While some folks may look at a dilapidated house, an abandoned field, and an overgrown alley and see urban decay, the fine folks at non-profit Power House Productions, along with a team of artists and skate professionals, see DIY art-infused skate park with the potential to breathe new life into one Detroit neighborhood.
From their site:
Ride It Sculpture Park consists of four vacant commercial lots along East Davison Freeway in Detroit and an adjacent vacant house as the main site for the project. The house will serve as a mini indoor park, transforming parts of the house to be skateable and livable at the same time for visiting skateboarders and artists. The park will extend into the neighborhood revamping neglected alleys, garages and other vacant lots, creating a new and positive use for the forgotten and dismissed landscapes of this great city.
With the closing of most recreational facilities and lack of art venues in the city, Detroit is in dire need of new models for community building, infrastructure care and neighborhood life that is dependent on DIY projects as opposed to business as usual. Designing and building of Ride It Sculpture Park will be done with the help and input of the local teens, making them stakeholders/skateboarders in the growth and success of their neighborhood.
And for the Kids on Grant Street, we promise the park will not suck.
Sound like a project you might want to lend a hand with?
26 thoughts on “Detroit’s Ride It Sculpture Park”
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Ummm yea, neat idea and all, but what is the end goal? To make detroit look less abandoned and more like a thriving skate park? Is this meant to be free, or is this revenue based (and if so, how do you collect money and regulate, and close it off, and what do you do about injuries that will occur). I’m not so sure this was so well thought out, seems like a lot of bored kids that just want to turn detroit into a giant skatepark. If you don’t own that land, won’t take much for someone to kill off all your hard work and efforts by mowing all that down. Homes are boarded up for a reason, to keep people out, not take that plywood down and build skate ramps.
Hey Joe, Yes we own the land and the house you see us taking the boards down and building the make-shift ramps in. It’s a symbol of progress – taking the boards down and building something new and is not permanent, the park and what we end up building in the house will absolutely be permanent. A lot of what we do is attraction and retention for the neighborhood, the skate park is just one project of many. Do your research before you bring the thoughtless negativity.
-mitch Co-Director PHP
Thank you Mitch for bringing you plan to us here in Detroit! You are welcomed!!
More fun with Ride It Sculpture Park – http://www.goodwoodexhibit.com/bid.html
Can some one give directions for how to get there – coming from Cincinnati for June 21. What is the street address?
This is soooo BAD ASS! Looking forward to seeing the progress.
how can i help out
Glad to see Detroit making progress. Even better to have a hand in it! BTW (I got pics up of the progress, check my blog @ chadroto.tumblr.com)
Hi Chad,
Do you have a direct link to the progress shots? I can’t find them on your site. Thanks!
Here are links to all pictures:
http://chadroto.tumblr.com/post/26139172198/diy-detroit-skatepark
http://instagram.com/p/M3t57mwtH_/
http://instagram.com/p/M3se_8wtHN/
Sweet! So exciting to see it coming together. Thanks for sharing!
More photos compiled online here (#rideitscultpurepark) – http://goodwoodexhibit.com/rideit
Located at the corner of E. Davison & Klinger streets, Detroit 48212
Still lots of work to do!! but it’s a solid start.
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