Time Capsule Thursdays: R.I.P. “Hubba Hideout”

As of the end of January, 2011, the legendary San Francisco street skating spot, “Hubba Hideout” is no more. “Hubba Hideout” was located near Justin Herman Plaza on The Embarcadero (EMB).  The infamous skate spot got its name originally because of the fact that it was kind of hidden away (hideout) and the term “hubba” was a popular slang term for crack cocaine. The fact that the spot was hidden made it a favorite for local vagrants who wanted to partake in illegal activities such as smoking crack. Ironically enough, but not surprising, is that the police didn’t start patrolling the area until skateboarders started skating the ledges back in the early 1990’s. Although, apparently most of the time you could skate there for hours on end and never get harassed by the police…maybe just a couple of crackheads. Today the term “Hubba” is synonymous with that type of ledge as an obstacle, whether it is skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding, etc.

Over the past two decades there have been some really insane tricks put down at “Hubba Hideout”. Wade Speyer had the first ever documented trick on the world renowned ledge, which was a crooked grind that appeared in Thrasher Magazine in 1991 and was photographed by Bryce Kanights. Since then, skateboarders from all over the planet have pushed themselves to the next level to get a sick trick down “Hubba Hideout”. Most notable are Carl Shipman’s frontside bluntslide, which appeared on the cover of Thrasher Magazine in January of 1994, Fred Gall’s switch frontside 5-0 (Thrasher Magazine cover, February 1995), Karl Watson’s frontside noseslide 270 out, Kris Markovich’s backside 180 nosegrind, Pat Duffy’s kickflip noseslide, and of course, Eric Koston’s backside noseblunt slide (Transworld Skateboarding Magazine Photo Annual Cover 1998).

Wade Speyer, Crooked Grind. Photo_Bryce Kanights.

Over the years, as the number of skateboarders sessioning the spot grew, the city of San Francisco made attempts to render the ledge unskateble. Originally, skatestoppers were installed, only to be removed by persistent skaters. Most recently the brick landing at the bottom of the stairs was completely removed only to have skateboarders once again defy their efforts by using sheets of plywood as a temporary landing. Regardless, the spot is now officially gone, but the mass amounts of video and photographic documentation are now evidence of a very vital part of the history and progression of skateboarding. Take a few minutes to check out the videos below from several years back about the first 10 years of “Hubba Hideout”.

February 10, 2011 | Categories: Skateboarding | Tags: Backside Noseblunt Slide, Carl Shipman, EMB, Eric Koston, History, Hubba Hideout, R.I.P., San Francisco, Skateboarding, Skatespot, Thrasher Magazine, Time Capsule Thursdays, Transworld Skateboarding Magazine, Wade Speyer Crooked Grind | Leave a comment