Bro Bowl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Perry Harvey Sr. Park Skateboard Bowl
|
|
Bro Bowl in 2016
|
|
 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Built | 1978 |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000811 |
| Added to NRHP | October 7, 2013 |
The Bro Bowl was a very special skateboard park in Tampa, Florida. It was one of the last skateparks built in the 1970s that was still around for a long time. It was also the first public skatepark ever built in Florida, and the first skatepark in the world to be listed on a national list of historic places!
Contents
What Was the Bro Bowl?
The Bro Bowl opened in 1979 inside Perry Harvey Sr. Park in Tampa. It was a "bank-style" park, which means it had sloped surfaces like ramps, rather than very tall, curved walls (called "vert" ramps). This style was common in the earliest skateparks from 1976-1977.
A Free Place to Skate
What made the Bro Bowl extra special was that it was a free public skatepark. Back then, most skateparks were private businesses where you had to pay to skate. The Bro Bowl gave everyone a chance to enjoy skateboarding without needing money.
Featured in Videos and Games
The Bro Bowl became famous in the skateboarding world. In 1998, it was shown in a popular skateboarding video called The End. A famous skateboarder named Andrew Reynolds was in it. Later, in 2010, a documentary film was made about the park, called "The Bro Bowl: 30 Years of Tampa Concrete." You could even find the Bro Bowl in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground as a place to skate in the Tampa level!
Why Was It Called the Bro Bowl?
The park got its nickname, "Bro Bowl," because of where it was located. Many people in the area called each other "bro," a friendly term for brother. Over time, this nickname stuck, and even the city's mayor used it.
A Historic Landmark
Because of its unique history and design, the Bro Bowl was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. It was officially listed as the Perry Harvey Sr. Park Skateboard Bowl. This made it the very first skatepark anywhere in the world to get this kind of national historic recognition! Another famous skatepark, The Rom in London, England, was listed as historic in 2014.
The New Bro Bowl
Sadly, the original Bro Bowl was taken down as part of a big update to Perry Harvey Sr. Park. But don't worry! A brand new skatepark was built in its place. This new park was designed to look and feel a lot like the original Bro Bowl, keeping its spirit alive for new generations of skaters.
External links
- Official website: http://www.brobowl.org/
- Florida Historical Marker
