One of those places is Riverside Park in Independence Kansas. They must take good care of things in Independence, because the Riverside park includes a range of playground equipment that appears to date from the 1920s through the 1950s, as well as modern additions.
Plus it has a corythosaurus statue from the 1964 New York World's Fair and the birthplace of Miss Able, the First Space Monkey.
What a place!
See more photos at Michael Bates via flickr
I am quite impressed at how well these have held up. Kids and weather are rough on playground equipment. There must be a dedicated curator of this playground.
ReplyDeleteWow - they knew how to do slides back in the day - those look FUN!
ReplyDeleteI showed this post to my mother who visited relatives in Independance as a child in the 40's. She remembers this park and all of its fun playground equipment!
ReplyDeleteThanks MDS! How nice to hear from someone who remembers the park! They must really love the place to have taken such good care of it...
ReplyDeleteMany generations of my family have played at this much-loved park. There's also a vintage merry go round, train, Ralph Mitchell Zoo and "Kiddy Land." Sinclair/ Atlantic Richfield, I believe, were benefactors of the park in days gone by. About an hour and a half north of Tulsa, OK on I75.
ReplyDeleteThis much-loved park has entertained generations in Independence. I believe Sinclair Oil/Atlantic Richfield and Mayor Ralph Mitchell were instrumental in some of the early development. The park was featured in the old Bill Holden/ Kim Novak movie "Picnic." Also has zoo, stadium, train,Kiddyland and bandshell. Amazing place for a city of 10,000. An hour and a half north of Tulsa, OK on I75. A visit is a step back in time. Thank you for triggering fond memories.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Independence, and I LOVE the park! We went there a ton when I was a kid, and even as an adult now, when I'm in town, I like to go job through the park, take my little cousins there, and zip down the slides just for fun! :o) I even got to work there one summer in college - they've got a great Park Director and other full-time staff at the park & zoo.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to find these pictures!!! I used to visit my great grandmother in Independence in the 1970's - have such wonderful memories of playing at this park! Best playground ever! :-)
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