Major General James G. Blunt

Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden is St. Louis' first legal outdoor public skate park.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

History

The Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden is built on a Brownfield site of a Bevo Mill former gas station, auto repair, and radiator service station that ceased operating in 1988.^[7] Since 1999, the City of Saint Louis has owned the 14,000-square-foot property through the Land Reutilization Authority.^[7] Cleanup of the lot began in 2003.^[7] Impressed by how they maintained their DIY skatepark, the City of Saint Louis rented the current site of the Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden to the KHVT.^[8]

Kinghighway D.I.Y. skatespot

A group of local skaters between 2009 and 2015 built the Kinghighway D.I.Y. skatespot under the South Kinghshighway viaduct.^[8] When the elevated roadway was demolished in July 2015, St. Louis was left with no free public skateparks.^[8] The group organized themselves into a non-profit the Kingshighway Vigilante Transitions (KHVT) and petitioned the city for a space to build the first free-to-the-public, legal skate park in the City of St. Louis.^[8]

Peter Mathews

The skate garden was named for Peter Mathews, a local skater who died tragically in a car crash.^[9]

References