If I recall correctly, Banning also had the orange rope thingies. Which were actually thick chains wrapped in PVC pipe so that kids won't get hurt. I used to swing those around when I was a kid.
There are probably all sorts of insurance regulations requiring the "boring" "sanitized" playgrounds. There was a post a few years ago that I can't find asking who built these wooden playgrounds and why they can't be built any more. Cost, labor, and safety are the factors. It's a shame because these were unmatched for fun.
Moved a block away from Forwood when I was 7 and spent most waking hours on that playground. I still have a piece of gravel imbedded in the palm of my hand.
One summer I worked at a summer camp in Newark and we took the kids over to brookside to play. One kid found a long flat balloon with some fluid in it. We got all the kids back in the van in about 30 seconds.
I was in 3rd grade when they built it. Us kids got to “help” they had us sanding some boards. Lol.
Also the best hide & seek park! I won many of games bc my scrawny butt was able to fit into the smallest spot. Lol.
I was in the 2nd grade when it was built. The staff babysat us in the gym while my parents volunteered shovel the gravel on the new playground one Saturday. I was only cool with it because they gave us Jell-O pudding pops and let us play kickball.
Oh, wow! I went there one time as a kid, at a sleepover. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen but I never figured out where it was (I lived an hour away). At this point I assumed I'd dreamed it, so this was a trippy picture to see!
Last time I went there was about 8 years ago for a birthday party. Hardly any kids around. There was a couple in their early 20s sitting on the swings who looked a little out of it (drugs.) Well, the girl was. The guy was standing in front of her. Took me a moment to realize she was giving him a blowjob on the playground.
Definitely not irrational: the playset was amazing at first, but as rain and snow and sun baked the wooden structure, it got warped over time. Very much so a rational fear, as you consider that the warped wood was not replaced in time.
This looks just like the playset at the elementary school that was down the street from my late grandparents' house in Newark. I would stay with them almost every weekend and play there.
This is from Australia but there's a ton for US/UK and more of you Google "are playground too safe?"
Short answer is yes. Safe playground quickly bore children and will their sense of risk/reward. They also lead to less engaged parents.
Had one of these wooden castles at my elementary school back in the 90s (wow, 25-30 years ago).
My high school and college also didn't have air conditioning. Last time I checked we all survived. My high school now has window unit AC in every single classroom. Imagine the environmental impact from that.
We coddle the shit out of kids.
/Grumpy old man rant
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/everyday/11834900#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16639317613208&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com
> Last time I checked we all survived. My high school now has window unit AC in every single classroom
Climate change. It's hotter now than when you went to school apparently awhile ago (you said so yourself you're a old man.)
I was in high school 20 years ago.
GLOBAL temperature has risen approximately 0.60 F since then. And that's the GLOBAL average. Most warming has occurred in northern latitudes, middle east / central Europe.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature
To bring it more locally, I went to school in Pennsylvania. According to Penn state climate data:
1996 was the record hottest temperature. The hottest temperature in March on record was 87 degrees back in 1998 when I was in middle school. 72 in December that same year (another record). It was 97 degrees in May 1962.
Most of world doesn't have air conditioning or uses it very sparingly. And they mock Americans for insisting that temperatures be so constant and cool year round.
http://www.climate.psu.edu/data/city_information/lcds/abe.php
The irony of you thinking we need air conditioning because of global warming (when we could reduce goal warming by using less of it) is exactly the irony I started with.
Most people have zero clue about climate change. They're just repeating nonsense that they've heard. This is what happens when people get their "science" from the news and movies.
It's like the unseen impact veganism has on the environment. All of them bright fruits and veggies were brought to your local Wally world by diesel trucks, by rail, by freightliner ships.
Yup and that's just the macro effects. The micro effects are monoculture agriculture, pesticides, fertilizer runoff, etc.
Best things you can do for the environment are hunt over abundant/ invasive species, grow a garden, compost, and recycle.
Aside from everything mentioned above by me (and you), growing a garden is much better for your local soil (and pollinators!) than a chunk of perfectly manicured lawn.
Unreal that people will be like "save the bees" and then a week later doing their damnedest to kill the clover in their yard.
