Ocean Park residents mull Dogtown decor
OCEAN PARK LIBRARY Mural? Skate park? Statue? Just how to memorialize the cultural significance made by Dogtown skateboarders has been a hot topic as of late in Ocean Park.
Among those taking interest are Jeff Ho, whose name is synonymous with Santa Monica skateboarding lore and was the namesake of an endangered building that is stirring debate about how best to honor the renowned Z-Boys.
Ho and more than 20 others filed into the library last week to brain-storm commemorative ideas and talk about the possible redevelopment of a building at the corner of Main and Bay streets that housed the Zephyr and Jeff Ho Productions shop during the 1970s.
The skateboard godfather, who was at the Horizons West Surf Shop on Monday to meet with some original Z-Boys still on his surfing team, came to Thursday’s gathering to express his concerns to owner representative Juli Doar about the potential demolition of the building, which today houses Horizons West Surf Shop and a pair of artist studios.
Holding a framed picture of the original Zephyr Shop and wearing a backwards baseball cap, Ho said he would like to see the building — slated for demolition in favor of a 14-unit mixed residential development — preserved in some fashion.
"It would be a sad thing if the building came down,” Ho said.
That sentiment was echoed by many in attendance.
Praising Doar, the building owner’s granddaughter, for reaching out and trying to find a middle ground between the needs of the developer and the community, Mike Silverman, a 16-year resident of Ocean Park, said in his “idealistic mind,” he would want someone to raise enough money to purchase the building so it could remain unchanged.
“It’s what made Santa Monica, Santa Monica,” Silverman said.
Even tourists seemed to favor preservation.
Two surfers from Japan came to the meeting along with Ho, planning to purchase surfboards during their stay in Santa Monica. The surfers said they came all the way from Japan to see the surf shop itself.
David Kinoshita visited the Horizons West Surf Shop for the first time five years ago. Though the building itself isn’t as important as what happened at the site, Kinoshita was alarmed by the pace at which historic buildings were being demolished in Santa Monica. He likened it to a trend occurring in Japan, with old buildings being replaced with new ones.
It seems to be a concern among residents in Japan, Kinoshita said, and the Japanese are beginning to regret the lack of history and character and the increasing uniformity in the design of the new buildings.
Ten to 15 years from now, if the surf shop is gone and all the buildings in Santa Monica change and begin to look new, taking away the character of the city, tourists like himself will stop visiting, Kinoshita said.
COMMEMORATING HISTORY Some ideas for the site already proposed, such as erecting a statue and painting a mural, were suggested with a twist.
Rather than placing a statue at the site of the Zephyr shop, one person suggested it be erected at Bicknell Hill, where many of the Z-Boys spent their afternoons perfecting their craft.
An idea that seemed popular with young skaters only two weeks ago, at the first workshop on Jan. 11, received a lukewarm response by Santa Monica skater Chase Mikrot.
There are plenty of skate parks in Santa Monica, Mikrot said, sitting in the back of the room with a skateboard underneath his seat.
“The ones around, excuse my language, suck,” he said of skate parks.
Instead of the park, what skaters really need is a place to hang out and a place to prepare for skateboarding. Many skaters use the backs of their trucks to prepare for a skateboarding run, he said.
One idea that garnered an enthusiastic response was to preserve and build around the exterior of the main entrance of the building and create a small shrine or museum inside the lobby of the new building.
“I suggest you take the lobby of the original surf shop and make a living homage to surf and skateboarding,” said Santa Monica resident Lori Nafshun.
The organizers of the meeting — Community Activist Abby Arnold and Doar — are expected to report the results of the two workshops to the Landmarks Commission on Feb. 12.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.