In honor of Go Skate Day, here is a throwback to the Venice Skate Park’s Grand Opening in 2009.

About Go Skateboarding Day!

Each year on June 21st, skaters around the world celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of our beloved sport by blowing off all our responsibilities and chores in order to go skateboarding. On this holy day, skaters will show their love and support for skateboarding by holding fundraisers, contests, protests and demos. They’ll skate across cities, gather in skate parks, stream into local skate shops, and make pilgrimages to their favorite skate spots, all while taking part in the grind heard ‘round the world. Go to GoSkateBoardingDay.org for more info!

About featured photo: Grand opening of the Venice Skate Park Ribbon cutting in 2009 by Ger-I Lewis, Jessie Martinez, former Mayor Antonio Villagarosa, and former 11th Councilman Bill Rosendahl. Thanks to Ger-I and Jessie Martinez for helping bring the skatepark to Venice!

About the Venice Skate park:

This 16,000 sq. foot skatepark is one of the only in the world located on a beach. It features two bowls, a snake run and a street section with steps, rails and platforms. The design for the 3.5 million dollar park came “from local skaters and skating professionals” touts L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendal’s office. The facility, which opened Oct. 3 2009 took 10 months to build.

Gear Up For Go Skate Day – Tuesday, June 21 at Arbor Collective!

Here was the 2009 official announcement from the City of Los Angeles:

Council member Bill Rosendahl joined professional and amateur skaters from around the country to celebrate the grand opening of the long awaited Venice Beach Skate Park. The Venice area is widely credited as the birthplace of modern skateboarding and skaters have long frequented the Ocean Front Walk area. When the City of Los Angeles renovated Venice Beach in 1999-2001, skaters demanded the City honor that legacy and build an official skate park. City officials responded, and this weekend a new 16,000 square foot skate facility now joins the many other distinctive attractions that are part of Venice ’s landscape. Design input from local skaters and skating professionals helped make the Venice Beach Skate Park one of the most challenging arenas for skaters to ride. The facility rivals other skate parks around the world but stands out as one of the only skate parks located on a beach. The $2.4 million project was paid from a variety of City funding sources secured by Rosendahl and his predecessors: Quimby Funds, Damson Oil Facility Restoration Funds, Venice Area Surplus Real Property Trust Funds and Capital Improvement Expenditure Programs.

View or re-live the 2009 Venice Skate Park Grand Opening

All photos by Venice Paparazzi

Important 2009 Venice Skate Park Dates:

Aug. 3, 2009 V.S.A and Recreation and Parks meeting to discuss the Grand Opening of the Venice Skatepark
Jan. 31, 2009. Venice Skate Park Ground Breaking
Oct. 3, 009. Le Grande VIP Skate Party
Oct. 3, 009. Grand Opening of the Venice Skate Park