Playgrounds of the North Shore

Pierpont Park, Peabody

2011-04-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

So in my previous post of Cove Playground, we showed what a little, insignificant playground can be transformed into (of course with proper funding and finances). Sadly, here's what happens when a small insignificant playground is updated without proper funding and finances (or without care, I don't know).

Here's what Pierpont used to look like.

And here's what they have done. Not that much. And definitely the design of the playground is still as rudimentary as before. Random pieces of structures disjointedly sitting in a woodchip covered space. Really?

The only thing we liked about this update was the colorful new spring riders. Although there was still something nostalgic about the older, wooden horse spring rider.

Pierpont is upgraded from a one-star playground to a two-star. And that's ONLY because the equipment is newer and the woodchips are fresh.

Cove Playground (Kimball-Haskell)

2011-04-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

In the previous post, I had mentioned several playground updates. Let's start with the most exciting: Cove Playground, sometimes call Kimball-Haskell, located in Beverly.

Here's the playground before renovation.

And here's the new playground. This is just about at the same angle. AND, this photo is only highlighting the 5-12 year old set up. They have another toddler set up as well as you can see below with the cool ladybug spring rider.

This is a shot from the opposite side of the playground.

Some people would find this upgrade a disappointment as the classic, unique, wooden structure with real tires are on the verge of safety extinction. They would be right of course, but this upgrade is such a drastic change it really does make it better. Cove Playground is used by the Beverly Park and Rec as a summer play program destination. Now the kids at the program will have much more fun and have shade as the previous structure had none! In addition, those counselor's jobs will be much more exciting as now the campers are going to be EVERYWHERE as the playground just quadrupled in size!

The structure is essentially built by Little Tykes (Little Tykes and Miracle Recreation are now owned by the same company, PowerPlay) and has their Infinity Loop component as seen in the upper photo on the left side. My 11-year old (WHAT?! HE'S ELEVEN?) really enjoyed this as it is a new design.

With all the new equipment, quadruple the previous playground, some shade, and new wood chips, the playground has moved up from a two-star playground to a FOUR-STAR!

Although sad to see another classic playground disappear no matter how much it needed maintenance, luckily North Shore photographer Tracy Milkay has captured the old Cove Playground in her book, Child's Play: Vanishing Vintage Playgrounds.

You can see and order her book here.

There are some great photos of vintage equipment and structures in this beautiful book.

Looong time

2011-04-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

No excuse. Weather is getting nice. Summer is coming, and it is time to get outside and enjoy the playgrounds without snow in your boots.

Stay tuned as there are some changes to some playgrounds on the North Shore including:
Pierpont Park, Peabody
DiBiasse, Salem
Cove/Kimball-Haskell, Beverly
Endicott, Danvers

I'll be trying to get to some of them this weekend with the boys.
A cool water table set up at Harriet Bishop Playground at Harriet Island in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Eagle Nest, Essex

2011-03-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak to the Essex Elementary PTO about playgrounds today. NOT to replace the BEAUTIFUL, 5 start Eagle Nest Playground but to supplement it and make it even better. Thank goodness. A discussion of making the addition a Natural Playground developed and it was very well received!

Third Edition is DONE

2010-08-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

The third edition is done and in your independently owned bookstores and toy stores.

Book Shop of Beverly Farms, Beverly
Silly Goose, Essex
Toodeloos!, Gloucester
Banbury Cross Children's Bookstore, Wenham
Zak's Handcraft and gifts, Manchester-by-the-Sea
Marblehead Toy Shop, Marblehead
Mud Puddle Toys, Marblehead AND SALEM
Toad Hall Bookstore, Rockport
Cornerstone Books, Salem
Crunchy Granola Baby, Salem

Mud Puddle will be caring them for the first time in their Marblehead store as well as in their NEW Salem store. In addition the NEW toy store in Gloucester, Toodeloos! will be caring them as well. Both GREAT stores with friendly people!

You can see the updated list of where you can buy the books at the web site:
www.visualvoices.net/publications

Thanks to all for being so patient.

Radio Show about Natural Playgrounds

2010-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Public Radio station WBUR just did a broadcast on their show Radio Boston about the trend to create "Natural Playgrounds." The concept to these playgrounds is open ended play using natural environments: plants, rocks, sand, wood, logs. Children get back to basics with the natural world while helping their cognitive development.

Hear it here: http://radioboston.wbur.org/2010/07/13/kids-parks

They speak of two playgrounds to look at if you are interested, but I believe they are both private.
The Sparks Center in Mattapan and Au Co Preschool at Viet AID in Dorchester. Both were designed by architects at Studio G.

Sadly I have no photos . . . yet.

Third Edition is at the printers

2010-07-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Woohooo!!

Third Edition STILL to come!

2010-07-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ok. So it has been awhile. I apologize.

As summer approaches . . . oops, it's here already? . . . I have been getting calls for the third edition of the book. I said, "I am hoping to get it done in the beginning of June." Then I said, "I am hoping to get it done sometime in June." Now I am saying, "LEAVE ME ALONE. I'M WORKING ON IT!!!" No no, actually I am close. We are in the copy editing phase. Write ups are done. Photos are done. Just Gloucester's map needs to be updated and I'm done. Give another week for editing. And another for printing. That means . . . end of July probably. Maybe it can be earlier. I'm sorry.

Third Edition due sometime in July.

Rockport Elementary School

2009-02-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

A representative of a playground design and installation company (Site Specifics) has informed me that Rockport Elementary School had installed a new FULLY accessible playground. This makes it the fourth fully accessible playground on the North Shore.

