I think we can all take a moment to feel some feelings about that. When my kids were little, they referred to Meadowbrook as “the brown park” because of that play structure. It’s remained a beacon of old school playground nostalgia in a sea of brightly colored shiny and snazzy structures. It has nooks and crannies and metal slides and it’s like playing in the kind of fort you envisioned you were building in your living room out of chairs and boxes and blankets.
However, according to the Urbana Park District, a lot of work goes into maintaining the almost 25 year old structure; they’ve replaced almost all of the boards. Also, as fun as all of the nooks and crannies are, the design is not accessible for all children.
The redesign of the playground is part of a five-year park district improvement plan, and will most likely happen in 2021, so you’ve got some time to get your visits in. You can read more about the history of the structure and plans for the future (which include involving the community in the planning and construction of the new playground) in this article from Tom Kacich.
Photo by Sean O’Connor
