Welcome to Winchester SkatePark, arguably the best 1st generation cement skatepark there ever was. Located in the suburbs of San Jose, California, Winchester was open for a brief 4 years between 1978 and 1981 before its owners lost their lease. Winchester was the birthplace of true flat-bottom when the world-famous kinkless pink Keyhole was created. In a world of near perfect surfaced skate parks today, WSP’s Keyhole was ages ahead of its time. Winchester was also one of the very first parks to eliminate fences between its runs, making the entire park, (with the exception of that Keyhole), one giant run. It was common to skate out of the pro shop and hit everything in the park apart from, again, that Keyhole, without pushing off a second time.

Dave and Dan, the dudes who kept Winchester going with 100% heart.

Winchester was the epicenter of the skateboarding scene in San Jose after neighbors Campbell SkatePark, Spinnin’ Wheels SkatePark, and SkatePark Victoria (Milpitas) closed their doors. It was where the kids that kept skateboarding alive in the dark days of the early 80′s first met, forging lifetime friendships while giving San Jose the title of what Thrasher Magazine then called “the Skate capital of the world“. It’s where the San Jose’s punk scene got its most influential musicians. It was the park that introduced the world to Steve Caballero when he took 2nd place, as an amateur, in the Winchester Open. Winchester was everything to a lot of people.

CHECK OUT MY YouTube CHANNEL FEATURING GILL CABLE’S BROADCAST OF THE WINCHESTER OPEN

Peter 'Kiwi' Gifford. Terrebone photo

Feel free to contribute any old WSP photos or film footage by visiting the Contribute page, or just email me HERE.