Until yesterday, the Hubba Hideout was made up of two sets of six long stairs with tall concrete banisters on either side. Located in the heart of the city's Embarcadero, and a stone's throw from Justin Herman Plaza, it was commonly known among skaters and BMXers as the famed '90s mecca "EMB." The banisters became a proving ground where skateboarders and BMXers would attempt to take their tricks to the next level, including Jimmy Levan's iconic toothpick grind on the cover of Ride BMX Magazine issue 23 in 1996. And throughout the years, the Hubba Hideout ledge was features in countless BMX videos, including Road Fools 2, and most recently, Road Fools 18.

TadashiThe top ledge at Hubba Hideout is already crushed.

Hubba Hideout got its handle because of the nefarious denizens that would frequent the spot looking for a hidden place to engage in illicit activity. The nickname was a nod to the Bay Area slang term for crack cocaine: "hubbas." Hubba Hideout's notoriety and popularity grew so much over the years that the word hubba became shorthand for any ledge-style banister that slanted down a set of stairs. The term has now been embraced by the skate and snowboard communities as well.

Since Hubba Hideout was never a legalized spot, there have been numerous attempts over the years to keep BMXers and skaters from congregating at the spot. Several attempts to make the banisters un-rideable were thwarted when skate stopping devices drilled into the concrete were meticulously removed by an anonymous pro-skateboarder.

As of press time it is unclear if Hubba Hideout is being removed in order to put a final end to the sessions in the vicinity, or if it's as part of a greater civic initiative to renovate and remodel the area.