reedville Creek Park is a municipal park in the Reedville neighborhood of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Opened in 2003, the 9.6-acre (39,000 m2) park is along Cornelius Pass Road at Francis Street in the southeast area of the city. The park includes basketball courts, children’s play equipment, a picnic shelter, tennis courts, and sports fields among other amenities. Reedville Creek was the first and is the only park in Hillsboro with a skatepark.
Lai Chi Kok Park is a large public park in Hong Kong, on the reclamation of former Lai Chi Kok Bay adjacent to Mei Foo, stretching along the Kwai Chung Road motorway. The park is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government.
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