Evanston’s Twiggs Park has become a gathering place for skateboarders, bikers, and roller skaters alike since its official opening in August of 2024. Located in the northern part of Evanston by Greenbay, the park is consistently busy as the only skatepark in Evanston and the surrounding area. With benches, water fountains, and greenery surrounding the skate ramps, the lively energy of Twiggs serves as a place not only to skateboard but also to just hang out.
Junior Marco Aguirre explained how he helped in the process of getting the skatepark built and is now reaping the benefits of the freedom of a dedicated space for skating.
“It’s really nice that we have a skatepark now,” he explained. “Last year I attended Zoom meetings with other skaters at ETHS with the alderman and people in the community regarding petitions to build the park, but before that, it took a couple of years for the construction to actually begin.”
Before the skatepark existed Aguirre and other skaters often had to resort to finding their own tricks to do in downtown Evanston by Northwestern and Fountain Square. Often the cops would show up and stop the skating, making it very difficult to practice in peace.
Now that there is a permanent space dedicated to skateboarding, complete with a combination of rails, quarter pipes, a bowl, and ledges, skaters are able to come together in a safe space to freely express their love for this incredible hobby.
The new community that Twiggs had brought has made the skating community more tight-knit as the dedicated space brings back familiar faces back to the park, and has influenced many to pick up their boards.
Jesse Dush-Hart, a Junior at ETHS, says the opening was what got him into skateboarding;
“When I found out they were making a skate park here it was the main reason for me to start [skating]. Everyone is willing to help out on a trick or teach you how to run something.”
The park is welcoming to those who have skated before and newcomers alike. With the recent opening of the park, people who used to skate in their younger years are able to pick up the hobby again given the new space to do so. Aguirre explains how he has noticed this in his own experience.
“There are a lot of older adults who used to skate who are now getting back into it now that there’s a skatepark.”
Twiggs regular Marcus Filippini is a part of this group. Although he has skated in many other Chicagoland skateparks before, he explains that “Twiggs is one of the best if not the best skatepark the Chicago-land has to offer”.
Although the park has amazing equipment to try out, Filippini pointed out a slant in one of the jumps that has been messing other skaters “quote”. We would love to get it fixed, he explains.
Not only skateboarders have been making use of the park. Bikers are up and down the jumps just as quick, and have been making good use of the space. To some of the kids that are regulars at the park, biking is easier to them compared to skating. The inclusivity of the bikers at the skatepark is incredible for giving these kids a space to make friends and pursue their hobby.
People are able to come to the skatepark and feel that they are not being judged by others; instead, they are being lifted up and helped by the community around them. Aguirre explains how he’s seen a lot of change for the better with skateboarding in Evanston and hopes to see more get involved in the community it has to offer.
“I hope that kids now are not feeling scared to go skateboarding,” he says, “I’ve seen a couple of kids at Twiggs really practicing and putting in the work and it’s been really cool to see them get good”.
Inclusivity is what makes this community thrive. With different age ranges and people from neighboring cities, the Evanston skatepark holds a home-like environment.
“The best part of the skatepark is the community, it’s like another home,” Casem says.
