Scores turn out to help finish City Park playground

Scores turn out to help finish City Park playground
By Lanz Christian Bañes/Times-Herald staff writer
Posted: 05/04/2009

At last, City Park has a new playground.

Dozens of children jostled to be the first to climb through the playground after nearly 1,000 volunteers spent five days tirelessly assembling the sprawling structure.

"I think, underneath all this fatigue, I'm just elated," said Adrienne Waterman on Sunday as she wearily sat down near the newly built sand box

Waterman, co-chairperson of the City Park Playground Committee, has spent the last two years planning the five-day build as the first step in the revitalization of the historic park -- the oldest city park on the West Coast.

Sunday's sunset opening allowed children to climb over newly sanded bridges, spin around on just-hung tire swings and experience the thrill of the "climb-a-nator" -- a climbing structure unique to City Park.

Younger kids could clamber over the Mini Marina, while older kids could explore sunken ships and hold court in a tree fort.

"It's awesome. It's the best thing that's happened to Solano County besides the library. It's great," said Izzy Fouad, 12-and-a-half, of Vallejo.

Fouad, who helped hammer in some of the park's nails, could be found organizing a line to use the oversized tire swing.

"I think it's great that we had a nice enough community for people to come out and help build (the playground)," said Justin Fowler, 13, of Vallejo.

Sunday's event was a "soft opening" -- a grand opening is a few weeks away -- and volunteers still need to clean up the site and do some detail work on the various parts of the playground, said Thom Howard, co-chairperson of the playground committee.

The ambitious project -- funded by donations and a community development block grant -- brought together a diverse group of people and organizations, such as the Greater Vallejo Recreation District, the City of Vallejo and the Vallejo Architectural Heritage Foundation.

"I had people who worked side by side who, until this week, considered each other mortal enemies, and they shook each other's hands with tears in their eyes," Waterman said.

Other groups ranged from missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who worked with members of the Solano AIDS Coalition as union members worked side by side with city officials.

The beauty of the playground is both physical and in the sense of camaraderie and community ownership for the people who worked on it, Waterman said.

There is still much work to be done for City Park once the playground is officially completed. By the end of the year, Waterman hopes to have a new community center in place and security cameras to guard the new playground.

But as the sky darkened over City Park on Sunday, all that mattered to the enthusiastic children was whether they could be the next kid to try the new swing.

"And that's what it's all about," said Omar Martinez, chapter leader of the Solano Guardian Angels that secured the area for the duration of the build.

For details, visit www.preservecitypark.org.