Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park
Charlestown, MA USA
Playground Overview
The playground design at Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park (Parcel Five Park) in Boston was envisioned in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Installed in a public park just steps from the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown Navy Yard, the inclusive playground incorporated a ramped PlayBooster® play structure, embankment slides and climbers, an Evos® play system and poured-in-place surfacing to ensure that there are many opportunities for active play, physical therapy and exercise for all abilities and ages. Even more, Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park offers a place for recovery and relief, and delivers a unique aesthetic to the views of Boston’s working waterfront and downtown skyline.
Playground Details
Age Ranges
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- 5 to 12 years
Design Standards
- ASTM
Installed
- October 2013
Design/CAD Files
Min Area Required
91' x 74' (27,74 m x 22,56 m)
- Project Price Range
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$200K-$500K+
Pricing reflects only the equipment shown in the 3D render above. For international and exact pricing, please contact your local playground consultant.
- Contact Your Consultant
- About Color
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Color is an important decision, and our playgrounds are available in many color options. Use our carefully curated palettes or work with our design team to create your own color combination. Contact your local playground consultant to learn more.
Featured Products
We offer the widest range of park and playground equipment to promote healthy lifestyles, encourage skill-building and create unique outdoor experiences. From our playsystems and freestanding playground components to themed designs, site furnishings and more, we’ll help you create a recreation space that welcomes your whole community.
Play Systems featured in this Playground
Evos®
Ages 5 to 12 Years
Evos® attracts kids with its unique appearance and endless opportunities for unstructured fun. Its ground-to-ground arches allow kids of all abilities to join in the fun. But most importantly, Evos lets kids find their own ways to play while building muscle strength, endurance and mental agility.
U.S. Patent Nos. 8,021,240, 8,366,562, 8,485,911 and 9,089,731. Canada Patent No. 2,658,420.
PlayBooster®
Ages 5 to 12 Years
The PlayBooster® playground structure, the original post-and-clamp system, combines exciting ground-level components with climbing events and overhead activities for kids ages 5 to 12. The PlayBooster family includes the interconnected cables of Netplex®, the contemporary Vibe®, the nature-inspired Tree House and the double-decker PlayOdyssey® Tower.
Resources
Product Categories featured in this Playground
Freestanding Play
Ages 2 to 12
Freestanding Play events add fun and excitement to new and existing playgrounds! Revitalize your current playground or create a playground design that’s completely unique using Freestanding Play components for kids ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12.
Resources
Play Styles featured in this Playground
Inclusive Play
We believe all kids are created equal. That’s why we create play environments using inclusive playground equipment that welcome kids and families of all abilities to learn, play and grow together. Our playgrounds feature activities that are age and developmentally appropriate, sensory stimulating and universally designed.
Resources
Playground consultant for this project
We’ve created a global network of local playground experts to be at your side, every step of the way. With an average of 20 years of experience, our playground consultants are knowledgeable and personable. They will guide you through product pricing and specifications, customization, financing options, community builds, on-time deliveries, maintenance, finding replacement parts, and service questions.
M.E. O'Brien & Sons, Inc.
PO Box 718
17 Trotter Dr
Medway, MA 02053-0718
USA
Toll Free 800-835-0056
Phone 508-359-4200
nate.hinchliffe@boston.gov
www.obrienandsons.com
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Healing Through Play
Playground Brings Fun, Therapy to Boston Waterfront
During a tour of the new Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, Mayor Thomas Menino noticed a vacant parcel of land adjacent to the facility. He immediately got to work on what would be one of his final projects as the Mayor of Boston—creating an inclusive play space that would welcome children and families of all abilities.
A Park for Everybody
Working on another park within the Charlestown Navy Yard was Landscape Architect Cheri Ruane, who was asked by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) if she had experience designing inclusive playgrounds.
She did. And began meeting with BRA, officials from Spaulding and the community to understand their needs and wants. What came out of that was the vacant parcel of land was going to be turned into a waterfront park for everybody.
Bringing People Together
Cheri and her team from Spurr, Weston & Sampson's design studio collaborated with M.E. O’Brien & Sons, Inc. to design a playground that would be exciting and interesting and truly inclusive so that kids who are typically developing and those with special needs could have fun together.
The playground combines the spherical design of Evos® with the traditional PlayBooster® playstructure. Landforms were used to create elevation so that space wasn’t taken up by really long lengths of ramps. A gradually sloped boardwalk takes visitors to the top of a mound so that everyone can see the amazing views of the water and the city.
Therapy in the Park
“The ah-ha moment for me was collaborating with key individuals from Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, which is famous for treating many of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing,” explained Cheri. “We worked with physical and occupational therapists so that we could learn and understand what kinds of therapy and activities they did so that it was supported in the park.”
"We picked the components with the highest therapy value and placed them closest to Spaulding."
Horizontal bars installed at varying heights were incorporated so that individuals working on building upper body strength can truly progress from one level of challenge to the next. “Patients can lay on the ground and work to pull themselves up, and it’s also great for toddlers who are learning to stand and walk,” described Cheri.
Cheri also learned a lot about children on the autism spectrum. Many of them find the sensation of the Roller Table™ to be incredibly engaging. Gross-motor activities were placed further into the playground site so that therapists and patients could be actively involved with their therapy without being distracted by other visitors who were there playing.
True Inclusivity
After Thomas M. Menino Park opened in November 2013, many groups—community members, landscape architects, city officials—have taken tours to learn about the inclusive aspects of this playground design. During one tour, a 9-year-old girl engaged with the group telling them about her mom, a patient at Spaulding, and how she watches the girl play from her hospital room. She goes to the playground every day because her mom told her that it makes her want to get better so much faster.
“And as that little girl’s mom gets better, she’ll be able to come to this park and play alongside her daughter,” stated Cheri. “You don’t have to be 9-years-old and playing on the monkey bars to fully engage with this playground. This inclusive play design provides multigenerational benefits because of the true inclusivity of all of the aspects of the park.”
