In January, ground will break on a large project called the “Monroe Blocks.” Until then, there’s going to be a temporary skate park and art installation thanks to Bedrock and the Quicken Loans Family of Companies. It will be called “Wayfinding.”
The skate park will be designed by Artist Ryan McGinness with help from popular skateboarder Tony Hawk.
All told, it’ll be a 4,600 square foot installation with six “skateable elements.” It will be built by George Leichtweis from Modern Skate and Surf, who has been part of the skate and surf scene since the 1970s. He’s also the designer of the Fisher Halfpipe, recently built in the Fisher Building. The project will be produced by the Library Street Collective.
The park will be next to the historic (and vacant) National Theatre.
“It’s exciting to see the skate scene continue to thrive in Detroit, and it is an honor to help with this project,” said Tony Hawk. “I think we made good use of the space thanks to Ryan, Bedrock and Quicken Loans, and planted the seeds for bigger, more permanent parks around Detroit in the near future.”
The temporary skate park will open to the public in about a month – on Wednesday, August 16. The park is scheduled to remain open until Monroe Blocks construction begins, currently slated to break ground in January 2018.
However, the work won’t go to waste. The idea is that the design will allow it to move to another location in the city.
“The Wayfinding skate park truly captures the creative and collaborative spirit of Detroit – we’ve brought together a unique team of artists, professional athletes, architects, and programming experts to bring this project to life,” said Anthony Curis of the Library Street Collective.