The skate park being built in Houston will be the largest in Texas and one of the top ten largest in the United States. The first phase opened in June 2006 and featured an extensive layout and bowls, with more additions planned over the following six months. When completed, it will include the largest cradle in the world and a street course. The park was spearheaded by PUSH to provide more opportunities for youth in Houston to skate. It will offer terrain for all skill levels and include lights for night skating.

1. Bliss in Concrete
Houston paves way for Texas’s largest skate park
WORDS ALMA VERDEJO PHOTOS PHIL HAMMEL
Undertaken in June 2006, the
45,000-square-feet skate park’s first
phase opens June 1st. It focuses on
an extensive layout and bowls with
minor additions to be added over the
next six months. The final structure
will be completed by the end of June,
and it will feature the largest cradle
in the world and a street course to fill
every skater’s heart in Houston, and
may even attract some pro’s too.
“We were approached by PUSH
about building a skatepark in
Houston,” says Micah Shapiro, sales
manager for Grindline. “We saw that
it would be really big, and we were
interested. Isn’t everything bigger
in Texas?” he jokes. He adds that
the park will be spectacular due to
the view of the Houston skyline it
will provide. Built around Memorial
Drive and Sabine Street with the
land generiously donated by the
Houston Parks and Recreation, it
rivals anything else in other cities.
And that’s exactly why Espeseth
and Blumenthal picked it out;
they wanted the world to see that
Houston wasn’t just full of bayous
and cowboy hat-wearing weirdos.
We caught up with Jason Espeseth
for more dirt on the skate haven.
What inspired you to create
what will become the nation’s
largest skate park?
Jason Espeseth: Houston’s
massive youth population and the
lack of public skate parks were key
reasons we wanted to build big.
Having a sizeable facility like the
Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark greatly
helps our city’s youth pursue their
passion of skating.
What do you hope people and
skate park aficionados think of
the skate park?
We really hope the skate park acts as
a neighborhood catalyst for outdoor
activity. Additionally, we plan on
the skate park being a worldwide
destination for skaters due to the
exciting and unique terrain it offers.
How did you guys scout out
the area?
City of Houston officials made that
decision. PUSH was told that this
was where the skate park could
go if the money was raised. We
accepted the challenge and started
fundraising, as well as coming up
with a design that would fit in the
area allocated for the skate park.
What will make the skate park
different than any other ones?
The skate park is unique compared
to other Houston public skate
parks, due to it being inground
and concrete. Other smaller public
skate parks are constructed out of
pre-fabricated metal and/or wood.
These types of parks are subpar for
Houston’s skaters. Imagine wanting
to play basketball at your local park
but only having a dirt surface, a goal
standing four feet above the ground
and an annoying rattling noise every
time your ball hit the goal. That’s
what a pre-fabricated skate park is
like for a skater. Yes, it’s rideable,
but not very inspiring. Inground
concrete skate parks provide so
much more aesthetically and
initiate a considerable amount more
creativity for the skaters and the
community than pre-fab parks do.
What other park highlights can
you mention?
On a national and worldwide
level, the skate park offers a well-
balanced level of terrain ranging
from beginner to expert. Most skate
parks don’t have this opportunity
due to size limitations. The skate
park also has lights for night riding.
Many other skate parks around the
country don’t have lights yet. The
most important thing is the park’s
uniqueness. Grindline stepped up to
the challenge of building a park like
no other, one they or no one else had
ever built and succeeded. The skate
park terrain can be compared to
many other skate parks in the world,
but none of those other parks have
all the features in one location and
central to a major metropolitan area.
It seems like only yesterday there were few play areas in Texas
for those feeling, um, board. But now, Houston becomes home
to what is set to be the largest skate park in Texas, and in the top
ten in America. Spearheaded by PUSH—Public Use Skateparks
for Houston—by Jason Espeseth and Barry Blumenthal along
with the architectural gurus at Grindline Design, the Lee and
Joe Jamail Skatepark brings Houston the one thing that all
skaters crave: a truly massive park at all levels.
To find out more
information about
the the Lee and Joe
Jamail Skatepark, visit
pushhouston.com
Grindline is based
out of Seattle and has
built a shit load of parks
in Texas — too many to
mention — but Houston is
by far thier best yet. Contact
Micah at grindline.com if your
interested in undertaking the near
insurmountable task of building
one in your own town.
This is the biggest Cradle ever built in the world! If you plan on
attempting to ride it, check in with your insurance agent first.
Tall ass non-vert drop into major bowls and cradle. Traditional pool coping, a full
grind on this corner is gonna take some serious speed and old school bravado.
Hips and spines of every size all over the park, its big boy
playgorund fer sure, and lights too for cooler nights.
FPH_skatepark.indd 1 5/24/08 12:49:58 PM