Glasgow’s First Skatepark Gets Exciting Dig

Quick Smiles:

• Glasgow’s pioneering 1978 skatepark is set for archaeological excavation.
• Former skaters will join archaeologists to unearth skate history.
• The dig may reveal original 1980s graffiti and memories.

Kelvin Wheelies, Glasgow’s groundbreaking 1978 skatepark, is about to be uncovered through an archaeological dig with the help of the skaters who once called it home.

This skatepark was famous for its half pipe, bowls, and unique slalom run, opening originally to host Scotland’s first Skateboard Championships.

Within only five years, waning skateboarding popularity and little maintenance led the park to close, eventually becoming hidden beneath rubble and the foliage of Kelvingrove Park.

Dr. Kenny Brophy, archaeologist at the University of Glasgow, called it a chance to rediscover modern city heritage.

“Glasgow city council spent £100,000 building it, which was a large investment at the time and it was designed with skaters in mind, and for teenagers who were involved in an activity that many people deemed to be antisocial and marginal,” he said.

Driven by the university’s New Audience’s program, the excavation will see volunteers teaming up with skaters who used the park in their youth, digging by hand to reach the original concrete and possibly uncover vintage graffiti.

“It’s such a rare opportunity for an archeologist that we’ll be digging the site with people that used it,” shared Dr. Brophy. “We’ll have skateboarders on site who used the park as teenagers and will be re-living that experience at the end of a trowel.”

This upbeat collaboration is set to revive memories and reconnect a community with their joyful past—one trowel at a time.

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