#Loft657: The End of an Era
This past weekend marked the end of an era for the Chicago rollerblade scene. It was the last weekend the scene resided at the 657 Lofts which also went by The Pull, Anchor and Eve, and The Base to all the dudes at Uptop. It was a special place because not only was it the central hub of the tight knit Chicago rollerblade scene, but it was also a place of business and creative space for plenty of rollerbladers to work and earn a living. Colin Martin was the man who was basically managing the place for the property owner. The property owner has decided to sell it to some investors, ergo, everyone who was living there had to vacate the premises.
I was late to the party, but in the past year, I have definitely made some memories at the pull. From the first couple weeks of me moving here and going to the Windy City Riot fundraiser competitions, I knew that I had made some good friends in the city. The first time I got drunk in Chicago was after the Wilson Skatepark competition at the 657 Lofts, and then went to the VFW afterwards. At another party at the lofts, I took home a gothic, alien-looking chick back to my crib, and that was extremely weird, but definitely a good story from the lofts.
This past friday, the homie Joe Esquivel threw one last banger at the lofts, and the spot was super hyphy. Although the fact that the lofts will not be ours anymore is a very somber issue, but besides that everyone was in good spirits and the vibe was spot on. They had typical GL-Joe-esque visuals on projectors around the crib. There was one projector attached to a camera that was actually filming the party and spinning around and projecting the images onto the wall as it was spinning, that shit was fire. There was a DJ spinning some serious jams, and a surprising amount of fine ass women in attendance. We got a little bit too loud, and I believe the district's alderman was aware of this party, and the cops ended up showing up. Most of the kids and randies left, but everyone who was fam stuck around, and after the cops left we turned up again.
Calling the night a success would be an understatement, it was the perfect way to welcome the next era in the Chicago blade scene, because I believe there are some plans in the works. Our scene will not be homeless; it will not weaken or dissolve, it will just change and progress. I am happy I can say I was around for at least one of the many years that the lofts have been holding down the scene, it was definitely a good year. We will just have to wait and see what's next for all the Chicago bladers. Peace!