Cadillac Wheels skatedeck
date: label: date made
content: 1973
label: date made
content: 1974
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Cadillac Wheels skatedeck is solid wood with Cadillac Wheels printed in white on the bottom of the deck.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Frank Nasworthy’s introduction of the urethane wheel to skateboarding in the early 1970s, changed the face of the sport allowing riders a more fluid, smooth ride and innovators to create new and improved equipment designed specifically from the use of the urethane wheel on skateboards. Prior to Cadillac wheel’s introduction, skateboarding had dropped from popularity. The equipment did not allow for a safe, enjoyable ride. The wheels, made of steel, plastic, clay or a crushed walnut composite did not provide a smooth ride. One small rock or rise in the road and the board would stop, sending the rider flying. Nasworthy, a recreational skater discovered the urethane wheel, originally used for roller skating, at a friend’s father’s factory in Purcellville, Virginia. He saw the potential for skateboarding and returned to California with 1000 wheels he bought from his friend’s dad. Selling them to skate and surf shops in California, Nasworthy soon realized the business potential and began manufacturing the wheels under the name Cadillac. In the summer of 1974, Nasworthy realized providing replaxement wheels for existing skateboards was short sighted and decided to begin manufacturig skateboards as well. He bought a load of Mahogany from a ship's captain he knew in San Diego and designed the skateboard deck you see here. Unfortunately for Nasworthy, skateboarding was already well on it's way to adapting different board designs and he was left with a few hundred of these of a rather simple design which he was unable to sell. And while skateboarding ebbed again in the late 70s, the wheels were here to stay.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: name of sport
content: skateboarding
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
label: See more items in
content: Sports & Leisure
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0116.02
label: accession number
content: 2021.0116
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0116.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: skate deck
label: Object Name
content: skatedeck
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 in x 5 in x 1/2 in; 60.96 cm x 12.7 cm x 1.27 cm