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July 23, 2009
A Great Adventure
After major renovations, two of Central Parks most unique playgrounds are set to welcome back their pint-sized patrons
Two of the most unique, innovative playgrounds in Central Park — and in New York City, for that matter — are newly rebuilt and set to reopen this summer.
West 100th Street Playground, with its signature curved bridge and climbing cone, is slated to welcome its pint-sized patrons next week. Ancient Playground, the popular Egyptian-inspired play space whose distinctive pyramids stand across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is scheduled to open by early August.
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Highlights
West 100th Playground
| | | Both playgrounds were most recently rebuilt in the early 1970s, at which time their designs reflected the growing popularity of the adventure-style playgrounds pioneered by architects like M. Paul Friedberg and Richard Dattner.
“These playgrounds are very different from traditional playgrounds consisting of fenced-in areas with an assortment of free-standing play equipment,” said Chris Nolan, the Conservancy’s Vice President for Capital Projects. “They’re completely designed environments in which the play features are interconnected and integrated into the site.”
The playgrounds have been redesigned and reconstructed to breathe new life into the aging spaces, providing new and improved play experiences while maintaining the spirit of their original designs.
Rebuilding the playgrounds of an earlier era in the context of the safety and accessibility standards that have evolved in the decades since their original construction poses real challenges. “It takes rigorous analysis and creative problem-solving, but these playgrounds can be rebuilt in a way that incorporates many of the unique and character-defining features of their original designs while responding to the expectations of contemporary users and complying with current design standards,” Nolan explains. “The goal is to introduce a new generation of park users to playgrounds that are as fun and inviting to children of all abilities as we can make them by building on the innovative design of a previous era and applying the knowledge and advances available to us today.”
It’s an approach the Conservancy has developed through two decades of experience rebuilding other adventure-style playgrounds in the Park, and involves a much more exhaustive planning process than most people realize.
“As with all our projects in Central Park, we do extensive outreach and go through a long and involved public review process,” said Lane Addonizio, the Conservancy’s Associate Vice President for Planning.
On the Surface
What covers the ground of a play space can be as integral a part of the design as what kids climb, swing, slide, and spin on.
Read more >> | | |
| Conservancy staff sought input from a range of individuals and groups with various perspectives and interests. Interviews were conducted with parents and children in both playgrounds, and the design team met with groups of parents throughout the process. They also consulted with the architects of the original designs, and with numerous neighborhood and civic groups, in the course of developing design proposals for formal public review and approval by the Community Boards surrounding the Park, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Art Commission of the
City of New York.
Parents generally express concerns about the safety of the adventure-style playgrounds, and these were no exception. Many of parents interviewed at the West 100th Street and Ancient Playgrounds initially wanted to want to see something entirely different in their place. Other groups interested in the playgrounds as examples of the design of the period advocated for keeping them as intact as possible. “We’ve found that by focusing on the specific concerns people have about the playgrounds as well as what’s interesting and successful about their original designs, we can come up with design solutions that address the valid perspectives on all sides” said Addonizio, “and I think most people will agree that in this case, that process has produced two really terrific playgrounds.”
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Highlights
Ancient Playground
- Reconstruction and renovation of adventure-style play structures, including a climbing pyramid, water features, and toddler sandbox
- Incorporation of new composite play equipment constructed of wood and including climbers, ramps, and slides
- A variety of new swings for a range of age groups
- Construction of a new water spray feature for toddlers
- Sand-colored “carpet” safety surface in the central play area, and rubber safety surfacing in other areas including the undulating ground under the big-kid climbers and tire swings
- Renovation of the playground’s comfort station to provide a separate entrances for playground users and the general public, keeping foot traffic from the street out of the playground
| | | Originally constructed in 1972, both playgrounds drew a heavy influence from the adventure playground movement. Adventure playgrounds were first created in Europe after World War II, when designers and city officials witnessed the creative ways in which children played with the rubble and debris left behind from the war. Playgrounds were created throughout Europe where children were given tools and materials, and encouraged to construct their own environments. This idea evolved and eventually swept through the United States, where architects began designing play environments that lent themselves to imaginative play. Instead of relying on traditional, free-standing equipment, they built various forms out of concrete and wood and incorporated slides, ropes, and water. Advocates believed these less-rigid environments encouraged children to think and play more freely, ultimately fostering a more comprehensive child development.
Central Park’s first adventure-style playground arrived in 1966, built by architect Richard Dattner at West 67th Street. Dattner’s design was influenced by input he received through extensive consultation with members of the community who wanted a new kind of playground. In place of the swings, slides, see-saws and monkey bars that typified the previous generation of playgrounds, Dattner encouraged exploration and imaginative play by designing a continuous and integrated environment. Many similarly-styled playgrounds began cropping up all over the city, with Dattner himself going on to create four more such play spaces in Central Park — including Ancient Playground. The “Discovery Play Park” at West 100th Street Playground was the creation of Ross, Ryan, Jacquette Architects who, like Dattner, worked closely with the adjacent community to develop their design.
 By the 1980s, however, adventure-style playgrounds began disappearing from city parks and neighborhoods as concern rose over their safety, maintenance and accessibility. Today, Central Park is home to the only remaining playgrounds of this type in the city. They endure because of community interest in their design, and because the Conservancy has developed the expertise and resources to rebuild them in a way that maintains their unique architectural character while addressing the issues that have led to their wholesale removal elsewhere.
Be sure to explore the Park’s other adventure-style playgrounds:
- Adventure Playground (West 67th Street)
- East 72nd Street Playground
- Heckscher Playground (mid-Park at 63rd Street)
- Wild West Playground (West 93rd Street)
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