Local
skateboarders began practicing new techniques on the concrete
wall for the Pacific Gardens Chapel in Santa Cruz, Calif.,
which promptly began the wall's demolition. Tom Ralston rejected
ideas of bent rebar or metal plates to deter the skateboarders.
Instead he cast polymer concrete replicas of a large seashell,
drilled the walls, and attached the shells with rebar. A polished
and antiqued copper epoxy gave a nice finish effect. However
creative, Ralston's son Zach, an avid skateboarder, was not
thrilled with the final result.
