Penn Valley

Skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...

is one of the more recent additions to the park, and is also known as Kansas City Skate

Plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

because of the similar appearance of a "

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

-type" Skatepark. Officially opened in late Fall of 2005, Escapist Skateboarding has hosted at least five separate skateboard demonstrations, including

Zero Skateboards Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Jamie Thomas, and distributed by his Black Box Distribution company. In late June 2014 ...

, Circa Shoes, and Toy Machine.

Description

The park is not fully "completed", plans were to have a larger park, taking over the complete infenced area, however, the city underestimated the costs, and the $380,000 budget was soon drained. The park is still functional despite not being 100% complete, and also is one of the most sought after Skateparks in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. Locals can be seen at Penn Valley Skatepark on a daily basis, mainly because of the many different aspects of the park itself. Also the park is so close to the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

border that it makes it a quick drive from both sides of the border. ditThe park is completed now thanks to a donation by Rob Drydek and street league. A series of three smaller banks leading to one large bank make up the "Street Course", or Plaza, on the east side of the park. The southern portion of the park includes a set of stairs, and a foot-tall square "handrail". This is the part of the skatepark that is considered unfinished, and grass is now growing where the original park was intended to continue. On the west side of the park can be found the most remarkable feature of the park, the Bowl. The Bowl is 6 foot-deep, that waterfalls to a 9 foot-deeper end. The bowl is very well constructed, with real concrete pool coping and tile on one side. This feature attracts many of the "old-school" skateboarders from the bowl skateboarding eras of the 1970s and 80s, they bring with them a unique style that is rare in today's skateboarding generation.

Location

The skatepark itself shares a group of

tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

, and

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

. It overlooks

Downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

. The park practically shares a parking-lot with One-Park Place, a recognizable building in the Kansas City Skyline. Also the park is close to Penn Tower. The Park rests atop the same grass hill as the Kansas City Scout Statue, and has views of

Liberty Memorial The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War ...

and the

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Building.

External links

Concrete Disciples.com's Skatepark Profile and Pictures

References

*
Escapist Skateboards Skatepark Directory

Concrete Disciples Skatepark Directory, and Info
{{Kansas City, Missouri Skateparks in the United States Urban public parks Geography of Kansas City, Missouri Parks in Missouri Tourist attractions in Kansas City, Missouri