Historic & Beloved Linda Vista Site Once Again Under Threat

In the culturally diverse neighborhood of Linda Vista, a historic and beloved site that has fended off closure multiple times now faces another threat to its existence. Skateworld, a long-standing, family-owned indoor roller skating rink at 6907 Linda Vista Road, could be torn down to make way for new housing if the City of San Diego has its way.

While it’s currently a roller rink, the site’s history dates back more than 80 years, to when it was known as the Linda Vista Housing Project Tenant Activity Building.

The history of the Linda Vista Housing Project Tenant Activity Building

The Linda Vista Housing Project was a massive federal defense housing initiative built in the early 1940s to accommodate a surge in population from military families and employees of nearby defense companies during World War II. At the time, it was the largest single defense housing project and the world’s largest low-income housing development.

Workers built 3,000 homes in about 300 days using mass-production techniques. At the peak of production, up to 40 homes were completed a day. While that may seem impressive, this Historical Resource Analysis Report says the rapid wartime housing construction often left residents with no spaces to congregate. To fill the void, federal funds were appropriated to construct multi-use community centers, including the Tenant Activity Building.

According to the report, the Tenant Activity Building was built in August of 1943. Construction took approximately 90 days and cost an estimated $125,625. The building’s design was modified from the 800-series FH-A Field House, part of a series of structures the U.S. military designed and built from 1941 to 1942 for temporary and permanent military facilities. 

The Tenant Activity Building could accommodate up to 2,000 people and featured a gym, an auditorium, a large social and recreation room with two smaller activity rooms, and a game and recreation terrace. The building also included offices, a projection booth, lockers, showers, a kitchen, and an outdoor fireplace and open courtyard. It served as Linda Vista’s central recreational facility for people of all ages and organizations, hosting a variety of activities from its construction in 1943 until the federal government sold the building to private ownership in 1953.

The first threat

When the government first proposed selling the site in 1951, the neighborhood protested to keep the Tenant Activity Building. After all, it was still Linda Vista’s only venue for indoor basketball and large community gatherings. Their efforts kept the center open until 1953, when the facility finally closed, and the building entered private commercial use.

The building later reopened as a series of supermarkets including Alpha Beta Acme Markets, Roy’s Market, and Home Town Markets and Pharmacy through the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s. This period also accounts for many alterations to the building, including the removal of the courtyard and the original south entrance.

The Skateworld story

In 1975, the Stang family acquired the building and opened Skateworld. Decades later, it is now San Diego’s last remaining roller skating rink and has become a beloved community staple. Early structural work included reinforcing the building’s roof arches.

On its website, Skateworld says it is dedicated to preserving the building’s look and feel, “most notably the many arches that span the entire width of the skating floor and go 9 feet into the ground on either side.” Other major renovations reportedly took place in 1983 and 1999. These included stripping much of the interior back to the shell and adding features such as the skate floor, snack bar, arcade, and outward-facing retail spaces.

Designation as a historical site

The City of San Diego designated the building as a historical resource in 2011. According to the Save Our Heritage Organisation, the site was found significant for “development patterns and methods during the WWII era of San Diego planning and development. Housed in a renovated military structure (an 800 Series Field House), it is a rare local example of military and defense construction adaptively reused for civilian purposes”. Officially designated HRB Site No. 984, the period of significance covers the years the building spent as a federal community center from 1943-1953.

The Linda Vista building has been “saved“ before

The historical building is akin to a cat with nine lives. As already mentioned, residents banded together to oppose the federal government’s 1951 proposal to sell the building. Then, in 2010, a proposed redevelopment that would end Skateworld’s lease sparked a major closure scare and a massive wave of community backlash. Skateworld survived that scare, and it reportedly prompted the historical study and designation in 2011.

Later, in 2019, the city reportedly opened the site to a bidding process. Companies, including Skateworld, bid on the land but Pacifica Development ultimately won, with plans to build a big-box retailer where the skating rink stood. The community rallied again, urging city council members to vote “no” on the proposed sale to Pacifica.

 A Change.org petition gained more than 19,000 signatures, and on April 8th, 2019, the city council voted 6-3 against the sale. While the community’s efforts paid off, the vote only blocked the sale to Pacifica. The bidding process was expected to restart in 2020. However, the process was disrupted, and Skateworld was closed for 13 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Can it be saved once again?

Skateworld survived threats of closure and a pandemic, fully reopening its operations, but threats to the building still loom just beyond the horizon.

This August, the City of San Diego began floating the idea of getting rid of Skateworld to build more affordable housing. According to The Linda Vista Update, the City presented the concept as one of several possible ideas during a City Engagement Meeting at the Mission Valley Public Library.

Referred to as the Affordable Home Development Master Plan, the plan considered 11 sites, including Skateworld and the neighboring Linda Vista Library. At the meeting, city officials were quick to clarify that no decisions have been made on how the plan will look at each site, and gave vague answers such as “this is just a concept” and “these are just potential site opportunities” to members of the community concerned about what the plan would mean for sites like Skateworld and the library.

While Skateworld is currently only a candidate site and an official housing project has not yet been approved, it may soon be the case that Skateworld will once again rely on the community to live to see another day. When that time comes, it may once again be up to the residents of Linda Vista to answer with signs in hand and save Skateworld one more time.