Penn Treaty Park -- a unique riverside locale

Playground: Penn Treaty Park

Location: Beach St., just off Delaware Ave. at Marlborough (has its own parking lot)

Date visited: Feb. 26, 2012

Equipment:

• 1 playset loosely modeled on a train engine, with slanted "cow-catcher" ladders, a crawl-through tunnel, 1 wide straight slide that ends too far off the ground, 1 curved slide
• 4 strap swings, 4 bucket swings
• narrow curved balance beam

Ages: 1-6

Surface: wood chips and dirt

Shade(0-3): 3

Water: N

Other: riverside park, paved trails, grass, picnic tables, views of city, river (and, ahem, gigantic abandoned Peco plant)

Access: No gates or fences, presumably officially closed after dark

Impressions: A nice area for a visit -- views of the river, Ben Franklin Bridge, and city skyline add to the grassy city park. Play area is limited and graffitied but otherwise in good shape and surrounded by mature tress that promise a respite in hot weather. Uniqueness of the setting should make up for the mild limitation in the equipment, at least if your kid is up for some inventive outdoor play.

Overall rating: 6 (as a playground, higher as a setting)

Fishtown Rec Center: A blast of color

Playground: Fishtown Rec Center

Location: Palmer St. and Flora St. (just north of Girard on Palmer); another entrance is on Montgomery and Flora (again, just north of Girard on Montgomery).

Date visited: 5/29/11

Equipment:

• Smaller playset with lots of climbing, 1 wide plastic curved and 1 straight metal slide
• Taller playset with climbing, monkey bars, fireman's pole, and a straight metal slide
• 6 strap swings (1 broken) and 2 bucket swings
• 3 hobby horse critters (too stiff to rock much, as most seem to be)
• 2 sit 'n' spin platforms with poles (1 semi-broken/wobbly)
• central "hill" with brick sides, some raised bricks to make a slanted climbing wall
• circle with stone tower water units (not on when visited on a Sunday morning in May)

Ages: 1-10

Surface: rubberized by most play areas, blacktop elsewhere

Shade(0-3): 0

Water: Yes (small area with stone tower sprayers)

Other: roller-hockey rink, rec center with large covered area, basketball courts, picnic tables, lib outdoor concert area (maybe?) with tables and benches, library across Montgomery St.

Access: Probably dawn to dusk

Impressions: Clearly a well-loved playground: every inch of equipment, benches, and poles is painted with colors and patterns that make you happy just being there. Had the sense that this was a semi-recent effort to beautify a space that was beginning to run down (e.g., a note indicates that Agnes Irwin School out on the Main Line was part of a recent painting effort; some paint was peeling and graffiti already creeping back in). The central climbing structure is neat and offers the only shaded zone on the site; the rest seems fun but might be prohibitively hot on most summer days. Would love to see a roller-hockey game!

Overall rating: 7+

Hancock Playground: a minor gem in Kensington

Playground: Hancock Playground

Location: Master (EW) and Hancock (NS), enter on Hancock

Date visited: 5/8/11

Equipment:

• Big-kid playset: multiple platforms, accessible by steps or 5 ladders (two quarter-circles (one quite large) plus a coil, a zigzag, and a straight); one very tall fire-pole, and one large multibump plastic slide, which unfortunately was not at all slippery
• Little-kid playset: several platforms accessible by 4 ladders (including quarter-circle and zig-zag), with 3 small slides and a wall decorated as a fire truck with steering wheel
• 4 strap swings, 2 bucket swings
• metal merry-go-round (could fit 6-8 kids at once)
• teeter-totter

Ages: 1-10

Surface: rubberized around play areas

Shade(0-3): 0

Water: No

Other: pool, rec center, basketball court, baseball field

Access: whole block surrounded by tall fence, with chainable entry gate on Hancock St.; posted hours are 7 AM-9:30 PM. For what it's worth, it was open on a Sunday at 10ish, so that's a good sign

Impressions: More-than-average set of equipment, all in pretty good shape, and a good amount of space (within a rec space that is itself quite spacious). The "extras" are nice -- the merry-go-round, the teeter-totter -- and the two playsets themselves are more than the standard fare. It's too bad that the one slide for the big-kid zone was so much less fun than it looked (maybe more slippery pants would help, but I'm skeptical).

Overall rating: 8

This neighborhood deserves more: Tip Top playground

Playground: Tip Top
Location: Front & Allen -- entrances on E & W sides
Date visited: 11/28/09

Equipment: Two playsets:

• Smaller has a single platform with several ladders and one (boring) metal slide
  
• Larger has a couple platforms, quite high (too high to lift a kid up to!) with lots of climbing options, a fireman's pole, and a long metal slide.

There is also a set of swings nearby, with two each strap and bucket swings.
material: modern resin + metal, worn and graffittied; scale: large space, with play equipment at one end
Ages: 2-8
Surface: rubbery around equipment; blacktop elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 0
Water: N
Other: Lots of additional blacktop space, one portion enclosed in high fence.
Access: Unmarked -- dawn to dusk?

Impressions: While the actual play equipment here was basically fine for a range of ages (if a bit weathered), the combination of a large expanse of unstructured blacktop and the proximity to the highway and SEPTA train bridges make this feel like the middle of nowhere. In fact, there are a number of decent townhouses nearby (on the W & N sides), and the snazzy new Piazza development (*) is about a block away, so somebody should be creating pressure for better development of this lot. At the very least, some of the random blacktop could be made into basketball courts; the addition of some grassy area and a few picnic tables could really turn it into a community presence. Heck, they could even capitalize on the spectacle of the passing commuter trains by throwing in some kind of train-themed climbing or riding equipment (promotional funds, anyone?), just to give it some kind of unique personality. As it is, visitors sort of have to bring their own fun.
Overall rating: 6+