Here are some photos from Cindy Maak, the Site Specifics representative. The photos are of the playground during construction. I have yet to make it out to the playground. I would go now even though there is 7" of snow on the ground currently, but the photos wouldn't be as good as I would want them. So we shall go visit it when the snow melts.

The four fully accessible playgrounds are:

1. Touch the Sky Playground (Beverly School for the Deaf)

2. Ross Memorial Park in Peabody

3. Abbot Park, Swampscott (only partially, but not bad)

4. and now Rockport Elementary

North Beverly Elementary School will have the FIFTH fully accessible playground sometime in the summer of 2009.

Forest River Park

2009-01-14T17:36:00.001-08:00

It's been quite some time since I have entered a post, but I got something now.

The Friends of Forest River Park is holding an "Inaugural Ball" in commemoration of Obama's presidential inauguration. The ball is to raise money to rebuild the playground for children ages 5 to 12 at Forest River.

The even will be held Saturday, January 17, 2008, at 7:30 pm at the "grand ballroom" in the Salem YMCA on Essex Street.

Tickets are $25 per person and $40 per couple. They can be purchased at my favorite baby store, Crunchy Granola Baby, 72 Washington St.

For more information, catact Holly Grose at hollygrose@aol.com.

Forest River

2008-10-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

So a friend of my wife called to ask for donations to fund the new Forest River Park playground. She says that they are hoping to build a new playground next summer, 2009. Here's what it currently looks like, and I don't think it's that bad either.

Well, I better put that in here shouldn't I? I'll put up more information about it as I get it.

Bessie Baker Park

2008-08-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, Lauren commented that Landscape Structure's newest 2008 playground setup, called the EVO, could be seen at Bessie Baker Playground in Beverly, located off Colon St. which is off Route 1A, Cabot St.

She was RIGHT!!

A full view of the partial EVO playstructure.

A rear view of the structure. Are those bunny ears in the right hand corner?

Bessie Baker had redone their playground and replaced their old wooden playground with the EVO, or part of it. It is a very fun looking playground and it is the new thinking in playground design, exploratory play. The idea is that there is not ONE way to play on the structure but many exploratory ways.

The draw back is safety. Children can climb ALL OVER this thing including on top and over the bars. BUT, I think this is GREAT!!! I have mentioned it before and posted links to articles discussing the unidirectional play that current structures provide and it is boring. It looks like some playground equipment companies are rethinking design. HURRAY!!

With that said, I am sad to report that it was not ALL that fun. Some extraneous stuff that make the structure LOOK cool but does not have a lot of play value. The web netting was fun and the "stand and spin" was fast enough to get me nauseous in just 4 revolutions. The middle section has some plastic, hanging, crawl throughs (think hanging tires in older playgrounds), which look cool and are moderately fun.

Than there were these completely useless hand-peddle things. You sat at it and use your hands to peddle. But all the peddling does nothing. You don't spin, move up or down, swivel or anything. Nothing happens. You just peddle. Very Zen, but not that fun.

My oldest son rated this playground three stars. I had to agree. If you're close by, definitely stop by and see the cool structure and have a new play experience. But don't be expected to be over WOWed.

Salem Common Update 2

2008-08-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

When we last left this story; after working on the design and planning of the Salem Common playground, Parents United of Salem had their design rejected by the Historical Commision and therefore delayed the opening of the playground for this year. Apparently the Commission did not approve of the color scheme and wanted a playground that reflected the history of Salem (ie. sailing, harbor?). Although the commission was invited to the playground process earlier, they opted to wait till final designs were established before commenting (note: no footnote here).

At the last Historical Commission meeting, a NEW, modified Landscape Structure design was presented and . . . approved (image below . . . not of the joyous P.U. of Salem members rejoicing, but of the new design).

The Historical Commission will return on September 3rd to discuss colors and flooring options further, but for the time being are allowed to promote the green/khaki color scheme.

Also at the meeting, City Counselor Mike Sosnowski was given pictures of the existing damages on our current playground. Counselor Sosnowski said he was not aware of these necessary repairs and he will see that they are fixed while waiting for the new playground.

The hope is have the new playground installed July 2009. Thanks to Kelly Fouhey for the recent update and image.

Stay tuned for more info . . .

Salem Common Update

2008-07-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

First, I have been trying to get that image for the new design of the Salem Common playground and I have not been very successful. But now it seems, the image is moot.

I was at the common today and I was speaking with my neighbor down the street (I actually just met her . . . kind of sad really that she lived down the street and I have never met her until today) who was at the Parents United of Salem (P.U.S. . . unfortunate acronym) picnic, said that the Salem Common Neighborhood Historical Society suddenly decided to get involved and did not approve of the designs of the new playground.

They wanted a Maritime theme or something and felt the green modular system was not appropriate. I think they have to start from scratch again. eeeeuuu

Salem Common

2008-07-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Salem Common playground is still the same. BUT, it is being worked on. I've blogged about before, but I still haven't received a photo of the initial designs.

Anyhoo, one thing they had done was to remove the broken benches from around the huge maple tree. Well, LUCKILY, they have replaced those benches and they look beautiful!

Thank goodness because that was the only good place to sit and watch your kids.

Ackerman Playground

2008-06-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Julie Z. who purchased a book through my web site also mentioned a great playground in Boxford. Robert M. Ackerman Playground.

A view of the front entrance.

Very NICE! Similar design to Eagle Nest in Essex, and Action Cove in West Newbury. Mostly wood with lots of nooks and crannies to run and hide in. Althoug

h my now eight-year-old said that there are "not as many long tunnels."