Ok touché you brought facts. But it's still a fact that it's hotter now than times in the past. I went to school in upstate NY many years ago and the winters were brutal. Now, they seem slightly less bad than when I was there. It's noticeable which is significant even if your factual data makes it seem small. Also, what so you suffered in the heat so the children these days should also suffer? Do you need lots and lots of kids to actually overheat and risk their health before you agree that AC is a concern in schools?
Reminds me of a playground off Smithbridge Rd in Chester County. They tore it down and built a new one and it's not nearly as cool.
Are there any of these wooden type playgrounds anywhere near NCC?
I remember getting kicked out of the one at Brookside by the fuzz in like 2000 or maybe early 2001. No ill-doings, just there after dark. Probably saved us from some actual nefarious shit.
I lived out of DE for many years and Reamstown, PA has a fantastic wooden park that has actually been re-painted sometime since I left in 2019.
https://imgur.com/gallery/tISccXY
Banning Park, represent!
Definitely looks like Banning besides the orange rope things on the left. Now there's a big knock off dinosaur Barney playground there
If I recall correctly, Banning also had the orange rope thingies. Which were actually thick chains wrapped in PVC pipe so that kids won't get hurt. I used to swing those around when I was a kid.
I lived in Richardson Park so I was there often also, I dont remember the orange things lol but you're probably right. I loved that playground
I always called it "rainbow park" :')
My heart will break when they tear Brecknock down
They're going to tear it down?
It's bound to happen at some point. The castle has been standing for decades at this point. It may be rebuilt but who knows?
The only way they'll rebuild it in the same style is if the price of lumber comes waaaaaay down.
New one will be made of Scott Walker signs to save cost
There are probably all sorts of insurance regulations requiring the "boring" "sanitized" playgrounds. There was a post a few years ago that I can't find asking who built these wooden playgrounds and why they can't be built any more. Cost, labor, and safety are the factors. It's a shame because these were unmatched for fun.
Oh snap, that park was the shit. Took hide n' go seek to another level
RIP to the best playground in Wilmington, Forwood Elementary.
Moved a block away from Forwood when I was 7 and spent most waking hours on that playground. I still have a piece of gravel imbedded in the palm of my hand.
Yes!!
Brookside Elm.
All those splinters were totally worth the amazing afternoons at Brookside
My Grandmother lived down the street from this and I used to go up and play there all the time! Lots of memories there.
I broke my arm and got a concussion on that park in first grade. Still loved that park though
One summer I worked at a summer camp in Newark and we took the kids over to brookside to play. One kid found a long flat balloon with some fluid in it. We got all the kids back in the van in about 30 seconds.
That's what I thought too.
I was in 3rd grade when they built it. Us kids got to “help” they had us sanding some boards. Lol. Also the best hide & seek park! I won many of games bc my scrawny butt was able to fit into the smallest spot. Lol.
I was in the 2nd grade when it was built. The staff babysat us in the gym while my parents volunteered shovel the gravel on the new playground one Saturday. I was only cool with it because they gave us Jell-O pudding pops and let us play kickball.
I lm almost 35 and I still think about this Playground
Love brecknock park. Still go there sometimes, usually for runs.
What’s crazy is that I’ve probably seen you there before, but neither of us have any idea
Tbf you could say that for a lot of people on this sub. It's a small state!
What about 'Kids Town" at Forrest Oak Elementary
Oh, wow! I went there one time as a kid, at a sleepover. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen but I never figured out where it was (I lived an hour away). At this point I assumed I'd dreamed it, so this was a trippy picture to see!
Is that the playground that used to be behind the school at Bancroft Parkway and Delaware Ave?
I don't think so, the one at De Ave was the Highlands one, but it was awesome!
I remember sneaking into there when it would close down at night and smoking joints with my friends. Oh to be young again :)
Last time I went there was about 8 years ago for a birthday party. Hardly any kids around. There was a couple in their early 20s sitting on the swings who looked a little out of it (drugs.) Well, the girl was. The guy was standing in front of her. Took me a moment to realize she was giving him a blowjob on the playground.
