Kingshighway Skateboarding KHVT

Near the intersection of Kingshighway and Bischoff, there’s a secret place hidden from plain view. Under the old bridge, next to self-storage units and railroad tracks, KHVT sits in a spot once occupied by city garbage. Protected from the elements and unseen by anyone who cares, the spot under the bridge was slowly transformed from nothing into a 20,000 square-foot DIY skate park. As word got out, skaters flocked, and money was raised to purchase more concrete and other materials needed for funboxes, quarter pipes and other obstacles. Kingshighway Vigilante Transitions — KHVT — is what the park became known as (others call it Shitside, a nod to Portland’s famous Burnside, a park with similar underground origins). But as the place has continued to grow in popularity, the bridge — that which enabled the park’s existence — will soon spell the its demise. Structural issues mean the bridge will be torn down soon, probably in early 2014, and with it will go KHVT. But supporters have formed a nonprofit group dedicated to building a new skate park, and the city has even agreed to lease the group a lot on Morganford Road. Some may prefer the illicit vibe of a DIY park, but a sanctioned place to skate is better than no place to skate.