Happy Hollow Playground is located at the City’s oldest continually-operating rec center.  Inside the rec center–which was locked on the sunny Sunday that we visited–is apparently a boxing gym.  The playground has a set of standard equipment, including three hopscotch games, infant and children’s swings, and two playground structures.  Up a curved path behind the playground will take you to the rest of the rec center’s fields.  And a small well-tended garden is tucked in next to one of the rec buildings.

Philly Playground Project (not yet reviewed)

Visited: July 2014

This neighborhood park in Germantown, attached to a rec center, appears to have three names.  Daniel E. Rumph, II, sadly, was a local teen who, according to news reports, was a local teen who went into sudden cardiac arrest in 2005 while playing basketball.  After his death, his family worked to get defibrillators installed in many Philly rec centers.  Today, there are two playgrounds at the rec center.  There’s a toddler one to the north (which we didn’t have a chance to visit) and one for bigger kids to the south.  Zora most enjoyed the retro rainbow climber.  The playground was nice, but the basketball court was the apparent real draw, with many more patrons than the playground when we were there on a mild summer Sunday.

Philly Playground Project review (visited 8/7/2010)

Visited: July 2014

“It’s the Clark Park of Northwest Philly,” this West Philly guy thought as we ran down the hill to the playground.  The park has a lush bowl just like Clark Park (which is apparently designed to be a big rain garden?)  The playground is great.  The two best features are a climber bridge between two structures and the low masonry wall circling the swings.  But really the playground is just a small piece of this beautiful neighborhood oasis.  And that’s coming from a playground guy.

Philly Playground Project review (visited: 1/11/2011) Visited: July 2014

Pleasant Playground, just off of Chew Avenue, was, according to news reports, renovated in 2012-2013.  Today, it’s clean and fresh and beautiful.  Fortunately, we went on a hot afternoon and Zora had a bathing suit with her, because the park has this amazing water sprinkler that’s activated by a button on a nearby pole.  Push it, and water shoots 15 feet into the air.  That sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?  But there’s something about giving kids control over water sprayers that makes them giddy with joy.  And I don’t think that’s just Zora.

Philly Playground Project (not yet reviewed)

Visited: July 2014

One Sunday afternoon, after attending a friend’s birthday party on Lincoln Drive, Zora and I drove over–yes, we own our own car now for the first time since starting these playground adventures–to the lush Allen’s Lane Art Center.  Nestled into the trees, behind the tennis courts, is a lovely playground that was very busy while we were there.  It’s a wonderful mix of benches and trees, and great equipment, and a simple balance beam (which, on this day, captured most of Zora’s attention.)  The Art Center seems to offer a ton of great events (see the link below), too.

Philly Playground Project review (visited: 9/3/11)

Allen’s Lane Art Center link

Visited: July 2014

The Germantown Jewish Centre has a nice playground attached to it.  I had seen the GJC several times while driving on Lincoln Drive, but had never stopped until the day we explored the playground.  There’s a lot of room to run around, there’s a shady arbor, an innovative water toy (that needs to be connected to a nearby water hose to work), and–Zora’s favorite–a Tire Mountain.  The Tire Mountain was probably conceived as an after thought to prevent a hill from sliding down into the lower playground, but it was a hit with Zora.  We ran up and down it several times, jumping from the sprongy tire tiers.  The GJC gets extra points for making its playground so open and accessible to the public.  Thanks, guys!

Philly Playground Project (not yet reviewed)

Germantown Jewish Centre link

Visited: July 2014

On the day Zora & I visited the Mt. Airy Playground, small children were mostly playing on the playground unaccompanied while their parents kept half an eye on them and half an eye on the action on the baseball field where–presumably?–their older siblings/cousins were in a heated youth baseball game. There are two playgrounds here–one for younger children on the first base line and one for older children on the third base line–and they’re both pretty great. But it’s clear that the real action is at the baseball fields and the football fields that are the real focus of this rec center. If you’re a playground fan, though, that might be for the best as it means no waiting for the swings and greater access to the climbing equipment. All of which are in a pretty good condition.

Philly Playground Project (reviewed: 8/7/2010)

Visited: May 2014

Water Tower Rec Center appears to be a pretty gigantic rec center with lots of offerings, including pickleball, zumba, yoga, gymnastics, tennis, baseball, soccer, bocce, and a summer camp.  The playground, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward.  There’s a retro fire truck and a few simple pieces of equipment.  What really got Zora’s attention, though, were the two pipes, turned on their sides, that you could climb into and out off.  Hard to describe, really.  They’re shown in the second photo below.  On the very hot and humid day that we visited, I was super glad that the playground was very shady.

Philly Playground Project (reviewed: 3/2/13)

Water Town Rec Center Facebook page

Visited: May 2014

On the afternoon that we came by to visit, this playground was being repaired and cleaned in what looked like an epic community volunteer effort. By the looks of things, it’s a very cool playground with lots to do. So we’ll be back.

Philly Playground Project (not yet reviewed)

Schools’ website about the construction of the playground in 2002

Visited: May 2014

There are just a few pieces of playground equipment here, including a stegosaurus climber that conjures up the fond nostalgia of Clark Park back in our hometown. Amidst this reflection, it’s intriguing to consider how these spaces contrast with the latest Covington home market update, where the trend is towards maximizing both indoor and outdoor living areas. But Cloverly Park has what every community space should boast: an expansive field of green space surrounding it where children can run and play tag, much like the open backyards coveted in the current home listings. Plus, amidst these urban play areas, there are at least two trees that are perfect for climbing, standing as natural sentinels at the edge of the field. All this natural and manufactured charm is tucked in the shadows of a couple of high-rise apartment buildings, a reminder of the varied housing options the city offers.

Philly Playground Review (reviewed: 9/3/11)

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Visited March 2014

One afternoon, as we were walking up the hill from attending Manyunk’s annual ice carving festival, we came upon this small playground tucked off of Green Lane.  The North Light Community Center is a neighborhood non-profit that’s been around since the 1930s.  Today, it has many programs and is the site of a lovely neighborhood playground.  There’s an amazing mosaic mural on one wall and a lot of great benches around the playground structures.  And Zora’s always a sucker for turtle statutes.

Philadelphia Playground Project (not yet reviewed)

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We visited this playground on a cloudy Sunday afternoon while a very competitive softball game was going on in the field next to the playground.  12 and 13-year-old girls hovered on the swings talking about their moms.  Zora was a big fan of the swings.  She’s just transitioning from the infant swings to the regular kid swings and is starting to learn how to kick her feet out.  She was a bit bored by the rest of the playground equipment, though.  It’s nice, but, you know, she’s seen it before.  Don’t let her assessment stop you from going to check it out, though.

Philadelphia Playground Project review (10/16/11)
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Visited: September 2012

There are some bizarro playground equipment in this small oval neighborhood playground on the hill above Manayunk’s Main Street.  There were lots of families in the park when we were there, but Zora seemed a little bewildered by the space-age equipment.  She wasn’t quite sure how to climb them and when to swing on them.  Once I taught her, she still wasn’t convinced that this would be fun.  I guess she knows what she likes and is in a bit of a rut.  But you should go check this one out for yourself.

Philadelphia Playground Project review (5/1/11)
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Visited: September 2012