Since John F. Kennedy Park became known to the skate world as LOVE Park, it’s been a hive of skateboarding, not just for Philadelphia, but for the world. Jonathan Rentschler captures the last days of LOVE’s life.
LOVE park is concretely set into 90s and 2000s skateboarding for eternity, there is no removing it – thanks to every US part worth its salt. Every baggy trousered push and clumpy shoed varial flip set it deeper and deeper into the heart of skate culture. 
“LOVE Park was an obsession from childhood. I grew up watching skate videos like Alien Workshop’s “Photosynthesis” and Sub Zero’s “Real Life” and looking up to pros like Josh Kalis and Stevie Williams.”
– Jonathan Rentschler (HUCK)
“The diversity of the people at LOVE created a dynamic energy. It was a raw, gritty, and spontaneous place. A melting pot of culture.”
“When skateboarders found their way to LOVE in the 80s, it was an neglected and under-utilised space. It was the skateboarders who brought an energy and life back to this place.”
“The skate community at LOVE was made up of many different generations that were tied together.”
“The revitalisation of the park feels more like a type of social cleansing, rather than trying to modernise a public space. The closing of the park displaced a lot of people, but specifically the homeless and skateboarders.”
“The new LOVE Park will be a controlled and regulated space, devoted to consumption, and for the use of the city’s privileged and visiting tourists.”
PHOTOS: Jonathan Rentschler
