TUCSON
With vast deserts, surrounding mountains,
jumping cactus and 100° summers, Tucson sits
approximately 100 miles south of Phoenix,
Arizona's capital.
Tucson has had a small but steady skate
scene since the early '80s. During the late '80s
to early '90s, abandoned pools and backyard
vert and mini-ramps were abundant, creating a
very underground group of skaters who can
now be found raging an abandoned pool in the
middle of the desert. Appropriately called the
capsule, the pool is located 30 minutes west of
the city. And right down the street is the super
ramp, which is 4 mini-ramps ranging from 4-8'
high, attached by a spine and 2 hips.
As far as street skating is concerned, as of
May 10th, skateboarding in and around down-
town (or any other place, for that matter) offi-
cially became illegal. Instead, May 10th should
be the grand opening of a new skatepark, the
city's compromise. With 2 quarter pipes, 2 fun
boxes and a few flat bar rails, plans for a
cement park are in the making.
Downtown is where the Blocks are located, a
place where everybody meets up to skate or
just hang out. The Blocks is actually the court-
house fountain with various ledge sizes to
accommodate any ledge tricks. Downtown also.
has the Police Banks, which starts out at 3 1/2
high and ends at 10' high. The Federal
Building has a fountain with a bank surround-
ing it, and the Blood Banks are located right
between downtown and the University.
The University of Arizona has many sick rails
and stairs. Usually the sessions start at sun-
down, but on weekends it's good to skate any-
time. Just don't stay in one spot too long,
because the campus police will give tickets
⚫ and confiscate boards.
The skating here in Tucson is truly amazing.
With year-round skating and beautiful weather,
fun can be had by all. The skaters here rip, and
I'm sure would be more than willing to show any-
one that visits all the spots. -Andrew Ramirez
ARIZONA
Photos By Sean Keenan
Clockwise from left: saguaro cacti, native to Arizona, can grow
taller than Bill Hooke's wallride to fakie. If you ask Chris Kerr
how many trucks are on the ledge in this frontside 50-50, his
answer would be, "Two-son." Arizona's record high temperatures
have been known to evaporate pools in a matter of hours.
Fortunately for the skaters it's a dry heat. Overview of the capsule.