FeaTUReS
September 2007
Ironically, just in time for back-to-
school I find myself thinking of all
the time we’ve spent at our various
neighborhood playgrounds over the
summer. Portland, as you certainly
know, is full of parks, many of which
contain playground facilities. Here’s
the rundown on a few of our favorites
in or near the Village.
might mess with the excellent swings.
These fears proved to be unfounded,
and all the equipment is still in place
and improved.
The swings are excellent here, with
smooth movement, long chains, and an
expansive view of the park from their
setting atop the large hill. There’s two
large play structures, one for smaller
kids and one for the bigger ones with
slides, poles and a tire swing.
The merry-go-round has a nice
padded rubber circle under it, which
is helpful since the inevitable fall off
of this thing WILL happen. It’s pretty
much a kid rite of passage. Nice shady
area to play. Oh, the long downhill
paved path that circles around the
baseball field and out to the sidewalk
is great for scootering.
Custer Park
Gabriel Park
Custer Park has been our favorite
haunt this summer. Since Jr. V is
getting older now (almost seven!)
we’ve outgrown the facilities at
Gabriel Park and have been taking
evening walks across the Village to
visit the excellent play facilities at
Custer.
The renovations last year unnerved
me a bit, since I was afraid they were
going to remove the old-school merry-
go-round and see-saws, and they
We haven’t spent much time a
Gabriel Park this summer. Largely
because Jr. V has outgrown the play
facilities there. I’m annoyed to report
that the small slide has never been
replaced after being damaged by
vandalism last year, which is a major
blow to smaller kids who might not be
ready for the big slide.
There’s a small swing set, but the
tire swing is pretty much the extent
The Playground Rundown
By Mark Myers
The Multnomah Village Post • 13
of the fun for kids over the age of
about 4. I really wish that Gabriel Park
had more extensive play equipment,
something more fitting with the size
of the park, but that’s the way it is.
We’ll probable visit more in future
summers, especially when the skate
park is completed, which seems to
me dovetailing perfectly with Jr V’s
inevitable interest in skateboarding.
Multnomah Center
The little playground behind the
Multnomah Center is a regular stop.
We’ve been there more than anywhere
else this year. There’s a slide, a swing
set with swings for little kids and older
ones, and the ubiquitous tire swing.
Jr. V enjoys climbing up on the
plastic tunnel-thing and taking wild
swinging jumps off of the monkey
bars. Especially on Monday evenings
when “knight practice” is in full swing.
This is a quick walk from our house,
it’s our closest playground, and so we
take evening strolls up there quote
often. It’d be nice to see some actual
sand in the large sandbox area.
The Kangabunny
This is how we refer to the
playground at Pendleton Park, over on
55 th and Iowa St. This one has always
been a favorite destination because of
the excellent, large play structure and
also due to the statue.
Jr. V was fascinated by this statue of
a large rabbit when he was younger.
He would stare at it for the longest
time. Due to the length of it’s legs,
and its posture – it’s referred to in our
house as the “Kangabunny” which of
course is a half-kangaroo half-bunny.
The official name of the statue is
“Vincent, Waiting for Alice” and it’s
by Keith Jellum. The thing is 8 feet tall.
This park is a great picnic destination
and the play facilities really are superb.
It’s handicapped accessible too.
Maplewood Playground
All the fundraising, work and
waiting for the new play facilities
at Maplewood Elementary have
definitely paid off. The new
playground is great with an expansive
play structure with several slides,
climbing surfaces and monkey bars of
varying descriptions.
The equipment is new, so now’s the
time to enjoy it. It will be hard-used
during the school year and I hope it
holds up well. Some of the attachment
points seem to be somewhat less solid
(Continued on page 15)
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