Archaeology Research

Kelvin Wheelies and Glasgow skatepark heritage Project

This project is a contemporary archaeology exploration of an almost forgotten part of Glasgow’s recent sporting heritage – the Kelvin Wheelies skatepark. Situated in Kelvingrove Park in the city’s Westend, this skatepark was operated by Glasgow City Council. It opened in May 1978, and was initially hugely popular. There was also an adjacent freestyle zone, once a roller disco, and now a modern skatepark. The ticketed first Kelvingrove skatepark was state-of-the-art, with bowls, slalom run, clover bowl and half-pipe, as well as associated ticket booth, café and toilets. Growing concerns about maintenance costs and safety led to closure then burial by 1983.  

Elements of the skatepark remains visible in Kelvingrove Park today, but there is no information available to explain the significance of this site to park visitors or users of the adjacent modern skatepark. A place that was a central part of modern Glasgow’s sporting heritage and the lives of hundreds of teenagers is in danger of being forgotten and lost. This is a vital part of Scotland’s sporting heritage and the Kelvingrove skatepark was the first major concrete venue for skateboarding built in Scotland.

This skatepark was created as part of the so-called ‘second wave’ of concrete skateparks that emerged internationally in the 1970s. Some of these skateparks have gone on to become Listed and protected structures, the closest to Glasgow being the Livi skatepark in Livingston. This was Category B Listed by HES in 2024. But more commonly, these skateparks were closed and either removed or buried. The Skatepark Heritage Research Group has further information on other skateparks globally and their heritage significance, and works to support research into ‘buried’ concrete skateparks.

Research into the Kelvingrove skatepark will take several forms. We intend to carry out archaeological fieldwork including excavation and survey to establish the current state of the skatepark and gather information to share with park users and the general public. Currently, virtually no-one even knows there was a skatepark in this part of the park. We are also going to document the creation and story of the skatepark through archive research, interviews and – hopefully – collect a digital archive of photos and film of the skatepark being used, and associated records and ephemera. This is a project that will very much be a collaboration with the skateboarding community in Glasgow, and we will be working with Jamie Blair, who has written a history of the skatepark.

In that history, Jamie concluded, “It’s still possible to see some evidence of the old park peeping out from the undergrowth, and over the years there have been a few calls to do a dig and get back to some old school action”. The plan is to make this dream become a reality although we can’t promise old school action will be possible!