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East 72nd Street Playground is a play area located in New York City's Central Park, inside the park at East 72st Street and Fifth Avenue.

Description
The playground is an adventure playground located on the south end of the park. It includes tire swings, traditional swings, a large pyramid, and a fortress-like concrete water feature. Connected to the pyramid is a slide and a tunnel. Adjacent to this pyramid is a set of small slides for younger children.

The water feature is multi-tiered: it has three distinct areas, each with its own button activation. On the lowest tier is a triangular concrete pillar with three sprayers near the top, one on each side. On the other side of a tunnel is an area with four wall jets; the water from this flows under the tunnel and drains into the first area. The top layer includes 10 floor jets which drain down a ramp to the first and second areas.

The playground is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy.

History
The playground was built in 1936. It was rebuilt in 1970 in the adventure style with the support of the Louis and Bessie Adler Foundation. This design was by Richard Dattner, a designer who designed multiple other playgrounds in Central Park. The design included a similar pyramid, as well as treehouses, small climbing poles for toddlers, larger ones for older children, and a net connecting the large climbing poles to the treehouses and slides. Additionally, there was a water feature at the north end of the playground where water originated from a central spray, then collected and traveled around a hexagonal channel before returning to the original pool to drain. This renovation kept the trees and drainage system from when the playground was built.

The playground was renovated again in 2001 by the Central Park Conservancy. This renovation included new swings for toddlers, new sand safety surfacing, a reconstructed treehouse, as well as a new water feature which was accessible for those with disabilities. These changes were supposedly also done to comply with national standards for playground safety and in response to feedback.

East 72nd street playground was reconstructed once more with work being completed in December 2015. In this renovation, many changes were made to the playground to enhance the value of play and integrate the park better into the landscape while preserving the original adventure playground design by Richard Dattner. The sand below all of the playground equipment was replaced with rubber safety surfacing. The wooden play structure at the south end of the playground was removed, and in its place, the swing set and toddler slides were installed. The net climber was replaced with a pole climber reminiscent of the structure from the 1970 design, the pyramid was slightly updated, and the tire swings were moved and modified. In addition to these changes, the concrete pole in the water feature was moved, the spray jets at the top of this were changed, and the floor jets were added to the top level. A section of the sand play area was raised off of the ground using a sand table, increasing accessibility. The fence around the play area was replaced by a low seat wall with benches. A lighter fence was added around this to separate the play area from the outside.

Users of Central Park's playgrounds voted that this playground was the best in Central Park. This poll was conducted in 2016, shortly after this playground's renovation.