A view from the side.

A view of the inside of the park.

A back view.

The playground is located off Dana road which is off Cahoon Road which is off Topsfield Road, which is Exit 52 on 95.

Well worth the visit.

Rating: Five stars

San Diego Playgrounds

2008-06-30T09:14:00.001-07:00

Jennifer D. emailed me with this site for Playgrounds in San Diego County, California.

sdplaygrounds.com

So if you are in San Diego and need to know where some playgrounds are, check it out!

Failed Playdates

2008-05-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

So I went to take pictures and see the new playground at the Carroll School in Peabody. I even made it a playdate with one of my son's friends. We went driving around to playgrounds that I needed to update.

Well, I went to the Carroll Savage Park and found that the playground was unchanged. That's because it's NOT the Carroll School, it's the South Memorial School. So we went to this other playground I needed to update, and that was the wrong one too.

All the bad memories from creating the guidebook the first time came rushing back to me. "Are we there yet?" "I'm hot." "I'm dying of thirst." increased by a third child.

Now I know where the Carroll School is, and I'm going to get the rotten picture. And you know what, I'm going to go by myself just in case I'm wrong and get lost . . . which is such a high likelyhood.

Good Beverly Kids

2008-05-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

This is a bit older news, but Dylan (10 years old) and Logan (8 years old) Stevens have taken it upon themselves to clean up graffiti from Beverly's playgrounds, one playground at a time this summer.

The brother and sister team were shocked to find graffiti at Obear Park, near the Kernwood Bridge, and proceeded to clean it off with sponges and various cleaners. Beverly patrolman David Costa saw the good citizens and went and restocked their cleaning supplies for them.

The best part is, these kids have inspired others to do the same.

Thank you Dylan and Logan!!!

New Playground in Beverly Coming!

2008-04-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

A new playground is planned for the North Beverly Elementary School. What will make this playground EXTRA special is that it will be the second in Beverly, the fourth on the North Shore, that is TOTALLY DISABILITY ACCESSIBLE.

It is said to be similar to structure at Ross Memorial Park in Peabody, below.

The playground is being built by Boundless Playgrounds. A "national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary barrier-free playgrounds where children, with and without disabilities, can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play." The playground is hoped to be installed by summer, 2009.

The playground is currently raising funds and tax-deductible donations can be sent to:

North Beverly Playground Fund

North Beverly Elementary School

48 Putnam St

Beverly, MA 01915

The Neo

2008-03-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

Here's Play World Systems' newest 2008 addition, The Neo.

It's an oversized electronic game powered with 12 volts.. The Neo can be powered by solar energy, panels not included.

Their reasoning for this giant-sized, light-up Simon: kids are playing video games indoors, let's have them play video games outdoors.

The Evo

2008-03-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

Here's a Landscape Structures new playground equipment design for 2008. It's called the EVO.

Here's a gallery of the structure

I have always been a HUGE fan of a specific playground manufacturer (and no, I do not get any endorsements from them), KOMPAN. They are not a HUGE player in the US market, but are getting there. But my point is, they have had this type of "freeform", creative play, structure for several years and I have raved about their ability to create unguided, creative play on their structures. My kids RAVE about them as well.

It seems the "big" playground structure companies are beginning to follow suit.

Very cool.

Australian Playground Finder

2008-01-31T10:20:00.000-08:00

I found an Australian Playground Finder web site. So if you are ever in Australia with your children, well, here's a great way to have some outdoor fun and enjoy that excellent Aussie weather!

Great Article!

2008-01-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

This article appeared in the Boston Globe back in April, 2007, by Drake Bennet.

Back to the Playground article

A great push for more leniency and creative ideas at playgrounds. They site Teardrop Park in New York as a "manifesto on the possibilities of a playground."

It's a long article but an interesting read if you are planning to build a playground.

KaBOOM!

2008-01-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

This is a great non-profit organization that deals only with playgrounds, building them, funding them, and making sure playgrounds are everywhere. Their mission: To have every child walking distance from a playground.

Kaboom.org

They also have a PlaySpace Finder with currently over 5000 playgrounds to search from. I have been trying to reach them to work with them on their site. That makes me sound snobbish, but I think the site could use a bit of help. But it's still great.

West Newbury, Action Cove

2008-01-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the writeup for this magnificent five star playground located on Bachelor St. between Meetinghouse Hill Rd. and Middle St. in West Newbury. Action Cove is now up in the top FIVE of playgrounds in the North Shore. Similar to Eagle Nest in Essex, but even better with even more platforms, under-floor crawl spaces, and nooks.

Download the PDF at my web site:

www.visualvoices.net/publications/update.html

The photo is of course in color as is all the photos in the newly done addendums I have been posting.

Enjoy!

Salem's Mary Jane Lee

2008-01-24T08:32:00.001-08:00

Okay, I have finally finished all the edits for the known missing playgrounds for Salem. Just Mary Jane Lee Playground located on the corners of Prince St. and Palmer St. in the Point Neighborhood.

Download the PDF of the writeup at my website:

www.visualvoices.net/publications/update.html

The playground photos are in color in all of my addendums now, so you get a great visual.

Maps

2008-01-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well, here's something I am not proud of doing but I think I have to, especially because my editor told me to - that's my wife.

So on the addendums I have been working on, I have been updating the maps to reflect the addition of the missing playground. You know, putting it on the map and adding the streets, etc. Of course, as in the original maps I had done for the book, the map page also lists every playground, its location, and its rating. PLUS, it is all in color now.

Now, anybody can download the map even if they didn't buy the book. I don't have some insane registration process to get the download. I just don't know how to code that into the web site and what a logistical pain that would be.

