Introduction and captions by Hannah Murphy Winter
In the event you drive west on South Hanford St., simply earlier than you go underneath the Marginal Approach Bridge, you’ll see a protracted concrete wall, coated in colourful graffiti. It’s simple to overlook—from the road, it doesn’t look that totally different than most freeway overpasses within the metropolis. Perhaps the artwork seems to be a bit extra intentional; perhaps there’s extra folks there than you’d anticipate. However to see actual magic of it, you must get out of your automotive and peer over the wall. There, you’ll discover The Marginal Approach Skatepark.
The park was based in 2004 by Tim Demmon, Shawn Bishop and Dan Barnett as a part of the DIY skatepark motion in Seattle. The three skaters had been watching the town tear down, transfer, and rebuild the identical few skateparks within the metropolis, slowly chipping away on the skateable sq. footage of Seattle. So when the town introduced they had been doing the identical to the Ballard Bowl, they determined it was time to do one thing about it. They discovered an empty, unused public house in SoDo, and thru profit reveals, particular person donors, and a complete lot of volunteer sweat, the DIY park was born.
Made for skate boarders solely, the park has fostered a tight-knit group of skaters. You may normally hear it referred to as “Marge” for brief, and it hosts skate competitions, punk reveals, cookouts, and common group clear ups to take care of the house.
Final weekend, the park celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The day began at 1 pm with a skate competitors and barbecue on the park. That night, the festivities moved a number of blocks away to Orient Categorical, a Chinese language restaurant and lounge inside a collection of literal practice vehicles.
Liam Griffith has been photographing the park since Might, and he was there to seize the day for The Stranger.
It began as an “unlawful” undertaking—Demmon, Bishop, and Barnett began constructing it on unused metropolis land, and poured the preliminary slabs on concrete with the assistance of a skatepark specialist referred to as Gridline. The LED lights are rigged to a generator tucked inside one of many sheds, and it may be fired up at any time if the park wants gentle.
Blue the Beagle was on the twentieth Anniversary celebration final Saturday. Throughout the day, folks gathered for a skate competitors and barbecue on the park.
