Save The Turf | Status Update
The origin of Greenfield Wisconsin’s ‘Surf-N-Turf’ skatepark falls directly inline with skateboarding’s original ascent to mass popularity in the late 1970’s. Re-dubbed ‘The Turf’ in 1987, the grounds became a depot for traveling skaters and passerby pros of the times. It’s five unique bowls were encased in a building that provided shelter from the elements and unlocked year-round carving potential. Unfortunately, by 1996, few skateparks were able to escape the culture's impending shift to street style. Like many others, the sacred pits were filled with dirt and left for the worms to enjoy.
It would be another 14 years before that concrete saw the light of day, when a construction crew was called in to excavate the land for a highway expansion project. When the secret got out, local diehards seized the opportunity to excavate a portion of the transition, only to have their efforts thwarted the following day. Nevertheless, the seed was planted and the outpouring of local support was enough to propel a campaign to have the site refurbished to it’s original glory.
In 2019, Mayor Michael Neitzke answered the prayers of many and decreed that the site be preserved as a public park in perpetuity. The massive overhaul is currently nearing completion and includes the addition of a proper street plaza, as well as a full restoration of the original pools, courtesy of the visionaries over at Grindline Skateparks. As the backhoes got to work, the circular structures pierced their way through Mother Earth, invoking a renewed sense of nostalgia in those who were there to witness the original iteration of the space. Take it from the local activists themselves:
What are your memories of The Turf from it's heyday?
“I had recently moved to the area. Being a bit odd and having trouble fitting in, I saw a few kids in the area skateboarding. I dug one up and began hanging out and skating with a crew. Then I was invited to a small birthday party. It was late September or early October 1991. It was getting cold and wet but we were going to the Turf Skatepark?! Turns out, the kid’s mom got us a hotel room at the Suburban and bailed. We were instructed to make it work that night, Skate the Turf the next day and she would grab us later. The whole deal was a bit sketchy…
As I sat that night and listened to everyone talk, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ came on MTV every fourth song. Being new, I imagined in my head what The Turf might be like. The next day, all my expectations were shattered! It was unreal! I could not believe this small building housed so much spirit, enthusiasm, and community! This was The Turf; forever forging a bond with me. My life has had many ups and downs, but skateboarding is always there. Soon, The Turf will be too!”
- Marty Eldridge
The Milwaukee skate scene was already going strong, but The Turf made it even stronger. Having one of the last remaining concrete parks from the 70s in our area was unbelievable. We had excellent sessions with friends and we made so many new friends because we had people from all over the USA and rest of the world coming to skate The Turf.
- Mike Beer
Oddly enough, my addiction for skateboarding spawned from my mother‘s addiction for shopping. She would drop me off at The Turf whenever she would plan a full day adventure at Southridge Mall. The first time I entered the park, the only exposure I had to transition skating was a “dad built” neighborhood halfpipe. Four foot high, free-hand drawn transitions with six inches of vertical and PVC coping cut in half. Suffice to say, I was wrestling way out of my weight class with the intimidating Turf pools. It was probably safer to drop off a kid that couldn’t swim at a public swimming pool than bring my scrawny ass to The Turf. Nevertheless, she trusted my well-being with a bunch of older punk rock kids. I can still smell that hideous 70’s casino style carpet and “Rector Rot”. I immediately felt at home with the heavy metal music blasting throughout the park. Naturally, I went straight for the Lipslide Gully, did a weak kick-turn and came back out the roll-in. I worked my way over to the Footie bowl and performed nothing impressive there either. Once I noticed that the Clover bowl was unoccupied, that took my attention next. I rolled in down the stem and, like many first timers, didn’t know I had to pump into the bowl. I launched the bowl and splatted against the opposite wall like a bird on an unassuming window. I resigned from the Clover at that time and went back to doing a marathon run of rock to fakie and tail taps in the Gully. After all, they were the only tricks I knew. I figured out pretty quickly that none of the locals were impressed. I also learned that if pennies were being thrown into the bowl at you, the only wish someone was making was that you would get the fuck out of their way.
I received the same pennies from heaven while wearing out my welcome in the Footie Bowl, but I remained enthusiastic enough to try the keyhole. That consisted of me rolling in and launching high enough to leave my board and grab onto the fence much like a gecko would. Next up, the keyhole. Pumping from the bottom and getting dizzy due to lack of flat, that became the pool I took thrill in jumping to my knees and sliding into, rather than skating. I also stood at the top of the big red vert ramp… but nope! Back to pumping from the bottom it was.
Even though I sucked, I had a blast and knew I was amongst my future and forever peers while I was there. I would spend every next day after Turf sessions quarantined to a couch…horribly sore and bruised to shit, yet still so exhilarated. I’m still skating regularly 30 years later, and I cannot wait to become reunited with this very special place. I bet The Turf never thought it would see this kook get the guts to come back ever again!
