Halfpipe draws crowds in Detroit’s Fisher Building lobby
April, 2017
A BMX and skateboarding halfpipe has been set up right in the middle of Detroit’s magnificent Fisher Building.
The “Fisher Halfpipe” kicked off Monday night at Fisher Building. Professional and semi-pro skateboarders, inline skaters and BMX bikers will ride four at a time on the 26-foot-long, 16-foot-wide ramp. The half-pipe is surrounded by historic 1920s Detroit architecture in what’s widely considered the most ornamented gallery in the city.
The state-of-the-art halfpipe is located right in the middle of the building’s lobby. Artwork on the halfpipe mirrors the new artwork on the Fisher’s ceiling with a modern twist.
“Skating has this really powerful and unique way of really being inclusive, of being a cross-cultural platform,” says creator Everard Findlay. He says the project meshes old Detroit with the new.
Thousands of people showed interest in using the halfpipe. About one hundred people were pre-selected to use the equipment.
The halfpipe won’t be in the building forever, as much as some of the skaters would like that. It will be open from 6-9 p.m. every day this week until Thursday, April 6, 2017.
Skating registration is closed but it’s still open to the public if you want to come out and watch the skaters.
