Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
Home
  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
  • 6 Steps to Your Perfect Park and Playground
  • The Evolution of Playground Surfacing
  • Playground Supervision: How Much Is Too Much?
  • Trends in Playground Design and Amenities
  • Girard Street Park Playground Goes Year Round
  • Designing A Great Skatepark
  • Is The Use of PVC in Playground Equipment Safe?

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Athletics
  3. Come see it before it's gone

Come see it before it's gone

Athletics
November 11, 2013
Profile picture for user John Sutterby
By John Sutterby on
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print
5012
The Astrodome

The Astrodome

Hemisfair Park Playground
Hemisfair Park Playground wooden structure
Hemisfair Park Playground slide
Hemisfair Park Playground - building the playground
Hemisfair Park Playground - wooden and rope playground
Hemisfair Park Playground - frame with missing tire swing
Hemisfair Park Playground - dramatic play car
Hemisfair Park Playground - The Armadillo
Hemisfair Park Playground - phone line to The Armadillo
The Astrodome today

The Astrodome

The election this November had an interesting casualty from the world of play, the Houston Astrodome. Voters decided not to invest money in renovating the Astrodome now that it is no longer used as a sports facility. This loss will most likely seal its fate and lead to demolition in the near future.

As a kid growing up in Houston I attended many events there. I watched the Oilers and Houston Cougars in football, the Astros in baseball, and even the Hurricane in professional soccer. I even got to participate in an exhibition soccer match during halftime of a game back in 1980. Yes, I got to stand on the famed Astroturf of the Astrodome. It was also the home of the Houston Rodeo and the Offshore Technology Conference.

The Astrodome today

Built in 1965 as the home field of the Astros, it was the first domed stadium in the world. Basically it introduced air conditioning on a huge scale to the world of professional arena sports. It also saved Houston fans from the plague of mosquitos that Houston was known for at the time. Astroturf was introduced because the grass died inside the dome.

Things have not been so good for the Astrodome lately. The Hurricane folded in 1980. The Oilers left in in 1997 and the Astros followed in 2000. Since then it has mostly been used by the Rodeo. Houstonians are not too sentimental about architecture, tearing down buildings left and right for the next big thing, so I guess it is not a big surprise. It has managed to last longer than Ebbets Field, the iconic home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, which only lasted 44 years. The Astrodome’s next great event will be with a wrecking ball.

Hemisfair Park Playground

Hemisfair Park Playground

Hemisfair playground

Hemisfair Park is located a few blocks from the San Antonio Riverwalk and the Alamo. It was built originally to host the 1968 World’s Fair. Tucked away in the corner of the park is the Hemisfair Playground. The Hemisfair Playground is a mostly wood playground built in 1989 by volunteers and cost approximately $85,000 to build and a total of 4 work days to complete.

Hemisfair Park Playground wooden structure

Hemisfair Playground

Hemisfair Park Playground slide

Hemisfair Playground

It represents sort of the end of an era of playground design and construction. The 1970s through the early 1990s saw the development and construction of numerous playgrounds across the country. These playgrounds had the common characteristics of being built by local community groups. The community groups generally used volunteers and inexpensive materials to build these playgrounds. The inexpensive materials were generally things like wood, used tires, ropes, and other recycled materials.

Hemisfair Park Playground - building the playground

Community playground project

Hemisfair Park Playground - wooden and rope playground

Wooden and rope playground

A number of books and guides were published to get the local community group off the ground. Jeremy Hewes and Jay Beckwith published Build Your Own Playground (1974). Paul Hogan published a couple of books on playground building including, Playgrounds for Free (1975) and The Nuts and Bolts of Playground Construction (1982). Joe Frost and Barry Klein published Children’s Play and Playgrounds (1979), and Joe Frost published Play and Playscapes in (1992). And of course, EnTYREly Fun Playgrounds by Jimi Jolley.

All of these books represented an era when a community built playground was common. My own parents participated in this movement in the 1970s when they volunteered to help build playground elements for a local church playground. I don’t remember the event itself but there are some old black and white photos of them somewhere painting and hammering.

