{{Short description|Oldest Skatepark in Albany, Western Australia}} {{For|the tributary in Pennsylvania, U.S.|Snake Run (Beaver River tributary)}} {{Use Australian English|date=February 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}} {{Infobox building | name = Snake Run | image = WA Albany Snake Run Drone 2023.jpg | image_size = | caption = A drone shot taken in 2023 with the start of the Snake Run in the bottom left | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = Snake Run | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | building_type = Skatepark | location = Albany, Western Australia | coordinates = {{coord|35|01|10.2|S|117|53|52.3|E|type:landmark_region:AU|name=Snake Run|display=inline,title}} | embedded = {{Infobox designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = State Register of Heritage Places | designation1_offname = | designation1_type = State Registered Place | designation1_criteria = | designation1_date = 17 May 2016 | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = | designation1_number = {{SRHP|1972}} }} }} thumb|Near the bottom of the Snake Run, 2016 The '''Snake Run''', also known as the '''Albany Snake Run''', '''Albany Skate Track''' and '''Hare Street Skate Park''', is a skatepark in Albany, Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skateboard.com.au/skateparks/australia/albany-skate-track/|title=Albany Skate Track|accessdate=14 February 2016}}</ref> The park is the oldest community funded skatepark in Australia and the second oldest in the world.<ref name=PIAF>{{cite web|url=https://perthfestival.com.au/great-southern-festival/whats-on/2016/the-snake-run-project/|title=The Snake Run Project|accessdate=14 February 2016|publisher=Perth International Arts Festival|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408041331/https://perthfestival.com.au/great-southern-festival/whats-on/2016/the-snake-run-project/|archivedate=8 April 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=ABC>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-12/snake-run-skate-park-in-albany-wa-gets-heritage-listing/7161800|title=Snake Run skate park in Albany WA gets heritage listing|author=Kendall O'Connor|date=12 February 2016|accessdate=14 February 2016|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
The impetus for a dedicated skatepark came following the death of a skateboarder in Albany's main street in the mid-1970s.<ref name=WA>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/30800058/skate-park-makes-heritage-history/|title=Skate park makes heritage history|author=Ken Acott|work=The West Australian|date=12 February 2016|accessdate=14 February 2016|publisher=Yahoo7}}</ref> In 1975 a group of students from Albany Senior High School formed a committee with the idea of building a skatepark. The group started fundraising and soon accumulated {{AUD}}3,000. The Albany Town Council donated {{convert|3|acre|ha|0}} of land that was once a gravel quarry and donated {{AUD}}10,000 to the project.<ref name=Gate>{{cite web|url=https://www.albanygateway.com.au/visitor/historical/the-snake-run-hare-street|title=The Snake Run, Hare Street|accessdate=14 February 2016|publisher=Albany Gateway}}</ref>
The track was opened in February 1976 by the American skateboarder Russ Howell.<ref name=Gate/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/regional/great-southern/a/30274747/skating-legend-back-at-snake-run/|title=Skating legend back at Snake Run|author=Tim Edmunds|date=4 December 2015|work=Albany Advertiser|accessdate=14 February 2016|publisher=Yahoo7}}</ref>
The run is made from concrete and is {{convert|140|m|ft|0}} in length running downhill.<ref name=WA/> The track is curved downward and lipped with a wall on first turn with lower rises on the next two turns and finishing with a drained bowl at the end.
The park was heritage listed in 2016, making it one of the only three skateparks in the world that have heritage status.<ref name=ABC/><ref name=WA/>
==See also== * List of places on the State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Albany
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Heritage places in Albany, Western Australia Category:Skateparks in Australia Category:State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Albany