Figure 1.-- Here we see a rather large merry-go-round about 1920. A large group is needed to make it work. We have no idea where in America this playground was located. Notice how many of the children are barefoot, something you do not get a good feeling for if you just look at family snapshots.

There was at first no playground equipment. Germany was the origin of many child friendly innovations such as public schools and Kindergartens. As the idea took hold, we see playground equipment being installed. Some may have had ball fields as sport was increasing as a part of American life. This was limited in major cities because of the cost of real estate and the slow to develop children's sports organizations. This became more common with the move to the suburbs and more land was available. Today, children can slide, swing, run, spin, and jump on a wide variety of creative structures. Standard play ground equipment included merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, see-saws, slides, and swings. We note some playgrounds with large, substantial erquipment like we see here (figure 1). This of course is exactlky the wrong approach, not only is expensive andrequires suprvision whuich is also expensive, but it often requires large grouops of children. A far better approach is less substantial, expensive equipment which does not require a paid staff. Rather what became standard is low-budget equipment that even small groups of children could enjoy with family and friends.

Created: 5:14 PM 9/4/2023
Last updated: 5:14 PM 9/4/2023