Recon Missions: Boston

Since I started skating again I have been searching for new and exciting spots to skate, which I will feature in up-coming ‘Recon Missions’ posts. I have also been returning to spots that I skated back in the day to get reacquainted with them. This is one of those stories.
About a month ago, while I was in Boston, I decided to session at ‘The Heavens’, a raised courtyard somewhere downtown with loads of pristine marble ledges and banks. I skated here once, years ago, and I figured I could find my way back.

After driving around the Public Gardens twice, then through the West End and all finally all the way down Comm. Ave. I was about to give up. But on my way back to the North End, where I work at a hockey rink for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, I spotted a group of skateboarders in a courtyard at Copley Square on Boylston St.

The courtyard, as it turns out, is actually an empty fountain with one long-waxed stone ledge that skateboarders session during the colder months (the fountain is active during warmer temps.). I was stoked to find this new spot, even though one of the local boarders informed me that ‘The Heavens’ had been torn down not too long ago.

I may have failed in my original Mission, since it was destined to fail from the start, but I was lucky enough to find a new spot and have had some sweet sessions there with some friendly boarders. Not surprisingly I am always the only booter at any of these sessions. I have been well accepted though, and a couple of these boarders even brought me to another spot close by. This spot is outside the Back Bay T Station; where there is a long-smooth marble bench to grind and a small 3-set to launch off of. This is more of a board friendly spot, but it is still fun to mess around on.

I hope you enjoy these spots as much as I do, and word to the wise, if you drive and park on Boylston be sure to mind the time on your parking meter! The meter maids in downtown are vultures and will ticket you the second your time expires. I have the $25 ticket to prove it.

Welcome to 'Skate Sessions'

It just hit me one day, that urge somewhere deep in my brain that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I really wanted, no I needed, to skate.


There was a time, in my teens, when I spent whole days out ‘rolling’ with my friends. We were a solid crew of 6-8 kids, most of them younger and a couple of them older than me; we met at the park almost everyday.

We pushed each other to be better skaters. Seeing one of the guys land a new trick made me want to try it too. We brought each other progression, we brought each other support. We would all even pile into each others cars to make trips to other parks, or into Boston for some nighttime street skating.

But that was then and this is now.

Now, I find myself skating alone, or worse surrounded by bikes, boards and an unfathomable swarm of scooters. Aggressive skating was taken out of the X-Games back in 2005 and skating mags like Daily Bread and Box are gone and nearly forgotten. But that old urge stays with me, and it’s an itch that must be scratched.

So join me at Skate Sessions, and help me revive this dying art with Park Profiles, Recon Mission‘s to underground street spots, and general insight into the skating world; or just watch me ride out aggressive skating’s final days.