- Jesse Geeboy
The first memory I have of Surf’n Turf was watching the demo team at the Brookfield Square Mall. They were riding the rad ramp and there was a guy on PA hyping up the demo. I'm pretty sure they had a poster of what the park was going to look with a drawing and the names of the bowls: The Footie, Clover, Keyhole and Capsule. It was so exciting! There were concrete skateboard parks around the country, but it seemed like most of them were in California. To have something like this in Wisconsin was unimaginable.
My first memory at the skate park watching people in ride the Footie bowl and Lipslide Gully from the outside. By this time the skateboards were all really wide - it must have been 1979 or 1980. This was a time when skateboarding was progressing fast. I was pretty timid during the first generation and probably only skated the park 10 to 15 times tops, but it was great to be there and really fun to watch the other skateboarders. I remember seeing a lot of really good skaters that later became friends that I still know to this day.
In 1985, Jerry was going to open the park again and he set up a pro shop next to the Lipslide Gully. Belly Buttons was still open and the plan was that he was going to run the park during off hours. I bought a new deck and set of wheels. We were allowed to walk around the bowls, but we weren't able to skate it. The city did not allow him to open a skateboard park with the strip club there.
Most of the skateboarders in Milwaukee talked about and hoped that Surf n’ Turf would open again. In 1987, I was with some friends and Stevie Beaudion made a phone call and said we were going to The Turf. When we got there, Jerry said he was going to open the park and he had us do some work that first day. We talked and he hired a group of us, plus we made suggestions for our friends. There was no interview. He let us ride the park the next time we came back. I am not sure how long it took, but we converted it from a strip club back to the skate park. Several of our friends who had moved to California and other parts of the country came back.
I think it would be hard for kids of this generation to comprehend how significant it was to have this park. At the time The Turf reopened, Del Mar was already closed and Upland closed in 1988. Kona was the only other park to remain.
The second time around, along with a new name change there a lot more rules. The bowls, especially the coping, had gotten pretty chewed up and needed to be repaired. Copers were mandatory and that really bummed people out. Ugly copers were the best because they were hard. Plus, we put them on backwards and could still get metal on coping. When Gullwing came out with the plastic Mach IV, a lot of locals switched to those.
I remember how tight and fast the bowls were. It was such a fun park to skate, even if you didn't do a lot of tricks because there were so many lines there. I loved the sound of the tiles buzzing as you rolled over them. Doing double carves in the Clover were fun. An occasional triple was acceptable, but it was tedious to watch when there was a line of skaters. The Clover, Footie, and Lipslide Gully were really fun and easy to ride once you figured them out. The Keyhole and Capsule were gnarly. In order for me to ride the Keyhole I had to put time into it. If I did not ride it for while it was really scary to ride again.
There is a learning curve to the park, especially with the Clover. We would tell people to start half way down at first, but people would just start from the top, go straight into the pool and pile into the wall.
Skating was so popular when it first re-opened that we had to cap the session to about 60 people. We took reservations. We had a red line in front of the Clover and maybe the Lipslide Gully and made people start behind it.
So many skaters came from all over the country and the world to skate the park. My friend Pete and I rented a basement apartment within walking distance and our other friends rented a home in the parking lot. A lot people traveling would either stay at the Turf house or our house. We made a lot of friends and met a lot of great people because of the park. I remember this kid was in town to see the Grateful Dead at Alpine Valley. He was so excited ride and so baked. Even his skateboard smelled like weed.
- Jay Neumann
What do you think The Turf's revival will bring to the local skate scene?
The Turf reopening, along with all the new stuff that’s going to be built, is going to be really good for the local scene. It will make it even stronger and make Milwaukee more of a destination place for people to come and skate and visit.
- Mike Beer
Community, accessibility and strength. The hope for people to be inspired to skate, create and dream. For the scene to grow, bring in faces and support. To keep the doors open for our locals and inspire them to see something come together and work to DIY.
- Marty Eldridge
It will unquestionably make it better. The original five bowls are first generation. They are tight and fast and very different from modern skateboard bowls. The new bowl looks amazing and really complements the original bowls. I am sure the street area will be great too.
I think people’s skating style will be influenced by the 70’s design. People will still do tricks, but they will do them out of line rather than back and forth ramp-style or super-fast toilet bowl carves to a big air. It is hard to get amplitude in those tiny tight bowls. I am pretty sure there will cut-in tile that is grouted. The sound of buzzing tile and carve grinds is addicting. Finding lines, riding fast and using the roll in’s will be fun for people. It’s going to be great watching different generations riding this park and influencing each other.
I believe many of the people that skated this the first time will come back. Many people today do not wear pads, but I think a lot more people will wear pads at this park. Especially the people interested in riding the six bowls.
Surf n’ Turf 3.0 will so much better than the original park. Grindline will do an awesome job! I never ever thought this would happen. There are so many people to thank for making this happen, but none of this would be possible without the support of the Greenfield Mayor or the City Engineer. It is crazy how hard they worked to make this happen. Their commitment to making this the best park possible is way beyond expectation.
- Jay Neumann
Originally published in Issue 4 - September 2024