So with the new colored map, you pretty much have an entire city with all its playgrounds and their ratings in your hands without spending one penny. And that is actually just fine with me.

BUT - and here's the rub - I am planning to sell those playground brochures (a map and photo of each playground in their city) to their respective park and recreation departments. Well, why would the city want to pay for something that is already free on my site? Darn it.

So I am left with a marketing choice, which always puts the audience at a disadvantage, and had to leave the maps off the downloadable updates. Hopefully, IF the cities buy their brochure then you can download the brochure with the color maps at that point. But in the meantime, you'll have to put your own little stars marking the playground on the maps in the book. Sorry.

Gloucester Addendum

2008-01-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the first addendum to the Playground book. Go to the web site:
www.visualvoices.net/publications/update.html

and download the PDF of the updated pages. It includes the write ups for each of the five playgrounds. And best of all, they are all in color!

The playgrouds are:
Babson Playground
Brown's Field
Edward "Gint" Middleton Playground
Ganine Nancy Doucette Playground
Joseph Palazola Playground

Brochures

2008-01-11T08:22:00.001-08:00

During the winter, the other thing I have been doing is creating single page pamphlets that could be made into downloadable PDF's with all the playgrounds in one town. It includes the town map with all the playgrounds such as that in the book, and a color photo of each playground on the reverse. No ratings and descriptions though.

Why would I do this? Won't it cut into "profits?" I don't even know what a "profit" is. Anyhoo, there are a couple of reasons why I'm doing this. One is I can't keep updating the book every two years because I just can't afford to print the book all the time. So I need a way to keep everybody updated with the playgrounds without spending a bijillion dollars. Well, a downloadable PDF would allow me not to print anything thereby saving some money (alright, a lot of money. . . alright, all the money). And second: see below.

What will I do with this brochure? The plan would be to sell the PDF to their respective cities so that they can post and advertise the PDF on their city websites for their citizens. Wouldn't that be handy for everyone? Okay, so there isn't a rating system on the brochure but if I did, it would be the rating of ONE individual and may not benefit the city. Maybe the cities wouldn't want their one star playground pointed out.

I'm still working on Salem's brochure. And I haven't approached them yet with the idea, although I had gone to a public space meeting several months ago and was asked about doing such a pamphlet for them. Of course, nothing has come of it. We'll see.

Updates coming!

2008-01-11T08:15:00.001-08:00

Winter is here and we don't go to as many playgrounds as we use to. BUT I should be working on getting those updated playgrounds into a print format for those people who have purchased Playgrounds of the North Shore.

Well, I have finally started working on them and my editor (wife) is currently going over them and I should have them posted this weekend I hope.

First up will be those five playgrounds I missed in Gloucester:

Babson Playground

Brown's Field

Edward "Gint" Middleton Playground

Ganine Nancy Doucette Playground

Joseph Palazola Playground

Next up will be Action Cove in Newbury and the ONE playground I missed in my own hometown of Salem, Mary Jane Lee Playground.

Science Museum of Minnesota

2007-09-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Way back in the summer we went to Minneapolis. We stopped off at the Science Museum and explored this great new museum along the Mississippi River.

In their temporary-under-construction exhibit area was a Geometry exhibit. In there, was this:

This is one of the new structures put out by Landscape Structures (also based in Minneapolis). Pretty cool as it is, but put it into a building where you don't expect it and WAY COOL!!

Hmm. . . putting something in a playground that you wouldn't expect to be there and it makes it that much better. That's an idea.

Another Missing one

2007-09-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

AND THIS ONE IN MY HOMEBASE of Salem!!

Mary Jane Playground
This playground is located in the Point Neighborhood on the corner of Prince St. and Palmer St. It's a medium to large. modular playground that has some fun stuff. The only problem is it has a lot of trash strewn about, and some of it glass. There's also vandalism and graffiti on some of the equipment.

There are a lot of nice picnic tables, most of them in the shade, a blacktop, and basketball court. Best of all, a drinking fountain.

The community has been doing a great job with keeping this park in the best condition they can, but it still can use some more help.

Rating: TWO STARS (out of five)

Playground Injury

2007-09-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last May, a child at Center School Elementary, Peabody, fell from a playground slide and severely broke his arm. This has spurred an increase in playground training in the Peabody school system.

A good thing, and one that is suppose to be in place at all schools anyways.

Salem Common

2007-09-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Okay. So it has been awhile since I have posted anything. But here is sometehing.

I've mentioned this committee before. It is one that formed to help create a new playground at the Salem Common. Here's the present tot lot:

Simple and clean, old wooden structure with what looks like- appropriately although maybe not be appropriate - a gallow, a slide and some swings. There used to be some wooden benches around that MASSIVE, shady maple tree but they were falling apart and had to take them away. They just recently put in the wood chips. It used to be small stones . . . not the best for mouthy tots.

Anywhoo, the committee is having a raffle on October 30th, with all proceeds to benefit the new playground that they hope to have installed sometime in Spring 2008.

Details:
Ticket cost $20, Drawing will take place at 6 p.m. on October 30 at
the Common. You do not need to be present to win.

First prize: 32" LCD high-def. wall-mountable television
Second prize: 2 nights at the Salem Inn
Third Prize: one year membership to BJ's

Contact Katya for tickets: katyusha@comcast.net

What are the plans for the new playground? I don't know yet but will try and find out.

