Playgrounds
Beach Playground & Linda Vista Park
Note: Linda Vista Park was also said to describe the Rose Garden before it was a garden.
Piedmont People brochure, 1928:
PIEDMONT PLAYGROUND
In 1925, the City Council appointed Mrs. R. C. McLachlan, 102 Sunnyside Avenue, to head a committee on “Good Citizen at Linda Park near the Egbert Beach School. The support of ship," and to take the responsibility of installing a playground Club was secured, and she assumed the supervision of the the Board of Education and the West Piedmont Improvement grounds, and secured the services of Miss Marian Anderson, formerly of the Oakland Playground.
The grounds were opened the middle of July, with 300 in attendance the first week. A constructive program was organized to promote good sportsmanship, and to build character and good citizenship. The honor system and self government plan was adopted.
The first annual play day was held April 17, 1926. It was a success, attended by the largest crowd that had been present up to that time. Miss Anderson resigned in June, 1926, and Mrs. McLachlan in July appointed Mrs. Telura Swim, a worker of experience in Oakland.
At this time a readjustment of departments was effected. The recreation department, being young and small, was included in the park department under Mr. A. C. Hibbard, park commissioner. A new feature was now introduced—the co-operation of schools and playgrounds. Miss Rosemary McDonald, physical
education supervisor of elementary schools in Piedmont became assistant supervisor on playgrounds after school. Now instead of annual play days, the regular monthly play days became outstanding. Inter-school competition was introduced and the grounds of Havens and Beach schools as well as Linda playgrounds were pressed into use, as five hundred children were involved at once in these games. Grounds and organizations were supervised by Mrs. Swim and Miss McDonald.
Officials and referees were given through the kindness and interested attitude of the teachers and principals of Beach and Havens schools—Miss Luke at Beach and Miss Driscoll and later Miss Chapin at Havens as principals.
A beautiful club house was erected by the council, which furnished greater conveniences and a more commodious office. At the opening of the club house, which was named by the children, the Girls' Fidelity Club was hostess and reception committee.
In November of 1927 Mr. Barnett of the manual training department of the high school assisted in establishing a simple program in wood work novelties, wooden toys, etc. The work is a daily feature engaging from twenty to thirty children at a time. An exhibition for the Women's Guild is in progress, after which the things will be donated to the Children's hospital.
A special program in folk dancing and natural dancing under the direction of Miss Betty Rockwood, is the outstanding feature of the last half of the school year of 1928. At the close of the school year a program will be given in the Community Center where the classes are held every Friday.
Beach Playground (at the school)
Beach Parents Organization -
March 12, 1980:
Play Structure: Bruce Joffe introduced the student architects who are working on ideas for the proposed play structure. The students are Roger Schow, Bob Diefenback, Lauren Meye and Joel Agnello.
Play Structure. Alison Welch brought it to the Board's attention that no money has as yet been officially allocated for the play structure. The cost of the play structure could go as high as $3500-$4000, depending on whether or not certain materials are donated or reused from other sources. The Board voted to approve a $4000 ceiling on building funds, with the hope that some of that money could be returned to BPO funds. Also approved was a $100 honorarium to each of the four architecture students who designed the structure and have put in so many hours helping to build it. The $100 to each student was approved, with the intention of awarding each student some kind of bonus when the structure is completed and the final costs calculated.
1980 - 2000s
The Piedmonter, May 7, 1980:
Door slamming — and a variety of other vigorous activities enjoyed by Piedmont's younger citizens — can be indulged in to their hearts content at Beach
School's new play structure, currently under construction.
The structure is a project of the Beach Parent's Organization, which is looking for help from the community in the form of donations of materials, equipment and elbow grease.
A three-dimensional model of the structure was presented to the Board of Education last week by project coordinator Bruce Joffe, who commended the work of 4 U.C. architectural students who helped design the structure and built model over a 6 week period.
According to Joffe, the design concept is one of
"closed activity loops" that don't conflict with each other, providing a varied but safe play environment. The structure will be built on four levels, the highest a 12-foot tower similar to the one that was removed from the site last year due to unsafe conditions.
The first phase of construction, which began last Saturday, includes a tire mountain made from materials donated by World Airways and Leonard Kraft's Chevron station on Grand Avenue.
To follow - slides, tire swings, bars, beams, ropes, platforms and a "door slam-mer" suggested wistfully by Parent's Organization President Allison Welch and made possible by a donation of doors by Board member Anita Fromholz.
By working every weekend in May, Joffe hopes the entire structure will be completed by month's end. However, without help from the community delays are likely.
Still needed are six 10-inch diameter pressure
treated poles 22 feet long, hardware, lumber, sand, cement, and a variety of tools from an auger to a truck-mounted crane.
2000s - 2024
2024 -
