Playgrounds

The playground at the Newmarket Elementary School was a phenomenon of which I had never seen, and may never see again. Even to this day, looking back on it, it was the fucking coolest playground to have ever been built. So amazing, I almost think it must have just been a dream. It was so cool, I'm to the point of not believing it. But I remember. Let me break it down for you.

The Whale - It was a slide, it was a swing set, it was a jungle gym. It was a gigantic wooden construction designed in the shape and form of a whale. Inside it's head area, was a little space. The ramp started there, then went back at a slight incline to the tail. It then turned and came back to the top of the head. At the top of the head, was the slide. A metal three-kid-wide slide that was the Whale's mouth. The top of his mouth was wooden, and he had rubber eyes. The edges of everything dangerous was covered with this soft red-pink rubber. The tail of the whale were too rope swings, made of the same soft rubber. There were tires to stand on, huge tires. Branching off from the head were two tire swings. At the very tip of the tail was a small place you could stand and there was one of those long chains with round handholds every two or three feet and you could swing like a monkey from cross it to the....

Tire Pyramid - It's exactly what it sounds like. A bunch of tires, somehow connected to make a pyramid, and it was very high. Three big tractor tires high. Inside there was an extra large tire suspended in the middle, like a second story. I loved that whole thing. I can't remember exactly how tall in feet it was, but it must have been as tall as a regular classroom, if not more. And right nearby it lay thee ...

Random Tire and Wood Constructions - These were giant tractor tires half-buried in the sand forming multiple contructions to play on. One was just a row of these tires you could crawl through like tunnel. Another was the tires arranged like a chair and a wood platform for the seat. There were balance beams (not off the ground) of wood and rubber and tire outlining the perimeter of the playground, making it possible to cross from the whale to the other side of the playground, where rested the...

Castle - It was a exactly that. A wooden castle with rubber lining. No sharp edges. It had a ground floor, stairs to the top floor where you could find rubber poles to slide down on. A courtyard in the back, surrounded by benches of wood and tire. It was the site for many imagination games and make-believe live-action dramatic stories (sometimes very Sci-Fi, sometimes very Power Rangers). Behind castle were the woods, where we would also play (within sight range of the teacher) and when it snowed we'd slide down a semi-hill that was there. The Castle was really like a castle, and it's kingdom was the playground. It ruled over the pyramid, whale, and...

Swing Sets - Since the playground designers really dug the whole rubber-wood concept scheme, the swing set was just that. The seats were rubber, the frame wood and tall. One of the swings was actually this failed prototype of a swing made by cutting away part of a tire so I child could sit in it and swing. It was great. We'd have contests, swinging and jumping off them. I loved swinging more than any part of the playground. The swings were me. I'd get as high as I could and jump, and not worry about landing, because the ground was covered in soft, beautiful...

Sand - No mulch, no wood chips, no asphault. Sand. The playground was perfect because it was just one giant sandbox. No one got hurt. It was always warm. It was brilliant.



I grew up on that playground.

It's all gone now. Replaced with plastic, steel and mulch. A dead dream.