Hubba Hideout is one of the most famous skateboarding spots. It is located in San Francisco near the Justin Herman Plaza on The Embarcadero. Its central feature is an over sized set of 6 stairs with large concrete ledges on both sides. The spot is part of a pedestrian walkway but has been more commonly used by the local skateboarders and vagrants. The name Hubba Hideout derives from the slang word "hubba" which refers to the illegal substance crack. Long before skateboarders frequented the spot it was used by addicts as a hideout in which to smoke crack.
The first documented trick on the ledge at Hubba Hideout was Wade Speyer's crooked grind. Hubba Hideout gained fame through skateboarding magazines and videos and it became a mecca for advanced skateboarders visiting San Francisco. The frequency of skateboarders eventually attracted the attention of the authorities and resulted in a full scale skate-stopper implementation (in the late part of the nineties). The ledges were capped (or knobbed) with skate-stopping devices which rendered them impossible to grind. Skateboarders managed to remove the skate-stopping devices and use of the ledges had a resurgence.
Eventually, in March 2007, the authorities had the brick landing taken out and covered it in sand. However, this has not rendered the spot un-skate able. A rather simple impromptu set-up of wood or other material replacing the brick landing will suffice for the initial impact. A clean ride-away across the sand is indefinitely possible after that initial landing.
