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Freestyle Skateboard Park - 1977 (Gaithersburg, Maryland)

gbjphotoworks > albums > GBJ Skateboard Photography

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Freestyle Skateboard Park, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was one of the first skateboard parks ever built in the greater Washington D.C. area, opening in the spring of 1977. The picture, taken by my father, is from a lift truck sitting on the southbound shoulder of N. Frederick Ave, looking west over what is now the site of a Jiffy Lube. The near portion of the park was the Intermediate Area, with it's outer ditch and inner resevoir area. Directly beyond the Pro Shop is one big wall that was called the Beginner Area. Nobody ever used it, and yet, when 70's skateboard star Wally Inouye came to the park, it was a shot from this wall that became a cover of Skateboarder Magazine. Beyond the in-ramp for the Intermediate Area is the in-ramp for the Advanced Area, falling away in the other direction. The advanced area was a L-R-L snake run with three big turns, that then petered out into a low area with a series of walls, behind the Beginner Area. The park, very popular at first, did a steady business for most of 1977, but by the end of '77 the demand for vertical riding terrain rendered Freestyle, with no vert, yesterday's news. Early in the winter of '77-'78, The Glass Wave, an indoor park with several fibreglas, vert halfpipes, opened about three miles away. That was pretty much it for Freestyle Skateboard Park. I think it was completely unused, out-of-business and bulldozed by the Spring of 1980. (Photo: John E. Bittner)

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  • Thanks for this pic, I lived a block away from there and that got me started skateboarding. That old black and white really makes me feel old and tired! hahaha, well I'll be in DC soon and skating Arlington, I'm not that old and tired!

    said photo of Nickk16 Nickk16 29 days ago

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