For weeks now, Portland's skateboarding community has braced for the oncoming loss of the Brooklyn Street Skate Spot. The DIY, city-permitted skatepark underneath a footbridge in inner southeast had long been marked for death—a casualty of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project.

Its end finally came this week, inspiring remembrances from local and national media alike.

One of the more-potent tributes was posted today by Curb Cut Magazine. From the piece:

It went back and forth between, “Sorry, we have to demo it,” to “Actually, we might only have to do a little damage to the new side…” but when all was said and done, due to liabilities, apparently everything had to go. But, you have to think… what if Brooklyn had been something else?

Imagine if the city was faced with damaging a center for the community, specifically one that helped the youth in the area. Even more specifically, one that they did not have to manage or fund, but nonetheless one that served the community in more ways than one. I’d be willing to bet they would try a whole lot harder to prevent said damage and do what they could to repair said damage afterwards. I’d also be willing to bet that they wouldn’t require a full demolition either. And finally, I’d be willing to bet that something thats going to effect a very large array of people would have included more members of the community on a public level.

If you, like me, were completely out of the loop on this, give the piece a read. If you were a fan of the skatepark, I'm guessing you already have.