It’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard yet for Carlsbad’s quaint downtown village: turning an ugly old city maintenance yard on the south end of State Street into a skateboarding museum and “action arts center.”
The plans, presented to an unimpressed Carlsbad City Council by the Carlsbad Village Association, are absolutely, positively brilliant. In addition to the museum, the decrepit old yard would be home to an art gallery, an education building, a multimedia production center and a skatepark. Best of all for a city concerned about its finances, supporters aren’t asking for a dime of city money, hoping to fund the project solely through donations and grants.
All they want is the land.
City councilors should have given Robin Young, the energetic and visionary executive director of the Carlsbad Village Association, a standing ovation.
Instead, they reacted coolly to the idea, noting that the land won’t be available for a couple of more years.
Regardless, let’s get the ball rolling on this commendable project —- beginning with a hearty and enthusiastic vote of support from the City Council.
For starters, skateboarding tugs at the heart of Carlsbad’s pop culture. With a litany of illustrious skateboarders from Carlsbad, from Tony Hawk to Shaun White and Kenny Hoyle, it is imperative that Carlsbad find a way to honor its heritage, and the museum proposed by the Carlsbad Village Association fits the bill. If Huntington Beach can claim to be Surf City USA, then Carlsbad certainly is the capitol of Sidewalk Surfing.
But a skateboard museum in downtown Carlsbad makes sense not just because of what it is, but also because of what it represents: an infusion of culture into a charming little village that desperately needs someone to yank it out of bed, shake it awake and boot it through the doorway to its potential.
Think Carmel, think Laguna Beach, think Del Mar. We don’t necessarily want the crowds, but we do need to create the sense of place that these seaside resort towns each have. The arts play a critical role in defining this sense of place, and all three of these towns are home to dozens of galleries and other facilities where the arts and culture can be celebrated.
In Carlsbad, we have the New Village Arts Theater and the really cool Snyder Art and Design gallery, but that’s about it.
A skateboard museum and action arts center would be a fitting southern anchor to Carlsbad Village. It would pave the way for more galleries and cultural attractions to open their doors in the village, particularly if it succeeds in bringing more people into downtown.
Attracting people won’t be much of challenge.
To lift a line from the movie “Field of Dreams,” build it and they will come.
Thomas K. Arnold can be reached at TKARNOLD@aol.com.
RSS Feed-Posts
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
A garden of creativity allows for the free growth of culture. Some village gardens are larger than others, but all should be recognized:
1. PIvanffy-Uhler Gallery
2. Vinaka Cafe’s
3. Bakerloo Salon
4. Salon 510
5. The Wine Spot
6. Lynn Forbes School of Sculpture
7. Paul Henry Furniture
8. Front Porch Gallery
9. Village Fair Phantom Gallery
10. The Foundry
11. Beach City Smoothies
12. and that new Salon on Roosevelt (sorry gals)
13. Carlsbad Village Theatre
14. …and all the local businesses that support our shenanigans!
Thanks TK for the compliment and support!
Bryan, thank you for bringing to light the other places in the village!
TK’s piece really touches on what the Village needs in order to turn the corner in to a sustaining city that has vast cultural and artistic resources.
I can only hope that in the future we make the right decisions and do our part in helping our city grow in this manner.
Jon Wantz
twitter.com/votejonwantz
facebook.com/votejonwantz
hogwash . skateparks need to be in industrial parks outside
of downtown confines. skateboarders have destroyed the ambiance
of downtown carlsbad and it’s beach boardwalk .
Skaters have grinded curbs, ridden walls and chipped stairs since the early days of “New Curb”, XYZ board shop and “the bars.” This damage has occured, but what do you expect coming from the hometown of Tony Hawk, Sean White and the first sk8park in the US, not to mention that a world famous gap is named after our city.
Imagine all the broken windows if the baseball playing youth didn’t have a diamond to practice on! What about the unwanted dimples are vehicles would have if there wasn’t a golf course. Think about the shenanigans that would run rapid in our village streets if the ocean went flat for months at a time! These athletes were given the appropriate facilities to prevent unwanted damages and to allow them to develop their skills. Why have the local skateboarders been left out?
Sorry you feel a few waxed curbs and the clickity clack of urethane wheels down our village streets has “destroyed the ambiance of downtown Carlsbad” but let me ask you this… How would you resolve this problem? Tickets have been handed out since the early 90’s and skaters are still braving the sidewalks. Why not give them a centralized area where it is legal to express their passions?
As for the industrial parks outside of downtown… we have tried that once before and the only result was long treks by the village youth along the speeding cars of El Camino. I’d let kids grind the curbs of my village business all day if it meant keeping them from walking along that road!
Until the village youth has a place to sk8, they are going to continue to use the streets. Lets give them the proper facility where they can hone their skills, learn about their chosen recreational activity and express their artistic ideas!