Danvers Park Named After Skateboarding Fan

The skateboard park at Plains Park has a new name.

It is now the Brad Purcell Skateboard Park, named after a man who loved skateboarding and was responsible for the creation and the upkeep of the park.

The selectmen unanimously approved the naming of the park at their Nov. 3 meeting. His wife, Cheryl, presented the naming proposal to the selectmen.

Purcell died after a struggle with cancer at the age of 52. He worked for many years at Danvers Hardware, and came up with the idea for a skateboard park after the town passed a bylaw in 1997 to ban skateboarding in the downtown area.

With the help of a selectman, Purcell formed a committee and collected $40,000 in private donations to build the park. He designed every aspect of the park cared deeply about maintaining it. His colleagues would say that if there were any cracks, he would take cement and fix it himself.

Purcell’s family and friends have donated $2,000 to be used toward a plaque or memorial bench at the park as well.