by Phil Jackson
First published 2012
Philadelphia's skateboarding community faces a challenge in 1996 when the city provides only basic obstacles for their growing scene. Local skaters refuse to accept these limitations. They pool their resources and begin constructing their own vision beneath the bridge. What starts as small modifications grows into something unprecedented. The skaters work with whatever materials they can find, building ramps and obstacles that suit their needs. Their unauthorized construction project attracts attention from around the world. The space becomes more than a skate park. It becomes a community where photographers document not just the skating but the raw life around it. Box cutter injuries happen alongside brilliant tricks. Police arrive as wildfires burn nearby. Drunks hunt rats in the sewers while skaters perfect their craft above. The park evolves into the world's largest DIY skateboard facility. Through fifteen years of growth, conflict, and creativity, these skaters prove that communities can build their own spaces when institutions fail them.
Genres: 20th-century, 21st-century, activism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, raw, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, underdog
Setting: Philadelphia, FDR Skatepark
Period: 1996
168 pages · Hardcover · Schiffer
Content warnings: violence