Smith Playground
Posted by: 
ODragon
N 39° 58.909 W 075° 11.720
18S E 483322 N 4425757
Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse opened in 1899 through the wills of Richard and Sarah Smith. This Philadelphia landmark has hosted over nine million children since its opening.
Today, children up to 10 years old can enjoy a trip down the famous Ann Newman Giant Wooden Slide, which is 12 feet wide, 40 feet long and 10 feet high. For children ages 5-10, the Play Pod offers a giant see-saw and spinning "jungle gyms." And there's so much more fun in this recently reopened children's parad
Waymark Code: WM8H7
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2006
Views: 28
Richard Smith was a wealthy Philadelphian. His family made their fortune in the typesetting business. Richard and his wife Sarah lived in North Philadelphia at Broad and Jefferson Streets. The playground was built in memory of the Smiths' son Stanford. It was the Smiths' goal to build a safe place in the country where children from the city could come to play, free of charge.
In today's day and age of standardized play equipment, this is an anachronism. The playground is filled with old fashion equipment that hasn't been made in decades. The most popular amusement by far is the old wooden sliding board. Its 12-foot width allows several kids to go down at one time, creating all sorts of possibilities for collisions and entanglement. The slide is 60 feet long and covered by a roof. On weekends there can be long lines to use the slide.
In this litigious age, its nice to see a playground that pushes the envelope.
The playground is open Monday - Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
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