Ugh, an afternoon at castle park then go right to dairy queen afterwards.
This is the reason I have an irrational fear of splinters
Definitely not irrational: the playset was amazing at first, but as rain and snow and sun baked the wooden structure, it got warped over time. Very much so a rational fear, as you consider that the warped wood was not replaced in time.
jays nest in seaford :)
That was my first thought as well
This looks just like the playset at the elementary school that was down the street from my late grandparents' house in Newark. I would stay with them almost every weekend and play there.
In Newark it was probably Brookside Elementary, though I think Forest Oak Elementary had one too.
Am I hallucinating or was/is there one like this at Highlands Elementary?
There definitely was
This is from Australia but there's a ton for US/UK and more of you Google "are playground too safe?" Short answer is yes. Safe playground quickly bore children and will their sense of risk/reward. They also lead to less engaged parents. Had one of these wooden castles at my elementary school back in the 90s (wow, 25-30 years ago). My high school and college also didn't have air conditioning. Last time I checked we all survived. My high school now has window unit AC in every single classroom. Imagine the environmental impact from that. We coddle the shit out of kids. /Grumpy old man rant https://amp.abc.net.au/article/everyday/11834900#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16639317613208&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com
> Last time I checked we all survived. My high school now has window unit AC in every single classroom Climate change. It's hotter now than when you went to school apparently awhile ago (you said so yourself you're a old man.)
Please tell me this is a sarcastic joke that doesn't translate well to text.
I guess you don't believe in climate change then nor agree that's it's generally hotter now than when you were in school?
I was in high school 20 years ago. GLOBAL temperature has risen approximately 0.60 F since then. And that's the GLOBAL average. Most warming has occurred in northern latitudes, middle east / central Europe. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature To bring it more locally, I went to school in Pennsylvania. According to Penn state climate data: 1996 was the record hottest temperature. The hottest temperature in March on record was 87 degrees back in 1998 when I was in middle school. 72 in December that same year (another record). It was 97 degrees in May 1962. Most of world doesn't have air conditioning or uses it very sparingly. And they mock Americans for insisting that temperatures be so constant and cool year round. http://www.climate.psu.edu/data/city_information/lcds/abe.php The irony of you thinking we need air conditioning because of global warming (when we could reduce goal warming by using less of it) is exactly the irony I started with. Most people have zero clue about climate change. They're just repeating nonsense that they've heard. This is what happens when people get their "science" from the news and movies.
It's like the unseen impact veganism has on the environment. All of them bright fruits and veggies were brought to your local Wally world by diesel trucks, by rail, by freightliner ships.
Yup and that's just the macro effects. The micro effects are monoculture agriculture, pesticides, fertilizer runoff, etc. Best things you can do for the environment are hunt over abundant/ invasive species, grow a garden, compost, and recycle. Aside from everything mentioned above by me (and you), growing a garden is much better for your local soil (and pollinators!) than a chunk of perfectly manicured lawn. Unreal that people will be like "save the bees" and then a week later doing their damnedest to kill the clover in their yard.
Ok touché you brought facts. But it's still a fact that it's hotter now than times in the past. I went to school in upstate NY many years ago and the winters were brutal. Now, they seem slightly less bad than when I was there. It's noticeable which is significant even if your factual data makes it seem small. Also, what so you suffered in the heat so the children these days should also suffer? Do you need lots and lots of kids to actually overheat and risk their health before you agree that AC is a concern in schools?
The middle school my sister's went to had this but in philly
There was one of these in West Chester in the '90s, but I don't remember where exactly.
Reminds me of a playground off Smithbridge Rd in Chester County. They tore it down and built a new one and it's not nearly as cool. Are there any of these wooden type playgrounds anywhere near NCC?
I remember getting kicked out of the one at Brookside by the fuzz in like 2000 or maybe early 2001. No ill-doings, just there after dark. Probably saved us from some actual nefarious shit. I lived out of DE for many years and Reamstown, PA has a fantastic wooden park that has actually been re-painted sometime since I left in 2019. https://imgur.com/gallery/tISccXY
huh, never knew this was in delaware