A mix of offerings: Vare playground

Playground: Vare playground
Location: between Moore and Morris, 26th and 27th
Date visited: 5/21/11

Equipment: Several separate pieces spread around a medium playzone:

• One large playset with hight (6-7-foot?) platforms, lots of climbing types, and two straight metal slides of different lenghts
  
• One small playset with 3-4-foot platforms, several types of climbing (including the rarish barrel-stave type that's friendly to newer climbers), and one wide metal slide
  
• Lots of swings! 6 strap + 4 bucket, all functional
  
• A freestanding set of metal monkey bars (around 5 feet tall)
  
• A novelty play piece shaped like an arch, which can be used like a techno-teeter-totter (you sit on either end an the entire structure slides back and forth, raising one end or the other, along the underlying curved tube) or like a more advanced challenge, with hand grips underneath the top part and foot rests on the side, so that one or more people could move the thing that way. [Makes more sense in person.]

Ages: 1-10
Surface: rubbery around equipment; blacktop elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 1 (mostly on swings)
Water: N
Other: large field with baseball diamond, basketball courts, pool, grassy areas, and large rec. center
Access: open (= dawn to dusk?)

Impressions: A nice playground and park a block or two from the blight of the 25th Street train viaduct. Decent basic equipment -- especially good challenges for climbers of various skills, but a little short on slides -- and the novelty arch structure makes it possible for a toddler and parent to teeter together. Lots of swings is nice, and the mix of equipment should accommodate families with kids of various ages. Equipment probably gets really hot in midsummer, but there is refuge at the edges and shaded grass for a picnic.
Overall rating: 7-8

Stinger Square: Gem in Grays Ferry

Playground: Stinger Square

Location: 32nd & Reed

Date visited: 5/15/11

Equipment:

• Little-kid playset: platform steps, plus two other steps, 3 short metal slides (1 turning), bridge, steering wheel, ground-level bench, tic-tac-toe board
• Big-kid playset: 5 ladders (including a tall coil) to multi-level platforms, straight metal slide, turning slide, bridge, short firepole, monkey bars
• 4 bucket swings, 4 strap swings
• 2 rocking animals (though they were too tight for a 3-year old to make move much)

Ages: 1-10

Surface: rubberized

Shade(0-3): 2

Water: No

Other: 3 cute short tables w/chairs, rec center, swimming pool, several picnic tables

Access: 24/7 (in a public park)

Impressions: Extensive equipment in a nice park setting. Smaller playset is quite accessible for young toddlers, while the bigger one has a lot of possibilities for both bigger toddlers to older kids.

Overall rating: 9

Finnegan Playground: Small, but some novel features

Playground: Donald Finnegan

Location: Wharton between 30th and 29th

Date visited: 5/15/11

Equipment:* 1 playset (4 ladders -- one a quarter-circle -- steps, elevated crawl-through tunnel, 2 slides), large U-shaped ladder bridge from playset to a 7-ft high platform (which is also accessible by a tall ladder and coil ladder, but hard to get down from for younger kids), 4 strap swings
Ages: 1.5-9

Surface: rubberized

Shade(0-3): 0

Water: No

Other: 2 basketball courts, 1 baseball field, rec center

Access: Weekdays and Saturday mornings (according to posted sign)

Impressions: Playground is of limited scope, but in reasonable shape, and U-ladder is a novel addition.

Overall rating: 6

* Edit: Note that there are two playground areas here, separated by the rec. center -- one is obvious from Wharton and the other from 30th Street. Unfortunately, we realized this only after leaving; thus the above review refers only to the SE of the two playground zones.

(The other) Smith Playground: big park, standard playground

Playground: Smith playground

Location: 24th & Snyder

Date visited: May 7, 2011

Equipment: 2 play areas; younger-kid area has entry by steps and platforms, coil ladder, quarter-circle ladder, pair of small side-by-side slides, bigger slide, bridge, plus, a real see-saw!; bigger-kid area has 2 ladders (one quarter circle), 2 slides (one spiral), pole, monkey bars, 2 free-standing ladder poles

Ages:1-8

Surface: rubberized around play areas

Shade(0-3): 2

Water: Yes -- sprayground adjacent to playground (not open when visited)

Other: 2 basketball courts, large sports fields, large park, rec center

Access: 24/7 (in a public park)

Impressions: Not extensive, but standard equipment is in good shape and setting is pleasant (though there's a fair amount of trash and glass a bit away from the play areas). Too bad there are no swings....

Overall rating: 7