So long Emilyside, we hardly knew you.

Much like the rest of the country, skateparks in Vancouver have been closed for over two months now. Emilyside, the name coined for a pitstop-style-street-turned-DIY-spot adjacent to Emily Carr University, was just one of many dead-zones across Vancouver that was brought to life by skaters. The diversity of people skating down there every time I rolled through always put a smile on my face.

As I've been putting together these photos I shot there over the last few days, I received a text from one of the builders that this triple-barrier portion, along with the rest of the smaller curb sections you may see off in the background, were removed this very early this morning, due to supposed noise complaints and liability issues. As you can see, this spot was on an industrial, unpopulated street, next to a train yard and cargo storage lot. It's hard to believe that noise was an issue.

No matter what they say or do, let’s all keep this energy alive. This spot, and spots like it, spots built or reappropriated by skaters, can provide a scene different than anything that city council is going to give you. Thanks to everyone that was involved in building this spot and making it what it was. See you at the next one. —Jeff Thorburn

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Barrier or bust! Stepan Soroka slathers some Dressen.

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More Dressen!

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Jeff Muirhead fishtails a Backside Nosegrind through the corner.

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Stepan flashes 'n' rolls...

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...before fully raking a Crailslide.

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Antosh Cimoszko prepares to snap a Blunt back in, Backside.

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Nikolas Landiak lays back and leans into a slip, slide, and grind.

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Stepan grinds a Feeble through the corner and takes it back in to fakie.

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Muirhead digs deep for a Frontside fly-over.

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Hurricane Stepan ends the day.

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Danny Wartman channels "The Unknown Asshole" with a frontside attack through the pocket.

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Karl Theaker slices through a Frontside Feeble.

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Cole Nowicki and his liberated dome-piece wrangle up a Frontside Blunt.

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Danny samples the air above the short-lived handiwork.

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Cole straddles the border while hanging onto this tnalP saxeT—you know, because it's switch.

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Conlan Killeen samples the air at a higher altitude.

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Danny takes a Blunt in to fakie.

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Cole twists a Frontside Hurricane right into the aggro zone.

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Conlan skips barrier two by way of a backside scooper, chasing his shadow from one to three, subsequently ending the day and the life of the spot.

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So long, Emilyside. We hardly knew ya, but we loved ya. Props on the job well done by those that built this. We’ll keep it digitally-anonymous.

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