As these playgrounds were generally made from natural materials they were not designed to last forever. Since the community playground era ended more than a decade ago these wooden playgrounds have begun to be replaced mostly by modern manufactured playground equipment.

And so it goes with the Hemisfair Playground. The playground has begun to deteriorate. Some of the events have been taken down, like a wooden bridge and the tire swing. From the pictures you can see how the rubber matting has begun to warp.

Hemisfair Park Playground - frame with missing tire swing

Frame with missing tire swing

My kids used to play on the Hemisfair Playground a few years back when we would visit the San Antonio Zoo or the Alamo on trips to San Antonio, so I have memories of it in use.

When I went out to take these pictures there was a class visiting the playground. They seemed to be having fun running in and out of the structure as their teachers looked on. It really does have some cool elements.

Hemisfair Park Playground - dramatic play car

Dramatic play car

Hemisfair Park Playground - The Armadillo

The Armadillo

Hemisfair Park Playground - phone line to The Armadillo

Phone line to The Armadillo

Like the Astrodome, Hemisfair Park Playground is about to be demolished. There is a big plan to replace it with a newer playground with all sorts of fancy events and activities. The new playground will literally come with all the whistles and bells as there is a music playground planned for the park. You can see all the fancy plans here.

http://extras.mysanantonio.com/pdf/Hemisfair-Play-Escape-design-program.pdf

The new park project is expected to cost more than $5 million dollars. I suspect it will take a little more than 4 days to finish and probably will not be built with volunteer labor.

Time marches on, and so places for play come and go, maybe we should not be disappointed when we lose play spaces. The question I have to ask is will what comes next be a better place for children’s play than what was replaced? If you know of any of the old wooden playground dinosaurs, let me know. By the way, demolition dates are not set for either the Astrodome or the Hemisfair Playground, but if you wait too long you won’t get to see them except in photographs. Come see it before it’s gone

Profile picture for user John Sutterby
John Sutterby
Published 9 years ago
Last updated 2 months ago
5012
3
min read
A- A+
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

More About

Boy climbing wall
Mar 30, 2020
Athletics

6 Ways to Motivate Kids to be More Active

Robert Lemus
The Essential Youth Soccer Equipment Checklist
Oct 08, 2021
Athletics

The Essential Youth Soccer Equipment Checklist

PGP
Dec 28, 2018
Athletics

5 Reasons Why You Should Play Sports in College

Nicholas Walker
Snacks You Should Get for Your Baseball Team
Sep 10, 2021
Athletics

Snacks You Should Get for Your Baseball Team

PGP
Jun 09, 2020
Athletics

5 Ways to Prevent Injuries While Playing Sports

Kunal Patel
7 Effective Ways Lacrosse Players Can Avoid Injuries
Sep 10, 2021
Athletics

7 Effective Ways Lacrosse Players Can Avoid Injuries

PGP
Basketball
Dec 29, 2015
Athletics

My Basketball Experience

Julius Francis
Anna Botha accepts achievement award
Nov 28, 2017
Athletics

Anna Botha's Recipe for Coaching Success: Patience, Endurance, & Perserverance

PGP
Jun 21, 2012
Athletics

Mixed Feelings About Playgrounds At Ballparks

Lane Lindstrom
Kids playing soccer
Nov 19, 2019
Athletics

Everyday Exercises To Keep Your Children Fit

Eric Anderson
What You Need To Plan a High School Sporting Event
Aug 27, 2021
Athletics

What You Need To Plan a High School Sporting Event

PGP
An injured athlete
Feb 19, 2019
Athletics

Simple Tips on How to Prevent Recurrent Sports Injuries

Elena Smith

Athletics Professionals

There are currently no professionals listed here.
Home

Follow Us

Play and playground news and information since 2001

  • instagram
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • linkedin

Company

  • Playground Magazine
  • Contributors
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Copyright © 2001 - 2023 Playground Professionals, LLC

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions