Skateboard City

Port Orange, FL

(A special thanks to Charlie Gonzalez for most of the following information):

Skateboard City's real name was Scatboard City as in Scat Cat, which was their logo, you can see this on one of the shirts on the Artifact page.  The park opened in 1976, owned and developed by George Scott.  Charlie Gonzalez and Jimmy Machek were the residential pros at the time.  The Daytona locals included Kelly Lynn, Clyde Rodgers, Ben Duffet, Jay Smith, Tim Nolan, Jimmy Lane, Presley, Warren (Seadog) Messner, and Charlie Gonzalez.  The park was managed by David Simpson.  It was the first skatepark in the United States and possibly the world.  Well, as the story goes they were open 1 month prior to Carlsbad.  Port Orange is up there near Daytona Beach, South of Jacksonville, North of Cocoa Beach ("I Dream of Jeannie's" hometown).  At this park was also the first and probably only contest called the Florida State Championships.  This took place in 1976 and many of Florida's founding skaters were present: Kelly Lynn, Bruce Walker, Jim McCall, Scott McCranels....and more.  The park closed down in the mid 80's and became a BMX track for a short time.  Today it is a go-cart track.  

(Click on the the thumbnail pictures to enlarge.)

The "Take off Ramp".  Certain key things can tell you the date of a skate photo.  Big clue here is the lack of shoes, my guess is 1976, after that most parks made sneakers mandatory.  I resisted the change to shoes until I started to hit the new skateparks.  It was always real funny to see a guy with the bottoms of his shoes cut out so he could still have that barefoot feel and not get busted by the park.

Do you remember your first kickturn on a bank?  Think about it, it was a milestone event probably for most people.  Drift back remember your age and dig on it.  Kelly Lynn effortlessly kickturns frontside with no shoes of course, (gotta love those cutoff shorts!)

 Another christie, and remember those CCM hockey helmets!  I think your head was safer in nothing.  There always seemed to be a rivet poking in your head from those things!

Typical of most mid 70's Florida skateparks was the down hill take off area which usually led into bowls or snake runs.

Flyer from the State Championships, 1976.

Contestant pamphlet: Be sure to read the freestyle judging point system.  Also notice how Kelly was already checking off his routine and planning out his strategy of achieving points.

Too funny check out Charlie Gonzalez with the burning handkerchief tied to his back trucks! "Females were excluded from the competition..." can you believe they casually wrote that!?  Where is Helen Reddy!?