So the Pipeline in Upland Ca was one of the coolest places on Earth. I was fortunate enough to have a Father who because of work was commuting out to the west coast and quite near the place. I spent a lot of time there from 85-88. The following video is one of the best looks at the park on a whole. Anyone who skated there would recall the three bowls in the back with the view of the BMX dirt track or the long ditch run the ended in a vertless pool. Those places never really got too much photographic love. The combi pool was great to skate and no matter how packed the place got it never became much of a snake session, it always seemed more like a bunch of surfers waiting for a big wave. I on the otherhand took a Barn ramp approach and rolled into that beast as much an as often as possible. Eventually I was able to pull all of my limited number of tricks somewhere in its belly, including dropping into the corner of the square pool where Miller showed the skate world what he was made of (steel apparently) Every once and a while someone like Salba, Micke Alba or believe it or not a young Jessica Alba showed up, then the park would stop an stare. In my opinion the pro Bmxers seemed to get the most out of the full pipe itself.
It was a difficult place to take pictures as well if you were just an onlooker because of the fences but my Father was able to snap a few, even one of my Grandparents there to cringe at there grandson in action.
Samuel and Rose Oliva March 1988 The Pipeline, Upland California
Photo Carmine Oliva
A look at that ditch run that ended in a bowl.
Photo Jason Oliva 1986
Jason Oliva: Blue n Black AJ’s with a sensible amount of duct tape, Steam Sticker on Tommy G Board circa 88
Micke Alba Mute air Combi pool Upland 1986
Photo Jason Oliva
Jason Oliva 1988 Pipeline Upland CA…best to hand it over to Chris Miller at this point me thinks!
Send me some Upland Pics!!!
Great pictures!
I also have a Pipline ID (proud) having skated there twice in 1986! Indeed one of the greater places.
Chris
Hey Chris
Anyone who wants to send me a 72 dpi (under 20kb, saved for web) scan of their Pipeline ID I will make an archive post with a photo gallery with as many as we get.
I think we would be remissed if we didn’t share this link.
Chris Miller (the ruler of the combi) with one of the most infamous slams in skateboard history
thx for that, chris miller rips! i saw him and buster once at skateboard madness tearing out the vert ramp. never rode upland, but got to skate the remake a few years back, my first full pipe ride ever…. so crazy and fun!
Did you know there is a website
called:
http://www.noidnoskate.com/
check it out!
Cool site Chris!
One less thing I need to do on the net as well…phew
Sick! Miller Footage and I think the side kick is Eric Jueden. I remember those days.Groholski put us on to pipeline….Steve Willis and I Hit Pipeline up during a Cali heat wave,then I went back in like ’85 and stayed with local ripper Marcus Solomon. Rick aka spidey demontrand as well as the Alba bro’s, Adrian Demain,Chris Ortiz, and many more shredded Pipeline and Baldy on the regular. Bare witness to some Bad Ass sessions right there. Cool cats out there…big up’s to the Hoffman Family for keeping that spot going as long as they did.
Hey Rod!
Thanks for the comment!
Jason
Jason… If you’re on Facebook, search for The Pipeline Skatepark. I started that group earlier in the year and you should share your pics and stories with everyone. There are currently 221 members of that little group. Cheers, Tim
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I have some old school pics from pipeline from late 70s early 80s
Ya I still got my membership card. #43017
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I was a member of the Pipeline from 1979 to 1986 and have many fond memories of the old days.
Valuable information. Lucky me I found your site accidentally, and I’m surprised why this coincidence did not came about in advance! I bookmarked it.
Wow, that brings back memories, Mickey Alba and I was in same class in the 6th grsde and skated at upland from the day it opened until I moved out of area in 1984. Seeing video of the park back then is greatest moments in my life.
skated at pamona as well but pipeline seemed to be the real deal and the grandfather of parks, I think it was one of the first skate parks around before then, we would find pools drained to skate in, some of them would still have water in deep end of pool and we would see who could get closedt to the water without falling into it. We would also wait til summer and hit the high schools that would drain there pools in summer, seems like before upland came along , we were always running from cops because somebody would see us skating in a pool. I injured my back in 1984 at a competition and that ended my fun.
What a trip…this place was so much fun when i was a kid…i remember meeting .MR.BOB HARO.I was sad to see it reduced to just a skate shop…i also went to school with the owners grandaughter shannon…she was an amazing sk8ter…:) peace to my hometown of Upland ca….
This is great! I worked at Pipeline and skated there almost everyday.
I called the drain in the combi “the drain of tears”. Many tears of mine went down that drain.
Great time warp! I lived a mile or so from the Pipeline. Had just moved here from Massachusetts and sucked bad at skateboarding but I tried! That ditch and the ‘baby bowls’ were my hang out. Chris and I were in the same class in HS but he was never there, always gone to competitions. I still live in the area and sadly there is no sign of the greatness that came out of that little corner of upland..just industrial spaces. I had grips of great shots from 84-88 but lost them all in a fire, thanks for the flashback, good times.