The Gentleman's Club: Saving a Community Landmark
By Alec Kissoondyal
Photos by Mary Jane Burrell
The Gentleman's Club is a DIY skatepark that has been a positive presence in the Gainesville community for several years. The skatepark, which was built on an unused lot, has provided an outlet for skaters, local artists, and other community members to express themselves in an environment that encourages creativity.
Now, the Gentleman's Club faces the threat of being demolished after dealing with challenges presented by the city of Gainesville and the owner of the lot. The city is expected to vote on the fate of the skatepark on June 6.
The potential destruction of the location has been strongly opposed by numerous members of the community. The petition to save the Gentleman's Club, which can be found here, is steadily approaching 2,000 signatures.
In an interview with Narrow Magazine, Ben Bradford, the founder of the Gentleman's Club, discussed the significance of the skatepark and what members of the community can do to help ahead of the city's vote.
Q: What is the Gentleman's Club?
A: The gentleman’s club is a DIY skatepark located in Gainesville, Florida, on a piece of private property that has sat in literal abandoned ruins for the better half of the last decade. For a while, it was a homeless camp, but recently, it has been a skate park. The name “gentleman’s club” pays homage to the site's history as Gainesville’s only nude music venue.
Q: What inspired you and other members of the community to build the skate park?
A: We built the spot because we saw an unfulfilled need in the skate scene here. The terrain provided by the city at the possum creek skate park is way below par for transitional skateboarding. It totally lacks creativity and is poorly constructed. We wanted a place to be out of the public eye, to skate the type of terrain that we enjoy. Not cookie-cutter, prefab concrete with a lifeless design.
Q: Why is it so significant to the community?
A: It’s significant to the community because something positive and beneficial has grown from the cracks of an eyesore property, in a completely grassroots way. Skaters needed somewhere to go to enjoy themselves. It is completely self-policed as well. The people that contributed to this place will do anything to protect it, and anyone that comes there knows the value of the site and treats it with respect. It provides a place for friendships to blossom, skills to be learned (art, construction, skateboarding, social, and otherwise), and improves the lives of countless young people in the area.
Q: What is the current situation with the skatepark and the city/landowner?
A: The situation with the landowner is vague. We never had permission, because the land is under the name of a deceased person. We have had no way to get in contact with the living owner. We simply saw a wasted space and decided it was a perfect place to build our park. It’s a lot better of a situation than what was taking place there beforehand. From what little contact we’ve had with the owners/managers, it’s a vague sentiment of halfway tolerance, it’s almost like if we aren’t causing trouble, they don’t care.
They just don’t want to be bothered I think. We’ve had people come there and tell us that it’s ok to be there. And we’ve also had people come and tell us that it is a liability issue, but no action has been taken. It seems that the city intervened because a neighbor has complained about the noise, even though much closer neighbors and businesses have zero issues with us at all. The site was last inspected by the city in April, and they found no issues, other than that the trash was to be cleaned. All of the current skatepark features were in place at this time. It was re-inspected sometime in May, and now all of a sudden, the city deemed it in violation of code. According to the owner, the city is making him demolish our stuff because of a complaining neighbor.
It would be good to note that there are numerous cities in America with legal DIY skateparks whose construction doesn’t necessarily fit into any parameters of building code [...] No permission, on vacant land. Examples include Burnside Skatepark in Portland, Oregon; FDR Skatepark in Philadelphia, 471 DIY in Cincinnati Ohio, Foundation Skatepark in Asheville. North Carolina; Harrison Street in Kansas City, Mill Street in Jackson, Mississippi, and countless others. Every major city has a DIY skatepark, whether they know it or not.
The big question to me, is that since we are built on private property, why is it the city’s business what we are doing?
Q: What can people do to help?
A: As far as what people can do to help, you can do the obvious things like signing our petition, email the city council with your own wording, or templates we’ve made, and I think the best thing is to go there in person and use the space. Show that the spot does fill a need unmet in the city of Gainesville.
Q: Any parting words/additional information you would like to mention?
A: The gentleman’s club is a labor of love from dozens and dozens of people, who have created something beautiful in a dark corner of southwest Gainesville. It represents the spirit, originality, and charisma that Gainesville is desperately trying to cling to in the face of rapid gentrification, construction of bleak shopping malls, and prefabricated generica. It’s a spot of color, and a piece of true soul, constructed by a community that isn’t going anywhere. If the gentleman’s club goes, we will find a new spot to build.
The Change.org petition to save the Gentleman's Club can be found here
For more information, a link to the Gentleman's Club Instagram account can be found here
