![]() Public spaces don’t often overlap with professional sports, but the physical space where someone skates is a crucial part of the activity, Hammad said. Professional skaters who rose to prominence in the ’80s and ’90s, including Sean Sheffey, Brian Tucci and Mike Kepper, used the space as a proving grounds early in their careers.ĭuring his time skating at the plaza, Hammad has realized how important it is for the DMV skateboarding community to have a central hub. He was raised just outside of Detroit and watched professional skaters dance across the marble at Freedom Plaza from hundreds of miles away. When Maen Hammad moved to Washington, D.C., in 2015, one of the first things he did was skate at Freedom Plaza. “If historical things that are meant to represent the people, and are for the people … are being destroyed, it really is taking away a lot of value and a lot of morality out of the city.” (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback) “It’s all because there’s a space that was created for that kind of thing,” Ihekwoaba said. He remembers elderly people who would descend to the marble on Wednesday nights in the summertime to dance. Ihekwoaba has lived through protests and dances during his years skating at the plaza. Many who occupy the space may have never visited Washington, D.C., if it weren’t for the plaza’s significance, he added. “As skateboarders and people who go downtown a lot and spend a lot of time at Freedom Plaza, you become intimate with the city.”įreedom Plaza provides a home for everyone, Ihekwoaba said. “It’s just the warmth of being around people, the warmth of being in the city and actually feeling connected with the city,” Ihekwoaba said. Nnamdi Ihekwoaba remembers a decade of warm summers spent watching the sunset reflect off the plaza’s marble Many skaters have made their most cherished memories in Washington, D.C., at Freedom Plaza. (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback)Ĭherished memories, and a formative space for professionals Skaters film each other at Freedom Plaza on April 8, 2022. “If you’re planning to skate the entire day, people usually meet up there because that’s the most open space you can access in downtown D.C.,” he said. Skaters at this university have also collaborated with other students to host events at the plaza – including a “Game of Skate” competition between this university and Georgetown University skaters that will take place on April 9. And members of the University of Maryland Skateboarding Club utilize the space often, Benanzea-Fontem said. “It’s a magical place.” (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback)Ī quick transfer to the Orange or Blue Metro lines at L’Enfant Plaza gives University of Maryland community members a straight shot to Freedom Plaza - which is just 10 miles away from the campus and located closest to the Federal Center SW Metro stop. “People come from all over the world just to skate the marble,” Aguilar said. The plaza provides a “home base” for the skateboarding community and Crushed, which is the last skate shop remaining in the District. (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback)īrian Aguilar, who owns Crushed Skate Shop in Washington, D.C., and started the petition to preserve the plaza, said he “instantly felt threatened” by three proposals.Īguilar grew up listening to his brother tell stories about Freedom Plaza long before he landed his first trick there. The finalized version of the plan will likely be “a mix and match” of ideas gathered now, Schierhold added. None of the proposals are fully realized designs, and exist to give people a sense of the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor and its character, Schierhold said. ![]() Karin Schierhold, an urban planner with the commission, said the plans outlined by NCPC aim to “inspire people’s imagination” for what Pennsylvania Avenue could be. Miller said that there is no guarantee that the plaza will be affected in a way that prohibits activities like skateboarding, even if it is changed as part of the initiative. The commission will also consider responses they receive during a 120-day public comment period, which runs through July 13, before crafting a final proposal for the avenue. The NCPC will hold three public meetings where people can ask questions and voice their opinions on each proposal in April and May.
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