Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Greetings From San Francisco: Iconic skate spots
From the Embarcadero and Downtown, San Francisco is littered with some of the most iconic and sought-after skate spots in the world.
This installment of ‘Greetings From’ dives into the rich history of the San Francisco skateboarding scene, and what The City means to skaters today. We hear from Red Bull riders Felipe Gustavo and TJ Rogers about what makes San Francisco special, along with commentary from Bay Area pioneers like Chico Brenes and Ron Allen, and recent transplants like the 2023 Thrasher Magazine Skater of the Year, Miles Silvas.
TJ Rogers at Red Bull Ledgends in San Francisco, California
© Bram de Martelaere / Red Bull Content Pool
San Francisco is considered by many to be the birthplace of modern street skateboarding. Today, this small but dense metropolis is filled with endless opportunities, making it both an industry mecca and a rough-and-rugged destination for the underground enthusiast. From the Embarcadero and Downtown, to hills and house spots clustered throughout, San Francisco is littered with some of the most iconic and sought-after skate spots in the world.
01
Hills and House Spots
Red Bull Steep Crest 2014 in San Francisco, California
© Balazs Gardi / Red Bull Content Pool
With the hills and house spots, it’s all about creativity, simplicity, and, well, brevity. The hills, as anyone who has explored San Francisco knows, are not for the faint of heart. All it takes is a few seconds rolling down and you’ll be going faster than you’ve ever gone in your life. With the right eye, you can weave together lines and create spots from the otherwise mundane aspects of the residential urban landscape—curb cuts, fire hydrants, stoops and stairwells. With the right courage, that simple line or trick can end with a thrilling hill bomb. But as Miles Silvas, no stranger to a scary hill bomb, puts it, “It’s gnarly . . . That’s a whole different type of skating.”
02
EMB
EMB is synonymous with technical progression. During the early 1990’s the wide open brick plaza, known officially as Justin Herman Plaza, was where many ledge and manual tricks were invented. As Chico Brenes reflects, “It had everything that you wanted. Anything from stairs, gaps, to ledges.” While the layout of the plaza has changed overtime, it remains a hangout for locals and a destination for any skater interested in their cultural history. It’s not the easiest spot to skate, the bricks are rough and there are fewer obstacles than there were in the nineties, but the plaza continues to be a mainstay. The stairs, ledges and gaps are still ripe for technical progression, but it’s also just a wide open area to cruise around and have fun.
03
Pier 7
A few blocks away from EMB is Pier 7, another SF staple popularized in the '90s and early 2000’s along the Embarcadero. Much like EMB, Pier 7 was both a hangout and a serious place to film, where on any given day you might stroll by to watch the world’s best skateboarders push the limits of what was possible on a skateboard. The small handful of remaining cement blocks are still skateable today, though they are weathered by decades of skating and repeated knobbing and un-knobbing. For a slightly younger generation of Bay Area skateboarders and fans worldwide, Pier 7 is the real San Francisco mecca of street spots. As Gary Rogers says, “I feel like I’m a part of history when I pull up to Pier 7.”
04
3rd and Army
3rd and Army, otherwise known as “The New Spot,” is just outside Downtown, but it is neither new nor at the cross streets of 3rd and Army. At the end of Indiana Street just off Cesar Chavez Blvd, sits an isolated waterfront filled with concrete ledges, thick, round flat bars, and gaps of varying sizes. Aside from a fisherman or two, it is rare that you’ll find anyone besides skaters making use of this space. For decades, this has been one of the most dependable weekday skate spots to hit, free from the hassle and hecticness of the rest of the city. But bring your windbreaker, because strong gusts from the nearby Bay are the only potential skatestoppers.
05
Waller
Felipe Gustavo at Waller Street Skatepark in San Francisco
© Bram de Martelaere / Red Bull Content Pool
What started as a parking lot turned city-sanctioned DIY skate spot with a few granite ledges has transformed into an immaculate modern skate plaza. Since 2011, the Waller & Stanyon skate project at the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park has steadily improved, most notably after the massive 2022 makeover in which the crusty asphalt was resurfaced with skatepark ground, and a handful of new obstacles were added. This included flat bars, quarter pipes, and more of the historic black granite benches that used to be on Market Street. In June 2023, Red Bull teamed up with DLX and other local organizations to add even more obstacles and host a ledge focused jam format contest. Today, the Waller Street Skatepark is the perfect place to hone your ledge skills and enjoy a day in Golden Gate Park or Haight Street.
