No. 14 – Otis

Visited May 20, 3:30pm. There were three kids and two teenagers there – the teenagers left when we arrived and hovered on the overpass until we left, when they went back into the playground. It was cloudy when we visited but between the trees and the pedestrian bridge over the McGrath Highway, I would expect a good deal of shade here.

The basics

0.10 acre park with playground on Otis Street at Dana. Nearest restrooms at Dunkin Donuts on Broadway, or at the Central Library on Highland. Metal play structures on wood chip surface, hardtop play areas. One gate, not functioning properly.

The fun stuff

3 swings, 1 bucket
1 slide, twirl
Sprinkler (not working 5/20) and water fountain
Lots of climbing aparatus (steps, ladders, slide bar, monkey bar handles)
Short balance beam bridge and clatter bridge
Foursquare and hopscotch
2 picnic tables with stools, 1 bench
Collection of play benches within play structure

This playground is just over a half mile from our house and this was our first time visiting. This park must struggle for visitors as, although on Otis Street, it really feels like the playground is on the McGrath Highway, and the park is bisected by the huge concrete pedestrian overpass. These two factors alone would prevent me from adding it to the Recommended list but I must admit that I was expecting it to be worse than it was in terms of the state of the play structures and overall cleanliness. The play structures are in good shape,and we didn’t see any trash or broken glass, although there were quite a few cigarette butts strewn around both on the hardtop and inside the play structure. There was certainly some natural curiosity related to the overpass, a real elephant in the room, and we did spend some time running up and down underneath it and listening to the sound of our voices change as our heads got closer to the top. (Tall parents watch out!) It was nice to see so many mature trees and plantings, and my daughter was also interested in the weird dead space at the back by the Auto shop.

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No. 46 – Trum Playground

Visited Monday, August 30, 3:30pm. Four other children there. Good shade in the sprinkler area and in patches on the grass by the trees.

The basics

0.46 acre playground on Cedar Street at Franey Road. Residential parking, two-hour parking on nearby Broadway. Closest restrooms/snacks in Magoun and Ball squares. Metal structures on woodchips, some rubber surface, concrete paving, asphalt and grass.

The fun stuff

Four swings (2 bucket)
Three slides (1 side winder, 2 side-by-side)
Stepping stones
Crawl tube
Corkscrew climber
Monkey bars and ladder
Block steps
Steering wheel
Talk tube
Sprinklers
Picnic tables and benches

This is a nice, small and clean playground behind Trum Field, cornered between the Department of Public Works and the railway tracks. The regular swings were positioned very low down, making it easy for small kids learning to use the swings. The crawl tube and block steps are also elements that we haven’t seen very often in our travels. The green area is very nice and well kept, with some nice trees and plantings. There is one sprinkler, which was completely in the shade on our visit! And the water fountain works but leaks (like so many others!). The passing trains may be an added bonus for some children, but we actually found them a bit on the noisy side.

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No. 42 – Dickerman

Visited Tuesday, August 17, 3:30pm. Partial shade. Two toddlers there.

The basics

0.41 acre park with asphalt courts and ‘Bug Project’ themed playground on Kimball Street between Ibbetson and Craigie streets. Residential parking or two-hour parking on Lowell Street. Closest restroom/coffee/snacks at Starbucks on Somerville Ave. Metal structures on rubber, woodchip and brick surfaces.

The fun stuff

New mural
Asphalt courts for basketball, tennis and foursquare games
Tot lot and lot for older kids
Four swings (2 bucket)
Four slides
Music toy
Suspended beam bridge
Clatter bridge
Steps, ladders, monkey bars and hoops
Spinning circular panel
Store front

Plans for renovating this 1997 split-level, sloping park (as well as the neighboring Morse-Kelley park) are underway, there have been a series of meetings with the community and work is scheduled to begin next year. The renovation is necessary since much of the park surface is torn and buckled, a number of the seating elements have been removed, and some of the walls are cracked and crumbling.

The upper level contains the play courts, with some sprouting grass through large cracks in the surface, and a beautiful wall mural by Joe Barillaro (which is to be retained) but currently feels like an entirely separate park from the lower level.