Pratt School in Minneapolis

2007-09-03T11:35:00.001-07:00

Here's another one. This is at Pratt School, also in Southeast Minneapolis. The manufacturer is my favorite, Kompan. They have such unique structures. We've been to this one before and it used to have this giant web strung between the two structures. Unfortunately, it is now gone. Oh oh.

The other notable thing about this playground is the ground cover. They have layed down a layer of that fancy chopped-up-rubber-tire stuff. Very cool.

Rating: Three stars

Luxton Park in Minneapolis

2007-08-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Minneapolis last week to visit Obaachan (grandma). We stopped off at a non-descript playground in Luxton Park in SE Minneapolis. They still loved it since it was a playground. Just old, and the playground wasn't that clean. They do have a small, public wading pool with a spouting water fountain.

Rating: Three stars

Hershey Park, PA

2007-08-13T18:05:00.001-07:00

Okay, this isn't really an official playground, but this water park was just so outrageously insanely cool!

This is the water park that opened this year at Hershey Park, PA.

The structure must go up 10 stories and there are a couple of water slides that start from up there! Of course, we never did any of them because it was a 20-minute wait to go down it. . . lines were everywhere.

Anyway, it was really neat and water was spraying everywhere including a GIAGANTOUS bucket at the top of the structure that literally DUMPS hundreds of gallons of water on to the people below!!! There were hoses all over the structure where you could maliciously spray other water park goers with. . . it was an invitation to be mean and annoying. That was fun.

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

2007-08-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we went on a family vacation to Hershey, PA. Didn't get to see a lot of playgrounds because of the tight schedule (why do we have to have such a tight schedule?), but we did stop at one that was uneventful other than the cool ground cover. Ripped apart tires. It's the same stuff they use at fancy horse runs at some stables. Cushy stuff! Much softer than anything around. Of course it's really expensive.

Anyway, the playground was at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

Parents and Kids Magazine

2007-08-01T07:51:00.001-07:00

I just received an August copy of Parents and Kids Magazine from their editor, Heather Kempskie, with a nice handwritten note on the cover saying "enjoy Pg. 3!"

Hey! That's my book!

They were generous enough to include Playgrounds of the North Shore, 2e, in their August PK Picks book recommendation section.

Yeah. The first publicity for the second edition.

Quiet out there

2007-07-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Not too much new happening in the realm of playgrounds on the North Shore.

Endicott Park just had a big Carnival to raise money for their playground renovation.

Jackson Park did a big fundraiser as well.

Otherwise, pretty quiet.

Doucette Playground, Gloucester

2007-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

This was a huge park located up a hill tucked into a very-Gloucester neighborhood. Huge field in the back, and a small structure. At least it was different than the common Gloucester-style structures we'd seen that day.

Rating: Three stars

Middleton, Gloucester

2007-07-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

A small neighborhood playground with the same old Gloucester structure. A bit weedy as you can tell, and the fence cuts right through the basketball court. The playground is up on a hill in Gloucester, I bet in the winter you can see the ocean. . . although it might have some strong winds. Brrrr.

Rating: Two stars.

Browns Field, Gloucester

2007-07-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

Brown's Field was nice. But like the four of the five playgrounds we saw that day, Brown's Field used the same structure. . . except this one used different colors at least.

Rating: three stars.

Carrol Savage School, Peabody

2007-07-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

This just in the news . . . Carrol Savage Elementary School just broke ground for their new playground due to be complete in the fall of '07. The article said the structure will be "huge."

Coool. I can't wait to see it.

Here's what the old playground looked liked:

Babson, Gloucester

2007-07-10T17:56:00.001-07:00

Most of the playgrounds we missed in Gloucester were three stars . . . except this one.

This is it.

Missing Playgrounds, Gloucester

2007-07-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Eagle Tribune's Playground Rating web site has actually helped me. Through the web site, I see I have missed 5 playgrounds in Gloucester.

FIVE?!!!!!

drat.

They are:
Joseph Palazola Playground
Babson Playground
Brown's Field
Middleton Playground
Ganine Nancy Doucette Playground

Here's Joseph Palazola Playground:

Each of the five playgrounds have INCREDIBLY similar play structures to each other as well as to others in Gloucester. So when we were going to rates these, we quickly got bored with them for the play structures are the same at Cripple Cove, Sargent Street Park, and Fort Point Playground.

Mothers groups

2007-07-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Doing a search on "Playgrounds of the North Shore" brings up not only my web site, but North Shore Mother's groups.

www.northshoreparenting.com

I feel like I'm intruding on the groups, but I try and mention my book to them so that they have a great reference. It's the sales part of self-publishing. . . and I hate it. But really, I do want these groups to know about my book because it IS a great resource for them. Heck, they can just buy ONE and share the book around.

No matter what, I still feel salesy.

Web orders

2007-06-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

I am very excited as I am getting web orders. I LOVE web orders because I get to actually see who is buying the book and where. Not that I'm going to stalk them or anything, it just puts a name to those who are using my book. Hard to explain without sounding creepy I guess.

In addition - I won't lie - I make more money when they are bought through me. Selling just one book online, is equivalent to selling 6 books at a store. . . which I have mentioned earlier is just not a good profit margin for a self-published book. . . oh well.

Action Cove, West Newbury

2007-06-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

oh man.

Maybe this is why nobody in this area is carrying my book, because they see it as incomplete.

While working on the first edition of the book way back in 2004, somebody told me about this INCREDIBLE playground in Newburyport, "Action . . . something". They were unsure of the name. Well, the first edition did not include that area, so I wrote down the name and tucked it away.

Working on the second edition, I remembered this comment and tried to find it. Well, I thought I had found it when I saw Mosely Woods with all it's cool sculptural climbing structures and beautiful pine woods surroundings. It's in Newburyport.

