Tarr Family Playground



Tarr Family Playground is a play area in New York City's Central Park at West 100th Street and Central Park West.

Description
The playground is an adventure playground located near the north end of the park. It includes tire swings, traditional swings, monkey bars, net climbers, a concrete maze, a sandbox, a treehouse, a bridge, and a large pyramid with slides, tunnels, ladders, and net climbers. In addition, there is a water area with two mist poles and a circle of floor jets. These elements are both activated using buttons.

The majority of the play equipment is connected: the ramp wraps around the water and sand areas, creating a tunnel, then rises to the level of the pyramid. Numerous ladders and other climbing features connect to the bridge.

The Central Park Conservancy maintains the playground.

History
Tarr Family Playground was built in 1935-36 as one of the park's perimeter playgrounds. It was renovated in 1972 after the play equipment had been damaged over the years. The renovation, which cost over $100,000, was funded by the Estée and Joseph Lauder Foundation. Architects Ross, Ryan, and Jaquette redesigned the playground as an adventure playground, including a maze with tunnels and slides, a tire and net structure, and a treehouse with a fireman's pole and a net bridge. In addition, this renovation included ropes for swinging between a series of platforms, tire swings, traditional swings, a bridge with slides and ladders, a water area, and a pyramid with two roller slides and a tunnel. The water area consisted of a small amphitheater with two repurposed fire hose nozzles which could be rotated to adjust the spray. On the opposite side of the central bridge, there was a smaller sprinkler for younger children. The water from this flowed into a stream which ran underneath the bridge and into the main water amphitheater.

The Central Park Conservancy renovated the playground again in 2009. This renovation simplified the maze, reconstructed the treehouse, and replaced the majority of the sand below the play structures with rubber safety surfacing. Additionally, this renovation replaced the roller slides on the pyramid with traditional slides, replaced the fire hose nozzles with two mist posts and a ring of floor jets, expanded the sandbox and introduced water, reduced the tire swing structure to one swing, replaced the swinging ropes with a net climber, replaced the rope and tire structure with only ropes, and more.

Shortly after the playground was renovated, a severe thunderstorm destroyed many trees near the playground, including the two which were originally part of the treehouse. Consequently, the treehouse now stands as a standalone structure.