WVXU's Round the Corner series takes you into the heart of Greater Cincinnati's communities. This time, we're getting to know Camp Washington. WVXU's Nick Swartsell reports on an effort to put Cincinnati's first real skatepark in the neighborhood.
Skateboarding has a long history in Cincinnati. Locations across the city pop up in major skateboard videos and a number of pros have hailed from the Queen City. But Cincinnati has never had an official full-sized skate park. Some local skaters want to change that by bringing one to Camp Washington.
Evan Walker has been skateboarding since the mid-1990s. Several years ago, he moved to Cincinnati and, despite having seen the city in skate videos, was surprised it didn't have a park.
"There's still some iconic spots that have been skated since the '80s, which is really cool, where tricks were invented that people all over the world now do," he says. "Watch videos from Europe or Africa or Asia and they're doing the boneless that was invented in Clifton in a parking lot. So Cincinnati has this deep and rich skate history."
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But a parking lot isn't enough for most skaters. So last year, Walker and several other people started the Cincinnati Skatepark Project.
While there are some parks in suburban areas around Cincinnati and a park built by skaters under a highway in Newport, Ky., the city of Cincinnati has only a very small area in Lower Price Hill designated for skateboarding. That location doesn't offer the kind of full-scale facilities cities like Louisville, Columbus and others in the region have.
Walker says there are several possibilities in terms of location. The group's focused on a vacant field off Colerain Avenue and Stock Street near the Cincinnati Recreation Commission pool in Camp Washington. It's easily accessible — and Walker says it's a perfect fit for other reasons.
"Camp Washington kept coming up as a recommended location by skaters that we talked to, and just people in different neighborhoods," he says. "Camp Washington being cut off by the highway and having an industrial side to it has been somewhat overlooked. We think of this as a really good opportunity to embrace the working class and artistic character of the neighborhood with a sport that's all about working hard, getting up and trying again and getting creative. And this could revitalize and activate a greenspace that right now isn't being used for much."
The central location is key for another founder of the project, Gabrielle Larkin. She's very familiar with Cincinnati's skate legacy — her dad skateboarded and advocated for a skate park here in the 1980s. She mostly rollerblades and roller skates, and teaches free monthly lessons for beginners just getting into those sports. She says a full-size skate park in the center of the city would open up opportunities for many fledgling skaters.
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"So many people in Cincinnati — and especially youth — don't drive and don't have a way to skate parks," she says. "So they need something local and centralized, along a bus route or along a bike lane, so they can get to a skate park. I think that's a really big part of it. When we teach lessons now, we drive to Florence and a lot of people can't make the lessons."
The group's made some inroads toward getting the park built. They've talked with Camp Washington community leaders, Cincinnati City Council and officials in the city's administration. Walker says he's hopeful the city can help fund the park, but he's also anticipating skaters themselves will hustle to raise private funding for the roughly half-million dollar cost as soon as a location is selected. The group will know more after the city completes its budget process this summer, he says.
The Camp Washington Community Council wrote a letter endorsing the idea earlier this year. Community Council Member Paul Grilli is enthusiastic about the possibility.
"If nothing else, it would bring life — more of it — into the community," he says. "Lots of people come and use the basketball courts there. The pool, when it was open, brought people, but not like a skate park, especially if it's the only one. I know there's a skate park in Newport, and some in the outer-lying suburbs, but I think this city needs one."
Skaters say their sport is diverse, growing and a great way to build community.
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"Contrary of other sports, there's such a wide range of ages, races, backgrounds, abilities, body types," Larkin says. "So I think it's just a really unique sport that cultivates this really diverse group of people that's really reflective of the community that's in Cincinnati already."