Second edition comes out, $4000 worth of printing, two months later. I am told of Action COVE in WEST NEWBURYPORT.

Oh man.

So here it is. It is a 5 star playground and it is VERY similar to Eagle Nest Playground in Essex, but has been updated last year with plastic caps on all hand railings and plastic timbers on all flooring of the all wooden structure.

This is a very cool playground as was correctly told to me. It was a swelteringly hot day when we went to go visit this but there are many places to shelter from the blazing sun, including at benches and picnic tables.

It is located on Bachelor St between Sawmill Brook Rd/ Meetinghouse Hill Rd and Middle St. Closer to Sawmill Brook Road.

Look for the downloadable PDF at my UPDATE page at the web site:
www.visualvoices.net/publications/update.html

Give me a few more days, summer vacation is happening and I can't do any work while my kids are using the computer to play Webkins.

Media Kits, update

2007-06-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

"Whatever happened to the response to the media kits?" somebody asked me the other day.

nothing

Could it be because half the papers are owned by the Eagle Tribune that did their own "Playground Rating" article and web site?

See the blog
http://playgrounding.blogspot.com/2007/05/article-in-newspaper.html

Newburyport

2007-06-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am having a heck of a time getting stores to carry my book in this town. So far only one of the four stores have decided to carry my book, Jabberwocky books/Eureka Toy Store. Maybe I have become crabby and I'm not a good salesperson anymore. Maybe I have become big-headed or something so when the stores talked with me they think, "eeuh, who IS this guy?"

Anyway, I'll keep trying. . . shhh, don't tell them I'm going to call on them again.

Juniper Point Playground, Salem

2007-06-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Juniper Point neighborhood in Salem, MA, has just had a major fundraiser to update their playground. This is not a great playground but it is in a phenomenal location with a small private across the street and has the unique, Salem-style park structure. – a gazebo or shelter sits on a cement patio, along with benches. A woodchip-covered playground is set into the patio by about six inches, which creates clean lines between playground and patio and visually neatens the look of the park.

I can't wait to see the what this great park will be once renovation is complete which is slated for the end of June 2007.

A closer view of the inset playground and gazebo, and the beach across the street.

Media Kits

2007-06-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sent out some media kits today, ten of them actually. Most to local papers, well heck here is where I sent them out. Let's see which ones do something about the second edition. Some of them had written about the first edition two years ago.

1. Salem News
2. Eagle Tribune Publications (publishers of Salem News, Gloucester Times, Newburyport, and many others)
3. Gloucester Times
4. Daily News of Newburyport
5. Boston Globe
6. Boston Herald
7. Parents and Kids Magazine
8. Community Newspaper Company (publishers of North Shore Sunday, and other free papers)
9. WBUR's Here and Now (public radio station and their local show)
10. Chronicle (Boston's local tv show)

It will be interesting to see what the Salem News/Eagle Tribune will do especially with their recent "Playground Rating" article (see this blog entry).

Chutes and Ladders

2007-06-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

I was in Bloomington, Minnesota with the boys a couple years back and my brother brought us to this incredible playground called Chutes and Ladders at the Hyland Park Reserve (directions). The rope structure must have been about 20 feet high. The playground was built into the hill with many levels and a giant 20 foot tube slide. It also had a water sprinkler section too. Did I mention that the ground cover was also crushed, recycled rubber mats? Really a cool place!
A view from ground level with the two towering net and rope structures on the left, water sprinkler area to the right, and the giant tube slide in the background.

A view of the playground from a higher vantage point. Gorgeous green view, huh?

The playground is located within the Hyland Park Reserve. If you cannot get to the link above for directions, here are the DIRECTIONS:

From I-494, go south on East Bush Lake Road approximately 1/2 mile. Follow East Bush Lake road which will veer right (west) at the stoplight. Drive past the ski jump on the left; the Nature Center will be the next entrance on the left, about 1 mile. The Recreation Area/Visitor Center/ PLAY AREA will be 1 mile further south on the left side. Drive past Bush Lake Beach and Southern DIvision Administration Center and veer left to the recreation area entrance.

"Danger: Playground Ahead"

2007-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article was given to me by a friend. The article was in the May 29, 2007, New York Times (Op-ed section).

It talks about how playgrounds have been "gentrified" for 2-5-year-olds by safety regulations. The creative and fun playgrounds are disappearing in the US. It includes four concept playground designs by an artists, architects, and designers.

It also talks about Adventure Playgrounds. Check out the site. Adventure playgrounds based their concepts on experience-based learning through direct contact with different environments, materials, and people. Playgrounds that do not look like playgrounds, but almost like a junk yard.

EUREKA! and JABBERWOCKY

2007-05-31T11:30:00.001-07:00

I went to the Newburyport store which is actually two stores, Jabberwocky Bookshop and Eureka (toy store). Cool stores with lots of toys and books. The books are now in Jabberwocky!!! The store is located at 50 Water Street in downtown Newburyport in the Tannery Mill Mall.

OH DARN IT, NOT YET

2007-05-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yes I got the book in Newburyport, but I haven't gotten the copies up to them yet. I was going to yesterday but I was taking pictures of the teachers at Witchcraft Heights ES for the PTO and it took longer than anticipated. And I couldn't today because my Kindergartener had a field trip to the Children's Museum of Boston and I had volunteered to chaperon. That means the books don't get there till tomorrow.

So is the life of a stay-at-home-dad who actually tries to do some work.

