South of Boston

Hop along to these playgrounds and parks on the south shore and south west of Boston. Share with us any other parks you enjoy along these paths.   

Marshfield
Braintree
Randolph 
Milton 
Plymouth 
Quincy 
South Boston 
Stoughton
Canton
Sharon
Sandwich 
North Attleboro 
Walpole 
 

Swings - Push Me Higher

These amazing swings are for anyone who can remember pushing so high you were lifted off the seat, or swinging double with your sister, or twisting your rope to give youself a hugh spin in the air. Notice only plank swings. No painful hip huggers.

Constructed out of a 100 foot tree. Sits at the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. Indianapolis.

An interactive display at the Park Avenue Armory in New York designed by Ann Hamilton.

At the International Centre for the Arts in Guimaraes, Portugal. A light under each swing is powered by the motion of the swings themselves!

Urban Swing installation by Jeff Waldman.

While not technically a swing, this big hammock swayed along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Funded by the Awesome Foundation, this beauty only stayed for two weeks in 2010. 

Boston Schoolyard Initiative

My daughter and her friends like to ride their invisible horses at recess. They trot around the paved area behind the school, happy as can be. The folks at the Boston Schoolyard Initiative like to ride invisible horses too. That's why they have been transforming asphalt playgrounds into beautifully landscaped outdoor classrooms with trees, flowers and gardens perfect for invisible horses and the silly little kids that ride them.

Adams Elementary School

Before

After

Guild Elementary School

Before

After

Playground Sculptures and Public Art

Here are a few playground and park sculptures meant for riding, climbing and sliding. We'll chase down some more sculptures by these artists and others as the weather warms up.

Local artist Nancy Schon's Make Way for Ducklings.







































Local artist Mitch Ryerson's log climbing structures at the Boston Esplanade Playspace.

Cat O' Nine Tails at Julia's Garden inside the WWI Memorial park in North Attleboro.

A sculpture by artist Tom Otterness that was on display in the Urban Garden along the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston.

Here is another example of his work. Hope he returns to Boston. We would love to hang all over is art.

Carved dragon at the Alexander Kemp playground in Cambridge.

Watson Park Playground - Braintree. Improvements Coming.

Watson Park in Braintree has an ok basic playground with good enough equipment but no shade. A real drag on the baby swings. It has no fencing which is a negative when you consider the geese and open sandbox. Geese are a real problem as they leave grey polka dots all over the nice green grass. Real party poopers.

Good news though. It's being redesigned and reclaimed.  Check out latest news from February 2013.

Nelson Memorial Park - Splash pad along beach

Nelson Memorial Park in Plymouth has a splash pad next to the beach. A handy feature for any beachgoer looking for an easy way to clean your kid off. This is a real popular spot with a nice surround rock wall to sit and watch the view. 

Playgrounds in Winter

Playgrounds are not packed away in the winter like your bathing suit. They make great snow forts. This winter, never pass the opportunity to go down a snow covered slide or carve out a playground from snow with your chainsaw.

Charles River Playgrounds - Just to Name a Few

The Esplanade Playspace

Many, many years ago, Charles Eliot, an outdoorsy kind of guy, looked out onto the Charles River while holding his nose and thought "we need more grass, less smelly mush." So they tightened the ends of the river up a bit, trimmed the edges and grew lush green grass for parks and playgrounds. Modernization dirtied up the place for a while, but now it's looking real nice. Even the Big Dig added 40 more acres along the river for our enjoyment. Here are a few of those playgrounds inside different neighborhoods, connected by bridges and walkways, and all bound by the beautiful Charles River.

Clarendon Street Play Lot, Boston

The Clarendon Street Play Lot (at Comm. Ave) is a work horse for neighborhood kids and schools. Good equipment, nice landscaping, places to sit and chat, clean and lots of shade in the summer. Comfy cozy for tots. No complaints here.

Puopolo Park and Langone Park - North End, Boston

After a warm plate of spaghetti and meatballs in the North End, take a walk with your box of pastries down to the harbor to Puopolo Park and Langone Park for a real treat. Frederick Law Olmsted, Mr. Greenway, put his footprint on this stretch of Boston Harbor where now a zillion Harborwalkers and residents stay to play. 

