New terrain. A 7' corner filled the hole next to the quarter pipe-pyramid-hip combo and wrapped around to an 8' extension which tapered off as a rounded, section of volcano, kinda hip. The lines opened up and got way faster. The park never seemed crowded any more although I could always count on one or more of the following warriors to skate with: Tam, Jen, Larry, Jamie Mac, Greg Bernstein, Joey Perl, or Doug. Even Geoff (the guy who built everything) tapered off near the end with a hurt knee. Then the day came, appropriately enough Kevin Day gave me the news, Maximus had closed for business. As the ramps and shop were dismantled, the dust that collected under the ramps and debris for over 12 years made everyone sick. There were artifacts to be discovered: old banners, old photos, old paintings, just a heap of skatepark stuff. I watched Mikey Brown get in his last switch backside tailslide low to high from tiny pocket (clamshell) to the flatwall. Doug kept skating whatever he had as the place got dismantled. The floor was littered with screws and sheets of metal and he showed off a whole new transfer from big ramp to bank ramp.
Thanks Zito. Thanks Doug. Thanks Rom. Maximus. R.I.P.
Pat photo by M.Andersen