Wharton Square: Simple playground in a nice park setting

Playground: Wharton Square
Location: 23rd and Wharton
Date visited: May 7, 2011

Equipment: 2 small play areas; younger-kid play area has platforms for climbing, quarter-circle ladder, 3 slides (1 metal), 4 bucket swings; bigger-kid play area has 2 ladders, 2 slides (1 spiral), climbing pole, monkey bars, 2 strap swings (should have been 4 -- 2 were missing)
Ages: 18 months-8 yrs
Surface: rubberized around play areas
Shade(0-3): 2
Water: No
Other: Rec center, basketball court
Access: 24/7 (in a public park)

Impressions: Minimal amount of apparatus, but in reasonable shape, in a nice setting
Overall rating: 6

Colorful but tired: DiSilvestro playground

Playground: DiSilvestro
Location: 15th and Morris
Date visited: 8/15/10

Equipment: Two zones, a few yards apart:

• Tot zone has one playset, 3-4-foot platforms, some climbing (including steps and a "barrel stave" ladder), small arched bridge, and two metal slides. Also 4 bucket swings in this area.
  
  
• Kid zone has 4-5-foot platform complex with fun mesh crawl tunnel, arched bridge, two metal slides of different heights, and several climbing and sliding poles. Also 4 strap swings here.

material: modern resin & metal; scale of space: med zone in smallish paved park.
Ages: 1-6
Surface: rubbery around equipment; blacktop elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 0
Water: N
Other: basketball courts, hopscotch and more blacktop, colorful small rec. center
Access: summer: 9am-10:30pm; winter: 2pm-10:30pm

Impressions: Colorful and inviting from a distance, but a little underinspired and under-maintained, plus metal slides with no shade mean it's hard to get the most from what is there. Nothing to pull you from any distance, although there's lots of space to kick a ball or practice skateboarding, and the neighborhood is pleasantly multiethnic and multinational.
Note: bubble tea and bahn mi (Vietnamese hoagies) available across the street.
Overall rating: 6

Climbing ribbon! (and it's called Chew!)

Playground: Chew
Location: 19th and Ellsworth (enter on Ellsworth)
Date visited: 11/25/09

Equipment: Nice small-tot set of equipment (4 sets of steps, 1 ladder, 2 slides, bridge, "lunch counter" underneath), 4 bucket swing, 4 strap swings, Decent but not-so-extensive equipment for older kids (3 ladders, 1 slide, quarter-barrel to climb up, monkey-bar rotating circles), Very cool "climbing ribbon" -- climbing wall in the shape of a quite twisty ribbon and very tall (maybe 10 feet tall?)
Ages: small-tot to 8ish, though climbing ribbon seems good for even up to high school
Surface: rubberized play surface
Shade(0-3): 0
Water: none
Other: baseball field (crummy looking), batting cage, pool, rec center
Access: rec center is open M-F 1-9:30; unknown if gate to playground is open at other times

Impressions: Main equipment is pretty nice and in decent shape, right about average in terms of size and variety. Climbing ribbon is quite cool, though probably only usable for older kids (maybe 5-year-olds with supervision?). Restricted hours also a significant downside. Unfortunate view of Washington Avenue (though a block away), but overall setting is fairly nice.
Overall rating: 7