Nude Bowl

33°58′03″N 116°37′13″W / 33.967504°N 116.620163°W / 33.967504; -116.620163 The Nude Bowl was a popular skateboarding locale from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. The name comes from the fact that the site was once a naturist resort named "Desert Gardens Ranch."[1]

It is outside Desert Hot Springs, California and consists of an abandoned kidney bean shaped swimming pool and a few foundations of buildings that used to surround the area. There is no paved road to the Nude Bowl.

Initially, the Nude Bowl was merely a skateboarding party location, but by the 1990s, large parties and violence became commonplace there.[2][3] After numerous complaints about guns and fighting around the Nude Bowl, the police filled it in with dirt. Skateboarders returned, removed the dirt, and repaired the bowl.[4] After a few months, the police broke up the concrete and buried the remains of the bowl, but the pool was later excavated and repaired.[citation needed]

Documentary and resurrection

A documentary project on the site was started in 2008, intending to trace the Nude Bowl's history, from Nudist Colony to the many attempts at re-building.[5]

The Palm Springs Skatepark contains a replica of the Nude Bowl, which is the most popular feature in the park.[6]

The history of the Nude Bowl is the subject of JFA's popular song "Nude Bowl Resurrection".

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Desert Hot Springs Historical Society". Dhshistoricalsociety.com. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  2. ^ "Bringing Down Pala Bowl". Sandiegoreader.com. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  3. ^ "Desert rock underground finally makes the limelight". Desert Sun. 2016-03-10.
  4. ^ Theo Douglas (2005-06-09). "Skate and Destroy". Orange County Weekly. Archived from the original on 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  5. ^ Nude Bowl Documentary Facebook
  6. ^ "City of Palm Springs – Skate Park". Ci.palm-springs.ca.us. Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2010-05-07.