David Wharton: How a group of rogue skaters got L.A. City Hall on their side
LOS ANGELES — No one wanted to claim responsibility for the old parking lot. A small patch of rutted pavement, dank and filthy, it sat forgotten beneath a freeway overpass near the San Pedro docks.
Maybe it belonged to the city or the port, maybe it fell under Caltrans jurisdiction because of Interstate 110, rumbling and stinking of diesel exhaust, overhead. People started using it as a garbage dump.
All of which made the spot perfect for a group of skaters looking to ride their boards without getting hassled.
Starting around 2002, a loose collection of men and kids cleared away trash and swept away dirt, making room for an impromptu skate park, a place to bank off concrete pillars and grind across an old refrigerator toppled on its side.
"As a skateboarder, you don't think, 'I want to go skate a refrigerator,' " says Robbie O'Connell, one of the originals. "You just make use of whatever you can find."
As word spread, the spot attained cult status. Regulars pooled their money to buy concrete and chicken wire from a Home Depot down the road, fashioning