The play structures, swings, sprinklers and most of the seating are on the lower level. The play structures are in reasonably good condition and one thing that we immediately noticed was that the Tot Lot here seems much lower than other play structures we have seen. Here the structures are much lower to the ground (especially noticeable for the ladders, slides and the bridges) and the entry ways within the structure also seem more narrow than I expected. The sprinklers were nice and low, perfect for the wee tots. But the water fountain was not working and the basin was flooded. Throughout the park you can see the work of Somerville third graders working with artist Catherine Kernan in creating an interpretive educational component to the park by incorporating cut-out portraits of insects.

To sum up, provided you can watch a small child very carefully to make sure they can manage the uneven surfaces on unsteady feet and they are not eating pieces of the crumbling rubber, this could be a good place to bring small children. It will be interesting to see the newly renovated park next year.

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No. 20 – Florence

Visited Saturday, August 14, at 10am. Three other kids there, one adult in the basketball court. Good shade.

The basics

0.26 acre playground at 23 Florence Street between Pearl and Washington streets. Renovated 2004. Residential parking or two-hour parking on Washington. Nearest restroom/snacks at Dunkin’ Donuts 1/4 mile away on Cambridge Street. Metal structures on woodchips, asphalt basketball court and play area, picnic tables.

The fun stuff

Basketball court
Mister/sprinkler
Three swings (1 bucket)
Playhouse themed Tot Lot with four metal slides (2 side-by-sides), steps, ladders, beam bridge, playhouses
Spinning rope climber
Game markings (hopscotch, foursquare)
Benches, picnic tables (1 game table)

This is another hidden gem, well worth the obstacle course walk from Union Square along Washington Street where many sections of the pavement are under construction. We loved the colorful Playhouse panels on the play structure, which encourage a lot of imaginative play. The rope climbing toy (which is probably for the older kids, but still has value for the little ones) spins as well! The waster mister is really nice…a little rainbow cloud over two very gentle water misters. Apart from the basketball court and the area with the swings, there was good shade. And the two regular swings are placed at very different heights, with the lower one at a perfect height for kids learning to use the ‘big kid’ swing.

An added bonus for some children may be the Car Wash at the corner of Florence and Washington, which is usually a source of great interest for my daughter.

No. 19 – Perkins

Visited Wednesday, August 4, 9:30am. Empty. Partial shade.

The basics

0.15 acre playground on Perkins Street at Perkins Place. Renovated in 2006. Residential parking. No restrooms. Closest snacks/restrooms on Broadway. Asphalt play courts on one side, metal structures on a rubber surface on the other.

The fun stuff

Three swings (2 bucket, 1 tire)
Spinning toys (1 standing, 1 sitting)
Water sprinkler
Half court basketball space
Graphic play areas
Benches and picnic tables (including accessible seating options)

This small playground, designed by StoSS Landscape Urbanism to encourage organized and free play, has a lot of open space and not a lot of the usual play structures, but is certainly visually stunning and modern. The Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development website mentions that “The functional and vibrant graphic design elements have been cited internationally in landscape architecture publications”.

The park is divided into two sections, with separate gates, and is separated inside by a chain-link fence, and surrounded on three sides by a high, bright yellow fence. The swings and spinning toys are on one side and the basketball and open play spaces on the other. The bucket swings seem oddly misshapen, something we also saw at the playground at the old East Somerville Community School on Cross Street. I thought it an age-related thing at ESCS but now I’m wondering if it is caused by older kids trying to use these swings? Also, when we visited the sprinkler was out of order but when I called I was told that a part had been ordered and it was in fact to be repaired later in the day.

The Somerville Open Space and Recreation Plan 2008-2013 lists this park renovation among its success stories and points out that according to the 2000 U.S. Census, over 6,500 people live within a quarter-mile of the park and that children in the Perkins Park neighborhood make up a higher percentage of the population than in any other community in Somerville. I would like to hear from parents who have visited this park on a regular basis, or return myself, to see this playground in action serving this community. And to see the sprinkler in operation!

No. 39 – Conway Park

Visited Friday afternoon, July 23, in the rain. Not surprisingly, empty 🙂
Visited Saturday, July 24 at 10am. Grass field full of families and kids for Little League event. Partial shade over picnic tables only.