Southie's Green Seaweed. The Dorothy Curran Playground.

 



































Do you have any idea what it is? Try tilting your head left to right. Would you believe they are four towering seaweed water fountains swaying in the breeze? Who knew? These wildly imaginative sculptures at the Dorothy Curran playground put a little whimsy (not Whitey) in Southie. Wicked awesome. 

Julia's Garden and Playground at WWI Memorial Park - North Attleboro

Icon Park Design

Inside WWI Memorial Park (a.k.a Watery Hill) in North Attleboro is Julia's Garden, not what you'd expect inside a park that boasts an awesome petty zoo and great hiking and picnicking. Julia's Garden design is unexpected, but perfectly suited for the park. It's unlike anything we've seen. Basically, it's a little girl's fantastical world, complete with a wishing well, unicorn and butterfly fountain. The landscaping, gardening and sculptures compel you to explore this fairy-tale land, a dream come true for the family of Julia Cekala, who imagined such a lovely spot for their daughter, and made it happen. Julia's Garden Foundation.

Biggest Playground Slides in Boston, Stoughton, Arlington and North Attleboro

This is a short list of long slides. There has to be more out there! As we all know, in the summer sun, slides burn skin. To beat the burn, I saw a girl sit on a pillowcase for the ride down. It was cooler and faster! Brilliant.

Children's Adventure Playspace in Stoughton. Check out my post.

Esplanade Playspace, Boston. Check out post

Robbins Farm Park in Arlington

Julia's Garden at WWI Memorial Park in North Attleboro

Awesome wooden slide at the Smith Kid's Playspace in Philadelphia on a recent visit

Chelsea Playgrounds - KaBoom

Creekside Commons in Chelsea

Artistically unique with a huge water feature, small splash pad, unusual beautiful canopy never seen before in these parts, little skate park, beautiful arbor, lots of color. A beautifully landscaped spot with lots of strolling potential tucked away at the end of Cabot Street. Parking is good. Designed by IconParks.

This park is designed to reflect the landscape using architectural and artistic sculptural features. Mind you this is tiny little city, in fact, the smallest city in Massachusetts, with an enormous amount of parks and playgrounds, more than 30, and, on average, they've been building a new one every year! It's a regular playground boomtown. 

 




















Given that Chelsea is the 2nd most densely populated community in Massachusetts, and over 50% of school age students are overweight or obese, it's bursting at the seams, but the city is doing a great job of giving it's residents spaces to spread out a bit, drown out the sound of the Tobin, and get healthy. Learn more about the Healthy Chelsea Coalition here.

   


Related links:

Contractors for project
Chelsea is getting it done! 

Next up...The Dorothy O'Neil Playground 






































This little spot, more like a backyard than a playground, makes great use of every square inch, as many city parks do. Above roars the Tobin, but down below, nothing but trees and benches in the shade. A mother told me she liked the playground because "it's nice and quite." Spoken like a true Chelsea resident. The genius kids were washing down the hot slides with cool water from the spash pad, creating their own water slide! It's located at the corner of Beacon and High street. 

Disney-KaBoom Playspace!
Located at the corner of Heard and Spruce streets

 














Mickey Mouse did not meet me at the entrance. In fact, I almost drove by, but I really wanted to see a KaBoom playground. KaBoom helps communities build playgrounds, and Disney, of course, is one huge playground, so it came with high hopes and expectations.

There was ample shade provided by existing trees along the corners with comfy benches. Other moms pushing strollers came into little Disneyland, and we all enjoyed a nice time on this fertile ground, in this far away neighborhood, under a bridge. 

Shaded Playgrounds

Whether you're a weekday or weekend hopper, finding pleasantly shaded playgrounds is like trying to find a missing sock, it's nearly impossible. Safety is number one for playground design these days, yet very few consider peek time sun, when most kids are at playgrounds, a safety hazard. Did you know that even in 80 degree temperatures a slide can heat up to 140 degrees or more, and it only takes three seconds for your kid to get a first degree burn. Here are the facts according to Accuweather. There are solutions such as canopies.

How about this cool looking one.

Locally, we have Creekside Commons in Chelsea with a beautiful canopy designed by IconParks. I just wish it hung over more of the play structures. I don't know how it holds up to snow, but I'm sure they have it figured out.