UPLAND SKATEPARK GRAND OPENING DAY
OCTOBER 19, 2002
WORDS BY TERRY VALLES AND STEVE ALBA
PHOTOS BY DAN LEVY, BRYCE KANIGHTS AND TED TERREBONNE.
SKATERS: Aaron Murray, Salba, Tuma, Ray Barbee, Darrell Delgado, Malba
UPLAND UPRISING
Upland Pipeline Revisited
by Terry Valles
Just when one felt that most So. Cal skateparks fell short of living up to parks of the past, the city of Upland breaks from the mold and pays homage to its old hometown park, The Pipeline. If the news hasn’t made it your way yet, the city of Upland just built a 15,000-sq. ft. skatepark, which includes a version of the Pipeline’s old pipe and bowl. The design was awarded to Purkiss Rose, who in turn consulted Steve Alba to insure the authenticity of the design. Steve Alba and Purkiss employee Jerry Nolan elaborated on the former Pipeline design by keeping its original integrity intact while making some improvements. First of all, the once stairway in the back of the pipe was substituted with a 5-foot deep bowl, which then emulates a flip-bucket and rolls down into a 11-foot halfpipe. This halfpipe is equipped with a loveseat and vertical extensions on either side, bringing the height of the walls up to 15 feet and thus giving the feel of the walls at Baldy. From there, the halfpipe tapers into a 20-foot diameter full pipe which is 40 feet in length and dumps into an 11-foot deep bowl with a flyout section not unlike the original Pipeline. The park opened Oct 19, 2002.
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