The basics

5.66 acre park on Somerville Avenue between Kent and Park streets. Playground, asphalt courts, grass playing fields (usually locked), indoor ice skating rink. Parking in small parking lot behind the ice skating rink and on Somerville Avenue. Short-term parking in the Rite Aid lot (which we have occasionally used after a trip to the store). According to the city listing there is a Porta-Potty but I must have missed it, or it may be in the playing field which is locked unless a scheduled activity is taking place. Nearest restroom at Dunkin’ Donuts on Somerville Ave. Concession stand open for sporting events, other snacks available from Rite Aid next to the playground or at Dunkin’ Donuts. Metal play structures on woodchips.

The fun stuff

General

Historical
Baseball – Somerville Little League
Basketball (2 courts)
Seasonal Ice Hockey/Skating (Veteran’s Memorial Skating Rink)
Football
Soccer
Stick Ball
Street Hockey
Sprinkler
Open notice board
Picnic tables and benches
Passing trains

Playground

Four swings (2 bucket)
Three slides (2 side-by-side, metal (and the steepest we have found so far), 1 plastic spiral)
Two narrow beam bridges
Eight (!) steering wheels
Climbing – steps, ladders, monkey bars

Having only a 3 year old, I have to admit that I had never really explored this park beyond the playground and a cursory glance through the grass field to see a passing train. But there seems to be so much going on here beyond our limited viewpoint until now! There are two baseball fields, which double as soccer and football fields, and two beautiful basketball courts as well as an indoor ice rink (open November – March) and a street hockey rink (is ‘rink’ the correct term? I never heard of street hockey before today! Where I come from, we play on the grass, without skates or wheels and it is called hurling!)

This park has a good sized playground for kids aged 5-12 but not a lot really for a younger crowd. And it has what may be the steepest slide in all of Somerville (certainly the steepest we have encountered). It’s pretty fast too, especially when it is wet (way way too fast for a 3.5 year old and whoever sees them shoot off the end and land 5 feet away). There are lots and lots of climbing activities to be had here and a record eight of those steering wheels (I suppose the tots could play with those but then you have to try and keep them away from all those high drops) and two balance-beam like suspended bridges which my daughter was afraid to cross until this summer.

The site of this park and has an interesting history, outlined on the colorful signs scattering the park. The park is built on the former site of the Bay State Smelting Company, which melted down scrap metal to retrieve lead and cadmium inside. Hard to imagine such a ghastly history in a playground that is often filled with fun and laughter throughout the day and early evening.

No. 36(a) – Lincoln Park

Visited various days and times in July. Usually busy with a good number of older kids both on the court and in the playground. Not much shade apart from the picnic tables under the trees.

The basics

6.60 acre park with playground, Tot Lot, baseball court, basketball court and soccer field. Access from Washington Street at the Argenziano School, Perry Street and Lincoln Parkway. Residential parking, parking in school lot outside of school hours and parking on Lincoln Parkway 7am-3pm. Portapotty! Closest stops for snacks in Union or Inman squares. Grass, concrete and metal play structures on woodchips.

The fun stuff

General

Soccer
Basketball
Baseball, Softball
Sprinklers
Open space
Picnic tables and benches

Playground

Five swings (2 bucket, 1 tire swing)
Six slides, plastic and metal, straight, extra-wide and spiral (3 in the Tot Lot)
Climbing – Ladders (curved, straight and chain), steps, monkey bars and loops
Clatter Bridge
Steering wheels

This is a large park with lots of space for various activities. The recreational grass field was refurbished for use by youth and adult athletic groups and is generally (and somewhat contentiously I understand) locked to the public. There are nine Dog-Friendly parks in the city and, despite evidence to the contrary, (and again somewhat contentiously I believe), Lincoln Park is not listed as a Dog-Friendly park (one where dogs are permitted on-leash only and owners are required to pick up after their dogs).

The playground at Lincoln Park seems to be the oldest playground we have visited so far, but in spite of this was busy on each of our visits. In the mornings we met groups of kids from summer camps, the Recreation Department’s Summer Playgrounds Program and daycare centers and in the afternoons we met other smaller groups of kids of all ages. The water sprinklers were running each time we visited.

No. 4 – Grimmons

Visited Wednesday, July 21, 9am. About 8 other kids there. No shade.