NOW AVAILABLE IN NEWBURYPORT

2007-05-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to contact ONE (Eureka/Jabberwocky Bookshop) of the three stores in Newburyport to agree to carry the book! Happy Day!

ARTICLE IN NEWSPAPER

2007-05-28T19:06:00.001-07:00

Okay. So I have yet to get press releases out to the media about the second edition. Still trying to get the books into a few new stores, and even just IN Newburyport.

But the Salem Evening News (which also prints the Newburyport paper, The Gloucester Times, and the Lynn paper) teased an article on Saturday for their Monday edition about "Playground Ratings on the North Shore." COOL! Although no one contacted me, maybe they just took it upon themselves to do an article about the best playgrounds using my book as a reference.

Well, if they did I did not get any mention for it. I am so sad.

The article was great and they chose: Lynch Park, Beverly; Ross Memorial, Peabody; Touch the Sky, Beverly; Forest River, Salem; and Endicott Park, Danvers. I'll kind of agree with that. But I sure wish they could have contacted me about some input or assistance. They have quoted my book several times already. WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST MENTION MY BOOK!!!!

HAPPY PLACE HAPPPPPPYYYYYYY PLLLAAAAACCE

AWW MAN. I MISSED ONE A BIG ONE

2007-05-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

After the printing of the first edition, someone told me of this really great playground in Newburyport called ACTION PARK. Well, working on this second edition which includes Newburyport, I looked for this Action Park. I couldn't find it and Newburyport Park and Rec had no idea what I was talking about. But Newburyport has a couple of FANTASTIC playgrounds, Moseley Woods, and Cashman Park, so I thought that maybe one of these was Action Park and the locals call it such but not the city.

Well, I now found out the Action Park is in West Newbury. I haven't gone to it, but it is suppose to be phenomenal. Dagnabbit. Lest you think I did not do my job, I called West Newbury about their playgrounds and they said that the one I have listed (Page School) is the only one in the city. Well, apparently not.

Pictures to come.

It's okay. It's okay. Happy place happy place.

REORDERS ARE COMING IN

2007-05-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

YEA! A few stores are already reordering books. Thank goodness because I was afraid the price of the book was going to slow the sale of the books. This is about right. Thanks everybody!

PLANS FOR JACKSON PARK, SWAMPSCOTT

2007-05-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tentative plans have been drawn up for redesigned playground on the site of the Machon Elementary School Playground at Jackson Park in Swampscott. They include two separate playgrounds for both preschool and elementary school children, a dog park, and basketball hoops. No start date has been planned yet. They will tear down the current playground and rebuild the site.

http://www.townonline.com/swampscott/news/x1623296093

A view of the current playground with Essex Street way in the back

A SAD LOSS

2007-05-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

It pains me to say, but one of the independent toy stores that carried my books last year is closing. Fun Among Us, Gloucester, is closing its doors at this end of June, says the store manager. This is a sad loss not just to the Gloucester community but to all communities. The loss of a small independent toy store is a sad loss.

Please, keep supporting the local, independent stores. If you can, buy your toys and books at these shops that I have the books in. The list is basically all the independent toy stores and book stores on the North Shore (minus a few here and there). They are great stores and they try their best to support the communities they are in.

REALLY NOW AVAILABLE!

2007-05-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

All books are in the stores from last year happy day!

Check out the list!

NOW AVAILABLE

2007-05-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, my list of stores that carry my book is up to date. As of now, all the stores that carried my first edition, are carrying the second edition. Alright, not ALL. I still have to get some books to Banbury Cross (Hamilton/Wenham), but they have ordered them. . . I just ran out of books and have to hassle the printer for my next set of 50.

BOOKS ARE GOING OUT!

2007-05-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

A couple more stores are carrying the books now. Now the list is:
Crunchy Granola Baby, Salem
Cornerstorne Books, Salem
Learning Tree Store, Danvers
Marblehead Toy Store, Marblehead
Spirit of '76 Bookstore, Marblehead
Zak's Handcrafts and gifts , Manchester-by-the-sea

BINDING

2007-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

First, I am not bitter. Second, the binding was done wrong on the 30 books and I had to send them back to get fixed. Didn't I tell you? 50% of the time it never works right. But I'm not bitter.

30 MORE BOOKS DONE

2007-05-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is slightly ridiculous. I'm suppose to have 500 total from the printer. At this rate, I'm going to be getting 50 books every week from the printer for the rest of the summer. One thing about the business of graphic design which I have FINALLY realized is five out of ten jobs goes through without a hitch. The other five are usually a big mess: Paper isn't available; it's going to cost more; CEO's name is spelled wrong on the entire run of 10,000 brochures; wrong cover on the books; etc. When a job does go right, in the back of my mind I think, "That was too easy. There must be something wrong."

But I am not a pessimist. Really . . . i'm not. . . maybe i am . . . maybe I'm a bitter, look for bad, glass is half empty, light bulb could be brighter, it's too hot, it's too cold, pessimist. . . oh no . . .where's my happy place?

On a happy note, I have kept a few of the last 30 copies so I can sell them through the web site. That's good. . . or is it? . . .happy place happy place.

#1 RATED PLAYGROUND

2007-05-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I thought maybe you would like to see the #1 rated playground in the book in glaring full color. The photos just don't do it justice though. But here they are. Stage Fort Park, Gloucester.

A view towards the visitor center (on the left) and the gazebo.

This is a view from the top of the hill looking towards the ocean. It's about January when some of these photos were taken. Stage Fort is still being redone and is only about halfway done. You can see the lighthouse structure way in the background. The boat and truck structure are in the middle left background.

Here's a closer view of the play structure.

