MANHATTAN — In the 1930s, when New York City wanted to replace Central Park’s wooden swing seats with aluminum ones, they tested the new models on the gorillas in the Central Park Zoo.
However, it's unlikely that zoo animals will be used as guinea pigs for the next playground revamp. The Central Park Conservancy is now reviewing its 21 playgrounds after spending the past 30 years restoring the park’s landscapes and infrastructure.
The conservancy developed a long-term plan outling goals to knit the playgrounds together as a “vast system, rather than fragmented resources" by having the use of each playground complement the others and through visitors' interaction with neighboring landscapes.
It hopes to improve the variety of “play experiences” and to preserve unique designs where they’ve been successful, while designing innovative features for playgrounds that have been underperforming.
When Central Park’s first modern playground, Heskscher Playground, was built in 1926 on four acres of fenced-in parkland, with a wading pool, bathroom and separate spaces for boys and girls, it met significant community opposition.
Foes said it was encroaching on the park’s pristine landscape, but supporters claimed it would help prevent children from destroying other parts of the park.
Eighty-five years later, it seems the supporters have the numbers. More than two million children visit the Central Park Conservancy's 21 playgrounds every year, according to the organization's February 2011 survey.
