The Adventure Playground was constructed in 1975 from an old gravel pit. It was an early example of adaptive reuse, part of famed architects Eckbo, Dean, Austin and Williams ecologically-driven plan for the development of Central Park. Adventure playgrounds trace their roots to 1880s east coast tenements where children played in undeveloped lots called "sand gardens" and made toys of whatever detritus came to hand. The idea was later recognized in Post-war Europe where children created whole worlds for themselves from bombed-out materials. In the early 1970s, the idea gained traction in the United States where the extent of children's play was considered limited only by their own imagination. Children at the Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach were given left-over construction materials, hand tools and even a broken old boat from which they constructed play structures, forts and rafts they floated on the shallow water remaining at the bottom of the gravel pit. In this film, created on the last day of the playground at thus ocation, activities are documented and children are interviewed about their experience. It is significant not only for this particular site but for the story of adventure playgrounds more broadly which - due to safety concerns - are nearly extinct in California. Written on film can: "Adventure Playground 1975"
Type
moving image
Format
Reversal Original Sound Color Super 8mm film
Extent
1 Reel of 1
Identifier
HBMP06 cahuca_000006
Language
English
Subject
Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Time Period
1975
Place
Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Provenance
City of Huntington Beach Archives California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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