Five years ago, an empty lot in Panther Hollow was converted into a makeshift skate park. Now, it attracts hundreds of attendees.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Raul Casas and his friends hauled temporary wooden features and obstacles to an abandoned roller hockey rink on Boundary Street. During their time at Pitt, they never saw anyone use the space, so they decided to reclaim it as a place for them to skate. Now officially recognized on Google and Apple Maps as \u201cOakland DIY,\u201d the community-built skate park is open to people of all ages and skill levels to skateboard, scooter, rollerblade, bike or enjoy the open air.<\/p>\n
According to AJ Haddon, a senior mechanical engineering major who now heads the project since Casas graduated from Pitt in 2023, the park \u201crevived\u201d the vacant lot beneath Forbes Avenue Bridge, turning what was once a \u201cdead space\u201d into an area that now \u201cbenefits the city and the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s totally mixed. We get people from the ages of 3 to 70,\u201d said Haddon. \u201cEvery time I walk in, everyone\u2019s talking to everyone, whether they know each other or not. Everyone\u2019s giving each other fist bumps and cheering each other on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The DIY was built entirely by the local skate community through volunteering projects, which is where the park got its name, according to Haddon. For the first two years, the group only used wooden features they constructed themselves. After starting to raise money through their GoFundMe,<\/a> they poured their first concrete feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n Haddon discovered Oakland DIY during his first day at Pitt in August 2022, when he saw an Instagram post seeking help with one of the park\u2019s concrete pours.<\/p>\n \u201cI had moved in all of my stuff. I had nothing to do, and I had yet to meet people,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw [Oakland DIY\u2019s] Instagram post saying \u2018However many hands we can get, come down here,\u2019 and that was the first thing I did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n During that concrete pour, Haddon met Casas, and they quickly connected over a shared background in mechanical engineering. Casas recognized that Haddon was \u201csuper invested\u201d in the project and spent the next year mentoring him, teaching him the hands-on skills needed to continue building the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Casas moved to Virginia for work, Haddon inherited the project. Since taking over, Haddon has expanded on Casas\u2019 original vision by removing a fence that separated the park\u2019s two main sections.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve doubled the space,\u201d Haddon said. \u201cRaul didn\u2019t think that it was possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ryan Clarkson, a senior mechanical engineering major, has witnessed the park\u2019s evolution since his first visit in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go to their Instagram and scroll all the way back, you can see the infancy of the skate park, how it used to look<\/a>, and compare it to now<\/a>,\u201d Clarkson said. \u201cIt\u2019s like a night-and-day difference.\u201d<\/p>\n The park receives occasional support from the City of Pittsburgh \u2014 not in the form of direct funding, but through upkeep of the park\u2019s surrounding facilities. The City has contributed by turning on water fountains, donating picnic tables and completing minor asphalt work \u2014 contributions that aren\u2019t directly related to skating, but help maintain the park as a \u201csafe, usable and clean\u201d space for the community, Haddon said.<\/p>\n According to Haddon, Oakland DIY took all the necessary steps to ensure the park meets legal standards, a process driven by their effort to \u201ckeep this project alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s given people a third [space],\u201d Haddon said. \u201cA \u2018third [space]\u2019 isn\u2019t your home, and it\u2019s not your work or school life. It\u2019s your escape from those two things. Having third [spaces] within any city is so vital<\/a>, whether it\u2019s a skate park, a ski mountain or any sort of hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n Clarkson said he often hangs by the park to \u201cwatch talented people perfecting their craft.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can just go and hang out if you don\u2019t skate,\u201d Clarkson said. \u201cThere are picnic tables, so you can do work outside and enjoy the trees. You can just sit for however long you want and watch people doing tricks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Clarkson, one of the most important aspects of the park is that \u201cthere\u2019s no barrier to entry.\u201d While Pittsburgh has several skate parks, Oakland DIY is the only one that is free, beginner-friendly and accessible to Pitt students without a car.\u00a0<\/p>\n The closest official park, Switch and Signal<\/a> in Swissvale, requires paid admission. Polish Hill Bowl<\/a> is another free, outdoor park within City limits, but some say it is \u201cnot beginner-friendly.\u201d<\/a> The next closest options, Pitcher Park<\/a> in Carnegie and Sheraden Skatepark<\/a>, are over 30 minutes from campus.<\/p>\n Although Clarkson doesn\u2019t skate himself, it doesn\u2019t stop him from showing up to help build the features that others will use.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve done a couple concrete pours. It\u2019s a great time to hang out, and it\u2019s always appreciated,\u201d Clarkson said. \u201cThere have been some concrete pours that have 50 people, and some that have seven or eight. Regardless, it always gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Clarkson, Haddon texts \u201chim and a few other regular volunteers\u201d about upcoming projects, but also consistently posts on the Oakland DIY Instagram<\/a> to cast a wider volunteer net. Joe Paci, a senior computer science major who helped construct a ledge extension at the park in 2024, gets a sense of \u201cpride\u201d from the DIY building process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing the bigger builds, you get a feeling that, \u2018Well, I\u2019m the person who has to do this right in order for it to be used by everybody,\u2019\u201d Paci said. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool to know \u2018I built this, and everybody can come use it now.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n