Skateboarding in Love Park in Philly and the Urban Planning Hollywood Connection

I started to skateboard in my senior year at the University at Buffalo. It began with my admiration of skateboarders in a Vienna skateboard park after my 1999 summer trip across Europe, and I put it on my to-do list to teach myself how to skateboard. On the back roads of Riverbank State Park in my hometown of Washington Heights, I taught myself to skateboard without falling flat on my face. I used my skateboard as transportation from the South Campus of the University of Buffalo to my home on Minnesota Avenue, about a half mile away.

When I lived in Jersey City Heights, I would frequent White Star Bar next to a skateboard park. One day, after a couple of drinks, I decided to watch the skateboards do their tricks, and I started up a conversation with a couple of mid-twenties skateboarders. One majored in geography at Jersey City University, and we talked about cities. This evolved into the best place to skateboard, and he said his dream was to skateboard at Love Park in Philly. I was like, “Why there”? He stated it is a destination for every skateboarder. It’s like their pinnacle. This got me digging into Love Park and why it was such a destination for skateboarders.

Love Park was built in 1965 and is across from Philadelphia City Hall in the heart of Philadelphia. City planner Edmund Bacon and architect Vincent King designed the park (I’ll get back to this connection later in this article). The park is aptly named LOVE Park for the sculpture spelling LOVE showcased in the park. Robert Indiana designed the LOVE sculpture, first placed in the plaza in 1976.

Love Park was designed with many granite ledges and stairs and had an expansive open space. In the early 1990s, skateboarders became aware of the skateboarding prowess of LOVE Park, and the word quickly spread in the skateboarding circles. Soon after that, LOVE Park attracted skateboarders throughout the region to skate in the park and do their tricks in maneuvers. LOVE Park quickly became a skateboarding destination. This was furthered as LOVE Park was frequently featured in videos and skateboarding magazines, and professional skateboarders were attracted to skating in the park.

However, in the 2000s, City Officials began to discuss ways to limit the number of skateboards coming into the public space and impacting the quality of life for those individuals who just wanted to enjoy the public space without dealing with the omnipresent number of skateboards frequenting LOVE park, property damage and safety issues. In 2002, the City banned skateboarding in LOVE Park, leading to protests and altering its role in the skateboarding vs public space narrative.

The two influential designers of LOVE Park, Edmund Bacon and Vincent Kling, were appalled by the banning of skateboarders at the park they designed and loved and protested this. How do you think they showed unity with the skateboarding community in protesting the ban on skateboarders? By skateboarding, of course. However, Edmund Bacon was 92 years old during this protest, and the prominent city planner became a further folklore legend by strapping on a helmet, contacting the press for media coverage, and skateboarding across the park with some help. This iconic picture is well-known in the skateboarding world and connects the realms of urban planners and skateboarders. The picture is worth a thousand words, but the video of Edmund Bacon skating in LOVE Park that day is even better. Edmund Bacon is quoted on that day in an article from Philly Magazine: “I conceived LOVE Park … I make no claim to be a leader, but by God I am a person, and I stand up to Mayor Street and tell him to go to Hell and stay there until he sees the light and changes his ways by going to LOVE Park each day with a smile on his face and a warm welcoming handshake, to greet the skateboarders of the world.” That day, Vincent Kling said, “I built this place so that people could enjoy it. And that includes skateboarders.”

Unfortunately, the City prevailed, and the skateboarding ban in LOVE Park was upheld. However, it became a part of skateboarding folklore culture, shaping public space and creating the iconic image and video of Edmund Bacon skateboarding across LOVE Park at 92 years old.

So what’s the urban planning Hollywood connection? Edmund Bacon is the father of Philadelphia-born Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon, and some say Edmund Bacon is one of the fathers of City planning for the City besides William Penn.

One day, I may drive down to Philly, take my skateboard from college out of the garage, and skateboard in LOVE Park.