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Opening day at Renton Skate Park, April 24, 2001; Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in the background
Photo from this Sunday’s 25th birthday celebration; Cynthia Burns was and is on Parks Commission and I was on City Council when we authorized and funded Renton Skate Park in the late 1990s.
On Sunday the City of Renton and Gravity Sports hosted a 25th birthday celebration for Renton Skate Park. It was a great skate party with a band and perfect weather, and I caught up with some old friends.
I vividly remember the opening of the skate park in 2001. We located it at the site of the former Henry Moses Pool after determining we would build the new Henry Moses Aquatic Center on the other side of the freeway. Residents had petitioned the Council to build a skate park, and I thought is was a great idea. In time, all of Renton’s officials were on board, and we created one of the best skate parks in the Northwest at that time. In 2000, when I was Council President, we held workshops using clay modeling to enlist public involvement in the design (see the document at the end of the photos). The Skate Park has received steady use ever since.
Residents are asking Council to consider expanding it and potentially building a second park in a covered area under the freeway, and I think these are great ideas.
I posted a few pictures from Sunday’s Skate Park birthday party, and some fun never-before-seen historic photos of the opening of the Skate Park
Sunday’s celebration with my wife Cathy, and Jennifer Spencer and MJ VanCleve from Renton’s Parks and Community Services
The band performing on Sunday
People watching skaters at the park on Sunday
Skaters at the Renton Skate Park at the 25th anniversary celebration
Reconnecting with one of the skaters who testified before Council 25 years ago, asking us to build a skate park
Pictures from opening day of Renton Skate Park, April 24, 2001:
Parks Commission member Marge Richter and her husband Willie, on opening day of the skate park
Four of my five kids; all of them enjoyed skating
I’m in the far left of this photo, with Councilmembers Don Persson, King Parker and Toni Nelson
Four Renton Councilmembers are in the center of this photo; right to left Dan Clawson, Don Persson, King Parker, and me, Randy Corman
Advanced skaters performed for the crowd
Councilmembers King Parker, Dan Clawson, and Don Persson. Don is speaking with Chief Administrative Officer Jay Covington. My wife Cathy and daughter Katie are on right, with son Danny near the bottom of the photo.
Councilmembers Don Persson, Toni Nelson, and King Parker
Council Members Kathy Keolker-Wheeler and Dan Clawson. Ken and Nancy Hoben, long-time Renton boosters, are standing behind them.
I was Council President in 2000, when we enlisted the public’s assistance in designing our new skate park. The last line of these minutes reference a workshop to design the park.
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