Tom Stewart’s Half Pipe skateboard ramp 1977
August 5, 1977
It was a tourist attraction in an Encinitas neighborhood. Skateboarders looking for a challenge flocked to Tom Stewart’s skateboard ramp—the half pipe. Reporter Carol Kendrick said it looked downright dangerous. It cost Stewart $250 worth of plywood and nails. Gary Coccaro (red shirt) tests it out with Tom. MORE: [ Ссылка ]
Catching up with Tom Stewart in 2022!: [ Ссылка ]
From Wikipedia:
In the early 1970s, swimming pools were used by skateboarders in a manner similar to surfing ocean waves. In 1975, some teenagers from Encinitas, California, and other northern San Diego County communities began using 7.3-metre-diameter (24 ft) water pipes in the central Arizona desert associated with the Central Arizona Project, a federal public works project to divert water from the Colorado River to the city of Phoenix. Tom Stewart, one of these young California skateboarders,[2] looked for a more convenient location to have a similar skateboarding experience. Stewart consulted with his brother Mike, an architect, on how to build a ramp that resembled the Arizona pipes. With his brother's plans in hand, Tom built a wood frame half-pipe in the front yard of his house in Encinitas. In a few days, the press had gotten word about Tom's creation and contacted him directly. Tom then went on to create Rampage, Inc. and began selling blueprints for his half-pipe design.[3] About five months later, Skateboarder magazine featured both Tom Stewart and Rampage. Little did Tom know that his design would go on to inspire countless others to follow in his foot steps.
We’re glad CBS 8 shot this story—a really special find from the vault. Unfortunately the tape is creased—thus the white lines throughout. Still—fun to see.
