by Kevin Cody
The evolution of skateboard culture, from outlaw sport, to city sanctioned skate parks and Chamber of Commerce art project, was on display Saturday, June 1 during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Hermosa Beach Skate Park.
“When this park opened in 1999, it was the first city skate park in Los Angeles County,” Parks and Rec Commissioner Jani Lange told the crowd.
As he spoke, Lange held a city No Skateboarding sign that once warned Hermosa Valley students it was illegal to skateboard down the 16th Street ramp leading to school.
The 47-year-old Lange declined to say how the sign came into his possession. But he did draw a comparison to the skateboarders of his generation and today’s e-bikers.
“Skateboarding was our transportation. And like e-bikers, we liked to do tricks. We weren’t vandals. We were just having fun,” Lange said.
Among the attendees was former Hermosa Beach Mayor Sam Edgerton.
Edgerton skateboarded to the park that day the day it was dedicated, and broke both elbows on the way when he tried to hop a curb.
“I landed in a pushup position. I was thinking I didn’t want to tear my pants. And I didn’t. But I jammed my elbows,” Edgerton told Easy Reader in an interview shortly after the accident.
He suffered compression fractures to both radial bones, which connect the forearms to the elbows.
Edgerton did not ride a skateboard to the 25th anniversary celebration. ER