The basics

0.46 acre playground at 87 Governor Winthrop Road, access also from Puritan Road (lots of steps). Fabulous play structures with lots of climbing, exercise and of course play. Plastic, metal and plastic-coated rope structures on rubber, asphalt and concrete surfaces. On-street residential parking or parking at the Boys and Girls Club lot on Shore Drive. No restrooms but we used the ones in the Boys and Girls Club.

The fun stuff

Enclosed Tot Lot
Four swings (1 bucket, 1 disabled)
Climbing
Musical Toys (drums and bells)
Side Winder Slides
Rock climbing (on play structures AND on a wall)
Clubhouse
Spinners
Picnic tables and benches
Monument to old Grimmons school
Basketball – hoops
Ball toy
Sprinklers

Similar to Albion Street Park, this is another stellar playground in Somerville! We had no idea what to expect when we arrived to check out this playground, which opened in October 2009, and were blown away! We planned on staying for 45 minutes and ended up staying for two hours. And like Albion Street, the sprinklers are fantastic, and easily operated by a 3-4 year old. Also I have to add that this playground was spotless. Maybe we got there right after it was cleaned, maybe not, but it was the cleanest of all the playgrounds we have seen so far. Time to let the pictures do the talking…

No. 30 – Walnut Street

Visited Friday, July 16 at 4pm. There was a handful of small children there and some older children (8-10 years is my guess) also. About a third of the playground was in the shade.

The basics

0.22 acre park with a playground adjoined to a community garden. Access from Walnut Street (steps) or Giles Park. Metal play structures on woodchip and rubber surfaces, surrounded by brick surface. Residential parking as well as metered parking on Bow Street and in Union Square, which is two minutes around the corner. No restrooms but nearby options close enough to run with a toilet-training toddler include Bloc 11 on Bow Street and the Neighborhood Bakery and Cafe (which has shaded outdoor seating in the summer!). My daughter calls the Walnut Street playground ‘The Coffee Shop Playground’ because the two are often linked for us!

The fun stuff

Two swings (1 bucket)
Three plastic slides (1 for infants, 1 straight and 1 spiral)
Clatter bridge
Steps, ladders, monkey bars
Steering wheels (currently the squeakiest I have found)
Musical Toy
Sprinklers
Picnic tables and benches

This playground has been one of our favorites for a long time, largely because of its proximity to our home and restrooms/coffee shops, but also because it is a nice sized playground on a reasonably quiet street (perhaps the trees make it feel more secluded than it is) and we have made lots of good friends here. If you throw in breakfast at the Neighborhood Bakery and Cafe or lunch at Bloc 11 or Sherman’s, you can easily spend a good few hours at/around Walnut Street park. On the down side, the sprinklers sprinkle directly on to much of the play structures, including two of the slides. It’s not too much of a problem if your child has a change of clothes and planned to get wet anyway, but it does spoil the fun for tiny tots who are not quite ready for sprinkler fun!

No. 8 – Albion

Visited several times in the past couple of weeks. Always full of kids having fun. Not a whole lot of shade yet but someday once the trees have matured!

The basics

An 0.87 acre playground on Albion Street between Lowell and Cedar Streets. Plastic play structures. Grass, rubber and concrete surfaces. Residential parking only. No restrooms, closest bet would be the cafe on Highland just before O2 Yoga, formerly called Cafe Rossini and then Cafe Lola.

The fun stuff

Enclosed Tot Lot with climbing, a slide, rope ladder, spring riding toys
Separate section for older kids with lots of climbing, side winder slide, rock wall, See-Saw, rotating riding toy
Basketball court
Open grass space
Four swings (2 bucket, 1 molded swing seat for the disabled)
Sprinklers
Picnic tables, benches, large steps
Community Garden

Where do I begin describing this fabulous new playground? It has so much to do for such a range of different ages and abilities and everything is so new and so colorful! We LOVE this playground and we are certainly not alone. I need to take photos of empty playgrounds for this blog and the only way I could get the pics for Albion Street was to go in the rain!

There is so much going on here, from the basketball court, across the little grassy hill to the fun and funky play structures and the colorful action-packed Tot Lot. The sprinklers are a big hit this summer, no doubt partly because most 3-4 year olds can operate them themselves.

The pictures can do this playground more justice than my words so all I will add is that Albion Street playground is a MUST.