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Unusual Playgrounds
Join us on a cross-country tour of this year’s most unusual playgrounds

By Linda Stalvey

When it comes to next-generation playground design, the name of the game seems to be – unusual. Gone are the days of gravel, asphalt or dirt under the swings, monkey bars or merry-go-rounds. Instead, playgrounds must provide a challenge, produce a thrill, stimulate the mind or tickle the imagination. In most communities, they must do all of these things – safely and within budget.
This is a tall order, but it can be done.
Below are four success stories in unusual and popular playground development. While these projects differ in community size, priorities and budget, they all turn on the ability of the park director to think creatively, select manufacturers who work interactively and engender community support.
Our tour, which starts at a medieval castle in Jonesboro, Arkansas, also explores a Megatower in Ohio, an intergenerational playground in eastern Pennsylvania and fun in the sun at the Jersey Shore.
So, hop aboard and prepare to experience the unusual.

Craighead Forest Park (Jonesboro, Arkansas)
When the state of Arkansas appropriated $150,000 for a new playground in its popular Craighead Forest Park, Jason Wilkie, Director of Parks and Recreation for Jonesboro, knew exactly what he wanted…castle ruins.
Inspired by the ruins of castles he toured while traveling through Ireland in 1999 and the eerie similarity between the landscape of that country and the 600 acres of forest and lake that make up the park, Wilkie set to work with the design team at Landscape Structures, Inc. (Delano, Minn.), to come up with a workable plan.
Working from an initial idea that included rocks and broken turrets (and ultimately proved too costly and unsafe), the collaborative effort resulted in a castle (pictured here) that any aspiring Tinker Belle, Ella or King Arthur would be proud to call home.
“The best feature of the park is that it sparks the imagination and imaginative play,” says Wilkie. “I see dads playing dragon with their daughters as princesses and sons as brave knights. It’s exactly what we intended.”
If there’s a downside to the design, Wilkie says, it’s “ not enough elements for the two- to five-year-olds, although we have that elsewhere in the park.”
If creating a custom playground is on your “to do” list, Wilkie advises, “Think as creatively as you can, know the process will take longer (than usual) and make sure the manufacturer has the resources and imagination to work with you to execute your ideas.”
So, what was the verdict?
According to Wilkie, “Our community enjoys a variety of playground, equipment, but we’ve gone above and beyond with the Craighead Forest Park Castle. It’s really special!”
And, who doesn’t like to have a special experience?

Archbold Woodland Park (Archbold, Ohio)
Having your finger on the pulse of the community is critical for any public official, and Jennifer Kidder, Parks and Recreation Director for Archbold, Ohio (population 4,295), is no different.
“I talk to the kids a lot,” says Kidder. So, when it came time to develop a 10,000squarefoot play area in 60-acre Archbold Woodland Park, Kidder knew what they wanted.
“To satisfy my population of five- to 13-year-olds, it had to be the highest slide out there,” she said. “And the highest slide out there is made by Miracle Recreation Equipment Company (a division of PlayPower).”
Miracle’s Megatower is a triple-deck system standing 14 feet high. The first deck is located at ground level, the second at eight feet and the third at the top (14 feet). The structure is enclosed to provide safety, but high enough to still provide the thrill factor required by the kids.
“It really is huge,” says Kidder.
The new play area (which also includes three bays of swings and a merry-go-round) is scheduled for completion at the end of September, which Kidder hopes is in plenty of time to give the kids a fun activity to fight the inevitable back-to-school blues and help them expend some energy (and calories).
As with all capital improvement projects, Kidder was forced to make some tough budgetary decisions. In order to maximize the play value of the project, Kidder elected to use the community build option (Lion’s Club members, under the direction of their Miracle representatives, installed the play components) and shaved $40,000 off the cost.
“It’s the only way we could afford the equipment we wanted,” she said.
In fact, if Kidder were to do anything over, she would have simply started earlier so she could have it finished earlier.
No doubt, the kids in her community would agree.

St. Mary’s Intergenerational Destination Park (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania)
Sometimes, you can please all of the people, all of the time. Just ask Greg Weitzel, Executive Director of the Lewisburg Area Recreational Authority (LARA), about one of his recent projects – St. Mary’s Intergenerational Destination Park.
The new park has it all: playgrounds for both tots and older children; a swimming pool with competition lanes, diving well, 38-foot high double-flume slide, and wading pool with water features; and Life Trail – a stationed trail to keep the over-50 set in shape.
To complement the recreation features, the park includes luscious landscaping whose blooming plants and trees provide the perfect setting for enjoyment of all the various features.
Of course, projects of this size and scope are never one-person, one-agency affairs. In this case, it sure helped to have PlayWorld Systems in his backyard, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on his side, lots of grant funding and the always-necessary support and involvement of the community.
The finished project resulted in economic, community, individual health and environmental benefits – a grand slam in park planning – and draws people not only from the community, but from neighboring states as well.
“Success breeds success, and we have succeeded beyond our wildest dream,” said Weitzel. The only negative, he added, was “increased maintenance expense from the large number of people using the park!”
For others, Weitzel provides encouragement. “Have the vision, and follow through. Don’t give up. Stay positive despite the nay-sayers. If it is the right thing to do, it will happen and the people will back you.”

Play by the Bay Playground (Sea Isle City, New Jersey)
In 1907, New Jersey enacted the country’s first comprehensive piece of legislation creating a playground commission. The state’s continuing dedication to the welfare of its children is reflected in the Play by the Bay playground in Sea Isle City.
Earlier this year, Vicky I. Feeney, Recreation Director for Sea Isle City, chose the BCI Burke Company, LLC, to replace a popular, old, pressure-treated wooden playground with a new custom designed system.
Since the $435,803 project was to be situated right on the bay, it made perfect sense to use BCI Burke’s Nature Play system, which includes six hexagonal shaped platforms resembling large, hollow tree trunks linked in a variety of ways.
The design encourages children to creatively traverse from one section to another to make use of the 13 sliding boards, rock climbing wall, and spring-like coil climbers spaced among the 58 play events. The playground, which has elements geared towards both the two-to-five-year-old set and the five-to-12-year-old set, also has a rubber composite safety surface poured beneath the equipment to prevent injuries.
Or, as Cheryl Caster, Recreation Supervisor, says, “The kids can drop off the monkey bars and bounce.”
All of this was in line with Feeney’s desire to build a safe, compliant playground.
“Our intent was to ensure that the new facility is in compliance with all recommendations, guidelines and standards,” said Feeney, “and it is.”
Even better, the total cost of the facility was reimbursed to the city by the Cape May County 2006 Municipal Joint Capital Improvement Fund.
Of course, to the kids and community, playgrounds can be an emotional endeavor.
“The first park was community-built and folks who participated in that project felt a bit nostalgic as the old wood came down,” said Caster. “Now, they are awestruck by the new facility.”
Which is precisely the reaction an unusual playground deserves.

Linda Stalvey is a freelance writer and active playground user. You can reach her at lstalvey1@verizon.net.