The boat and lighthouse structures.

This is a view of Half Moon Beach taken from atop a rocky outcrop over looking the beach.

THE FIRST 50

2007-05-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

After a 6 hour delay (the printer put the wrong cover on the books), the first 50 books are in stores. The next 50 will be done, I hope, on Tuesday . . . not that I'm a pessimist, but I'm going to think to myself that they will be done on Wednesday, not that I'm a pessimist. So far they are in:

Crunchy Granola Baby, Salem
Cornerstorne Books, Salem
Learning Tree Store, Danvers
Marblehead Toy Store, Marblehead

FINAL PROOF

2007-05-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Got a look at the final proof of the book. After giving the printer the correct cover and not some lo-resolution version, the book is looking great. We are hoping to get 50 books done and out to the stores that have requested them by Saturday!
So close I can taste the ink!

The final front and back cover of the book. I wanted to go with a very cool, club-inspired image . . . or maybe it's because I listen to trance as I design.

TO THE PRINTER

2007-04-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I had self scheduled the book to be done by now and instead it is just now getting to the printer. I tried. But at least it's at the printer!

PRICING THE BOOK

2007-04-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

After getting the final quote from the printer the news is not good. Let me explain.

The first edition of the book was priced at $11.95. This is a pretty good price. But the problem was, bookstores get a 40% discount when they purchase my book. So I get 60% of the price of the book. Well that sounds dandy! But then there's the cost of paper and printing. Take that out of the 60% and I get a whopping ¢55 a book. That is not good.

Now please don't think I plan to make millions from the book. That is not why I made the book. I needed the book myself. But after all the work I put into it, it sure would be nice to at least break even. Not to mention my editor (who is also the CFO, who is also my wife) would like to see some income coming to the family from me as well. I can't just run around to 151 playgrounds just for fun. :)

So with the addition of Newbury, Newburyport, and West Newbury and 20 extra pages for the second edition, I definitely needed to increase the price. So I calculated and cringed with the extra paper and printing that $14.95 would pay for the increase AND give me $1 in return for each book.

Well, that $14.95 price was prior to getting the final quote from the printer. Once I got that, things were looking really poor. After deducting the printing and paper charges, I now made a really big whopping ¢0. That's right, after printing I was making EXACTLY nothing. Zilch. Not a penny. And that was just the price of paper and printing. That doesn't include the cost of other "supportive" book supplies like boxes, packing tape, mailing, etc.

Now let me back track a moment. After printing 1000 copies of the first book, and selling them (or giving comps to the media and libraries because I LOVE the libraries), I made <-$1000>. That's a negative sign behind that dollar sign. So, I didn't even break even. But I knew this would be the situation going into this project. I needed to print and sell something around 1500 copies to break even. Well, the 500 second edition printing puts me into the 1500 copies. But that means I must make a profit selling the books.

With the second edition and the $14.95 pricing, it pretty much determines I will make nothing and the CFO will sigh. That's not good. So, I have agonizingly finalized the price at $15.95 and returns me to the ¢60 a copy range. Which, out of all honesty, is really not that good for a self-published book. I read in one of those "Self-publish your book and make millions!" books that you should be pricing your book at 50% profit after all the production. 3% is close isn't it?

After all my grumblings and moments of giving up, my wife, editor, and CFO never gave up on ME. She has encouraged me to finish the second edition even if it makes nothing and we have to eat wood chips ground cover for dinner.

100% PCW PAPER

2007-04-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

It took some time but I finally chose a 100% Post-consumer waste paper that will HAVE TO work for the book. A lot of printers don't use 100% PCW paper on their high speed printers so I had to purchase the paper myself and deliver to the printer. The previous paper I used on the first edition was Badger's Envirographic 100 in a nice heavy weight.

Well, when I called to order more for the second edition, wouldn't you know the paper company has stopped making the paper. Well, after some research, I chose Boise paper's Aspen 100. It's a lighter weight paper, but I think it will work.

Post-consumer waste paper is paper made from the paper that you (hopefully) recycle at home or office. You know, all that copy paper and junk mail you get and never read. That paper is made into a pulp and made into PCW paper. It's currently more expensive and there are not that much available choices.

Why go through so much work for the more difficult to use, more difficult to get, more expensive 100% PCW paper for the book? Because it needs to be shown that 100% PCW can be used just as well as other papers, even for a book!

Is it better for the environment? Some would argue not. The paper that you so deligently recycle actually gets collected and shipped to CHINA. The paper companies buy their paper from China and then the paper gets shipped BACK to be made into paper. That doesn't seem very energy efficient or clean? But the alternative (at this moment) is to continue to chop down trees to make paper. That doesn't seem right either. I argue, that we should use the paper we have without making new virgin paper. As PCW paper is more readily used, perhaps a paper processing plant will be created in North America. Maybe I should start one? Anyone have $200 million dollars in seed money?

Noooooooo, ANOTHER PLAYGROUND!

2007-04-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you have found all the playgrounds and you have almost finished the insides of the book, you go for a casual drive with your family and discover a playground not in your book. Doooooh!!!!! Is it even worth putting it in? My editor says "yes." She's such a perfectionist . . .

Playground #151, DiBiase Park in Salem..

COVER DESIGN

2007-04-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

So while my editor (that would be my dearest wife) is proofing the insides of the book, I now have an opportunity to design the cover. Here are a few VERY initial designs:

The idea behind this design was a bug box. A shadow box displaying the various unique playgrounds on the North Shore with pins holding them in place with labels and all.

Going for a much more crazy, complex, messy, layered design using silhouettes of playgrounds as well.