Vintage Land wants to be your one-stop weekend destination. In addition to its weekly rooftop Los Feliz Flea market, newly upgraded tournament-grade pickleball courts and collection of virtual-reality escape rooms that opened last year, the multipurpose space is now adding skateboarding to its list of offerings. (It’s worth noting that even though its market is called Los Feliz Flea, Vintage Land is actually more in between Angelino Heights and Chinatown.)
Grind House, a new indoor skate park that’s billed as a “celebration of skate culture,” will open as a hub for the skating community on the ground floor of Vintage Land. Expect half-pipes, bowls and street-style features, as well as ramps and rails courtesy of skater-owned and -operated KEEN Ramps.
Grind House is open to skaters of all skill levels—from total beginners, who can take advantage of lessons from expert instructors, to seasoned pros, who can drop in, grind and practice tricks in the gnarly, custom-built park. From a peek at renderings of the new space, it looks like you can expect street art on the walls, shopping from local vendors and a booth where a DJ will provide the soundtrack for skate sessions.
Ordinarily, the skate park will be membership-based, like a club, but for one day only—Saturday, March 29—Vintage Land is introducing Grind House to the world with a day full of free skating from 11am to 5pm. (The grand opening handily coincides with Los Feliz Flea, so you can shred and shop in the same day.)
But skating isn’t the only thing on offer at the grand opening. Tattoo artists including @PonchoTheArtist will be inking live, whether you want a tattoo yourself or just want to observe their artistry up-close. You can also meet local skaters and shop for boards and skate accessories.
After next Saturday, you’ll have to be a member to skate at Grind House, so the grand opening offers a chance to try it out before committing. If you like what you see, memberships start at $50 a month, which gets you five free day skate passes for yourself or to share with a friend. After using up those passes, you’ll need to pay a $10 day fee for the rest of your visits within the month. You’ll have access to Grind House Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. For serious skaters, a premium membership is $125 a month (with 10 day passes and a lower $5 day fee) and gets you an extra hour of both early and late access to the ramps, plus a permanent on-site locker and 20% off Grind House merch. And both memberships grant you the most precious thing you can find in Los Feliz: parking in a free lot.
The membership model means you can’t stroll by and casually watch gravity-defying tricks if you’re not a skater yourself (a la the Venice Skatepark, which is free to all), but Grind House’s Downtown-adjacent location is more central than Venice and is bound to fill a need for skaters who don’t reside on the Westside.
Grind House is located on the ground floor of Vintage Land, at 1030 Alpine St. After the grand opening March 29, the skate park will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 5pm for standard members, and from 10am to 6pm for premium members. You can find more info and sign up for a membership on the Grind House website.