Originally the site of a deserted home, it
sported many outlaw sessions in its infancy.
Tony Cholewa said he and his buds were
riding there one day when they heard a car
pull up way too fast to be one of their friends.
It was followed by another, then another. With
the reflexes and vision of a true skater, Tony
pitched his board on the roof and followed
it with a quick pull-up. He scaled and bailed
while the cops entered the scene from every
direction imaginable.
"Man, I was out of there," says Tony
A little later, Ron Theobald purchased the
property where the pool lay. A hot and heavy
epoch ensued and the cops were not again
invited.
AT YOUR LEISURE
The Leisure Bowl was an 18- to 20-foot
And those are only a few of the better
ones.
GOING DOWNHILL FAST
Phoenix does have its share of hills, and
a few of the feet forward skaters ran them
back when trucks were less sure and riders
were less secure
"I remember shooting 56th Street on
Makaha trucks, Makaha wheels and a water-
ski," says Cholewa. "I shot the light, man,
I made it. We timed it at the top, then we shot
the light. I'll never do that again."
Not all downhill jaunts ended uneventfully.
In the clay wheeled sixties, a trio with the
names of the Prot, Hog and Rabbit barreled
down the steep descent known as
Camelback Road that ended in a T-inter-
section. Prof and Rabbit each went separate
deep diving tank located in the Far East-ways while the Hog careened belly first into
Mesa. A slim and cracking garden hose was
the only way in and out. It had no stairs, it
had no steps. Its double row blue tile sat
above about 15 feet of the purest vertical. The
Leisure Bowl was one pool that never saw
a grind.
ON THE LOOKOUT
There was a time when pools were so plen-
tiful that guys like Steve Pingleton would
cruise down alleys in the backs of pick-ups,
peering above fences left and right to find
new backyard bowls. Today, other methods
are in use.
A FEW OTHER HOLES IN THE GROUND
Other pools which pepper Phoenix skate
history are the Air Bowl, Lizard's Bowl, Dead
Kitty, the Pink Sink, the Guitar Bowl (shaped
like a guitar), the Whistle Bowl (shaped like
a whistle), the T-shaped Work-a-Bowl, the
Daly Bowl, Basha's Bowl, the Cess Pool,
Shadow Mountain Pool, Tatum Bowl, the Arm
Pit, Dead Boyz Bowl, the Frog Bowl, the
Monster Bowl, the Glen Bowl, etc.
a garden patch of prickly pear cactus. It took
the fire department with a harness and a
crane to lift him out gently and safely.
PARK IT
The history of a skatepark in Phoenix goes
as far back as the late sixties. Tony Simon,
then in his teens and still riding today,
remembers a park in the middle of a park-
ing lot near the Scottsdale/Tempe border. All
it had was an asphalt hill that sat at a slight▸
Below Right: Chicken Butt grinds frontside in his
backyard. Photo: M.Fo. Balow Left: Maybe you've
seen this monolith before, maybe it was just a
dream-Joe Albillar attempts to prove the Love Bowl's
existence. Photo: Steve Pingleton.
Above: Larry Mead pumps the C.A.P pipes. Photo:
Steve Pingleton. Right: Bobaba on the outer limits of
the Moon Bowl. Photo: M.Fo. Far Right: Johnny Lopez
wheelies on a 70s park pipe lip. Photo: Glen Buckles.
66
M
ose fut
Below: The legend of the Dead Cat,
deep and, Right Shove Shelton nev
Dead Cat Speed Electrifying
it the frin arks Pho
POWELL PERALTA
Upper Left: Pool practice on his backyard quarter-
Tony Cholewa grinds in '79. Photo: Bob Carey. Upper
Right: DC. chills as Kevin Jarvis lofts, courtesy of
Cowabunga. Left: It's Jarvis again, slapping and
grabbing at The Wedge. Photos: M.Fo. Right: Evan
Jones has this grind made at Skate in the Shade, 1979.
Photo: Bob Carey