I don’t know what it is about the Midwest, but I have never seen so many cool playgrounds. (I still love them.) At least every place that I’ve been living – the good playgrounds (i.e. made of metal and big enough for people over 7 years old) have been torn down and replaced with Fisher-Price type plastic (safer?) playgrounds that are not any fun once you get over 9 years old. This happened at my elementary school, the town park, and countless others. However, driving through the Midwest on these US highways, Vinny and I have spotted so many “old-school” playgrounds. I don’t know any method for dating them except by saying they are more than a couple of decades old.
One place we stayed, Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan, had the best playgrounds I’ve seen in a long time. There were so many, some used more than others. There was what I would call an original baby playground, only it was all metal, just toddler sized. That one, however, was abandoned and a tad eerie. (I found that one while we were running, thus I do not have a picture.) This one, below, I loved. Check out the long wavy slide and the bridge.
Playground at Camp Dearborn.
Same playground, different view.
Are there any reading materials for the history of playgrounds? I’d love to read it.
Preservation in Pink 