Rocket slide
This was always big fun for kids at Riverside Park, they could climb up inside it to various levels and at about the second level they could slide down. The slide has been removed and the entries closed off. It's been left in place for memories sake, but no longer do kids get to climb inside and slide down. Although, there is new park equipment beside this old rocket and there are slides there. They just aren't rocket slides. I'm curious to know - does (or has) your city ever had a slide like this one? I don't know who designed it, but am wondering if this is unique to Wichita, or if it was installed at other parks in other cities?
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27 comments:
Nope, this neat slide is totally new to me!
I do recall something like this in my childhood. I believe it was in St Paul, I'd have to ask my parents if they remember where it is. I'm curious if it's still there and how close of a resemblance it is to the one you've posted.
love, love LOVE it!
we had one on the north side of austin, texas, back in the 70s. pillow elementary school. i absolutely loved that thing.
nice shot!
this is the first time i have seen one like this....why did they close it???
Neh Wendy we have just boring ordinary slides, there might be more exiting one's but not near here.
Rhanks for commenting Wendy , you're wishes for me and my hus came trhough, see my blog what he gets from em, and of corse I am his company or travelmate!!!
Have agreat week ! :0 JoAnn :)
Wow!! That looks as if it would have been great fun and a great slide too. I hope it wasn't closed due to some sort of silly health and safety reason. I think that children should be allowed to have fun! But before I go on about it, I'll assume that wasn't the case, (hehehe).
I'd like that in my garden.
Nope, never saw one but this looks like a lot of fun.
Boy, I would like to be young again and play in that rocket :)
I don't think I've ever seen one in person. I think I remember seeing pictures of them. I can't help but think of the song "Rocket Man".....Nice Picture.
Nice unique image, Wendy.
Slide rules!!
Wonderful photo and slide. Too bad they couldn't make it safe to meet today's standards since it seems like a lot of fun!
To the best of my memory, there used to be a slide just like this in what used to be called Riverside Park, in Jackson, Mississippi!
Yes! I can verify the slide Lynette is referring to in Jackson at Riverside Park. I LOVED it and it's so awesome to see it here!
Yup, these were awesome. We had one in Bear Creek Park, in Houston, TX. It seems SO much bigger when I was a munchkin though! I was just telling the youngsters here at work about these things.
My Elementary school in Centereach N.Y. (Holbrook E.S.) had that Rocket Slide in the middle of the playground.It was still in use a few years ago.I attended there from '74 - '78.
Brian R.
There is a slide just like this at Heights Park in Richardson, Texas. I was there this past weekend and went a few weeks prior to that. The slide is still intact and fully usable, and has recently been repainted. Here's a picture of it before the new paint job:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/TexasRichardson_rocketShipSlide.jpg
Yes there used to be at least 2 of these i Omaha, Ne. They just took the last one down 3 to 4 years ago. I got to take my oldest there 1 time. That was the coolest thing in the world when I was a kid.
I'm from Santa Monica, California (L.A. County), and we had this very rocket slide at Memorial Park when I was a child (I was born in 1964). The whole rocket and slide have since been removed. There was also one at Clover Park (built in 1978), which is still standing, but (sadly) the slide has been removed. I took my little nieces to Clover Park, and all three of us climbed up inside the rocket. I told them there used to be a really long slide on it. They said they wished it were still there. So do I! Those were the days - we had it great as children, didn't we?
These babies were all over New Zealand in the '70's. I know there was definitely one in Alexandra, Central Otago, but I also recall playing on at least 3 others during our travels around the country.
I loved this thing as a kid. We lived in SE Wichita, so we only went to Riverside Park once in my childhood... but it was unforgettable. It was full of kids. My parents really had to work to coax my sister and I out of this thing to go home. As a landscape architect who helps design playgrounds and specify safe play equipment, I understand the need for safety standards. I also know the constant, gutwrenching fear of negligence and financial liability. Nobody wants children to get hurt on the playground, and the City sure doesn't want to be held responsible. But, man, it was great exercise going up and down those ladders! Sure, our kids are safer due to increased standards and legal protection. And, of course, it's our responsibility to ensure that they should be. The many talented landscape architects and park and recreation professionals in Wichita will continue to see to it that the kids are at least having as much fun as we did.
As a kid, I used to play on a rocket slide at Hermoso Park in Phoenix when I would visit my Grandmother. I think it's long gone. My daughter told me recently that the rocket slide in Heights Park in Richardson, Texas has been removed, along with the other vintage play structures.
Moree NSW, Australia has a similar rocket, along with a number of other country towns in NSW. Most have been decomissioned because of OH&S.
Moree has kept it, but recently installed a 14metre replacement rocket for kids to play on
AWESOME,I have seen a couple of these in various Australian cities/towns in the 70's.I wonder who designed them? Kim.
When I was a preschooler in Scottsdale AZ in the 60s, there was an orange rocket slide in the grassy area between the townhouses in the townhouse complex I lived in on Osborn Rd. I was scared to climb it unless an older girl egged me on.
There is still one in operation here in Miami, Oklahoma.
It's sad that too many sue happy people have to ruin it for the rest of us and our kids. If you go to a park, or take your kids to one, you have to be responsible for your own actions and assume liability if you or your kids fall. That's just life.
There is one in Torrance, California (where I grew up. I also lived in Wichita for five years). Here is a link to a story about it. http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/ You will have to scroll down to see the story.
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