Smaller at 18.75″ L x 4.25″ W x 3.25 T. Of the generation whereby they were marketing these as a cheaper/easier means to learning how to surf aka “sidewalk surfing”. A piece of americana and a key moment in time for the evolution of the american skateboard! Seen here and up for sale is one complete and original early Skee Skate model 400 skateboard by Tresco of California, circa 1962. According to many historians, including The Skateboarding Hall of Fame, the title of “First Mass Production Skateboard” goes to the Skee Skate seen here. Tresco set up the production line for the Skee Skate in Culver City, CA in 1962 and saw good initial success with sales in the thousands over the first couple years. The Skee Skate was also the first skateboard to be advertised on the first page, in the first issue, of the first skateboarding magazine: Skateboarding Quarterly [1964, pictured]. The piece is in good condition for a skateboard of it’s age with all original hardware and paint intact. The graphics seen on the topside of the deck are usually stripped away in pieces this old but here present very nicely along with the previous owner; Beth’s personalization. This rare piece of skateboarding history is normally only seen in museums and would make the perfect addition to any public or private collection. However, before skateboards there were scooters, sometimes known as kick scooters and push scooters. Varied forms of scooters have been traced back to the early 1900s, most of them made from wood, metal, or a combination of the two. Scooters had anywhere from two to four wheels. Some of the wheels were metal and others were similar to the wheels on pedal cars. In the 1940s and 1950s, crate scooters made popular sidewalk vehicles. Most crate scooters were handmade. They were relatively inexpensive and simple for kids to construct by using a milk crate or wooden fruit box and metal roller skate wheels attached to a wooden 2 x 4. Eventually kids started removing the boxes and handlebars and just started riding the board with wheels, reminiscent of the famous skateboard scene in the 1985 film. Back to the Future. By the early 1960s, skateboarding started luring participants from the surfer scene. In 1962 a southern California surf shop, Val Surf, began making its own brand of skateboards and struck a deal with Chicago Roller Skate Company for the wheels. The skateboards began to attract everyday surfers who could use the boards when they weren’t in the water, and thus the term “sidewalk surfer” was coined. Additionally, skateboarding gained popularity when Larry Stevenson, publisher of. Promoted it in his monthly magazine. In 1963, Stevenson made the first professional skateboards using the Makaha brand and organized the first known skateboarding contest. That same year saw an evolution in skateboard design with the use of clay (also known as composite) wheels that replaced treacherous metal ones. Moving ahead, in 1964 surf and sailing entrepreneur Hobart “Hobie” Alter joined forces with Vita-Pakt company to make a line of Hobie skateboards; the Hobie line also sponsored several contests and professional skaters. Later that summer, the musical group Jan and Dean performed Sidewalk Surfin. On Dick Clark’s. An event which helped further popularize skateboarding with mainstream society. In 1965, the skateboarding sport peaked as manufacturers tried to keep up with the demand, cranking out an estimated 50 million skateboards between 1963 and 1965. In May, the world’s first skatepark, Surf City in Tucson, Arizona opened to the public..