Skaters beware 鈥� this building is not for grinding

By: Daily Blog//December 22, 2010//

Skaters beware – this building is not for grinding

Daily Blog//December 22, 2010//

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Wipeout warning - these metal balls on the edge of the 937 Condominium building are meant to keep skateboarders from grinding on the building. (Photo by Aaron Spencer/91视频)

If you’ve ever wondered about the purpose of the small, metal balls at the base of the 937 Condominium building in Portland’s Pearl District, wonder no more.

“They’re for skateboarders,” said co-developer Geoff Wenker. “They jump up there and ride the corner of it and smear their waxy wheels on it and break the concrete.”

Wenkler said he had the smalls orbs installed sometime after the building was completed – after eight incidents of what he called “vandalism.”

“The 10^th Street side is where you get hit it the worse,” Wenker said, because skateboarders like the slope there.

The grinding deterrents are pretty easy to find, actually. Here’s one vendor called . You don’t have to get metal balls, either. They come in all shapes in sizes.