The bench was put in the Plaza, a well-liked hangout for skateboarders close to Temple Campus, last week before university police were called by the bench’s original owner and helped restore it.
Since Anthony Van Engelen, a skater, first introduced the bench to the skating community in a 2003 video, it has a reputation for wandering about. Van Engelen claims he is unaware of its present whereabouts.
The bench was photographed on Thursday along the James River in Richmond with the message “the tale continues,” which seemed to indicate that it had traveled to Virginia.
The bench has had a reputation for moving around since skater Anthony Van Engelen introduced it to the skating world in a 2003 video. Van Engelen pictured competing at the Maloof Money Cup on June 5, 2010 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York
Anthony Van Engelen skates on the iconic bench when it resided in Southern California – its first resting place
The missing poster that was posted around New York City after the bench was stolen from Tompkins Square Park in late August
The bench went unseen from 2003-2020, adding to the mystery around the fabled structure, until Van Engelen unveiled it again in a 2020 skate video called ‘Dancing on Thin Ice.’
Van Engelen then moved the bench to New York City in 2020 and dropped it off at Tompkins Square Park for other skaters to use, but the bench quickly vanished – to Van Engelen’s delight.
‘The first day I was there, I went to Tompkins and was skating the bench. The next day, I went to Tompkins, the bench was gone,’ he told NPR. ‘I was like, “cool.”‘
Anonymous skaters had lifted the bench from the park quickly after it was placed, and drove it to Philadelphia in a rented van.
An empty walkway at Tompkins Square Park in the East Village of New York City. Van Engelen moved the bench to New York City in 2020 and dropped it off at Tompkins Square Park for other skaters to use, but the bench quickly vanished – to Van Engelen’s delight
New York City’s skating scene put up flyers for the bench pronouncing it ‘missing’ and said it was last seen on August 24.
Instagram user Harry Bergenfield seemingly owned up to the theft, and posted a picture of himself and others outfitted in black next to a rented van with the caption ‘what’s this?’
But only one day after the bench was introduced to Philly, it disappeared again.
‘After providing evidence of ownership, including a receipt of purchase, Temple University Police assisted the owner with the bench’s recovery,’ Temple University Police said in a statement.
‘With the bench now back in the rightful owner’s possession, it is expected to return to New York City,’ they said.
The origin of the bench can be found in the skateboarding Mecca of California, when two stolen benches were bolted together in Santa Ana in the 1990’s as skaters recognized the potential for grinds.
A grind is a move where the skateboard trucks, which connect the wheels, are slid along an edge or surface – such as on a bench, table, or handrails.
After the 2003 video featuring Van Engelen, the fabled bench came to be known as the ‘AVE bench’ after the skater’s initials.
‘For 99% of humanity, it’s just a chunk of steel,’ Van Engelen said. ‘I hope as many people who want to skate it, get a chance to skate it, and it just goes forever.’