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Adventure playground at Spring Garden Public School in North York/Willowdale

ayates

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I grew up in Willowdale in the 1970's and attended Spring Garden Public School (now Claude Watson School for the Arts). We had any amazing adventure playground constructed of old telephone poles. There was a log jam, a fort, a crows nest, a bridge, etc. Naturally it has all been paved over now.

I am really interested in a photograph of this playground.


Thanks,

Allan.
 
I would also like a pic please. As a kid I was always afraid of cracking my head off each pole in that pile. Did you also know that on springarden where the road s-curved one of the houses had a mini observatory in the back yard.
 
Have photos of Spring Garden Adventure Playground

I have photos of Spring Garden School Adventure Playground taken in 1973 when I was a weekly news photographer with the Willowdale Post. Now gotta figure out how to post them.

Here goes:
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/shuttershoot/AvdPlay7.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/shuttershoot/AvdPlay6.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/shuttershoot/AvdPlay5.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/shuttershoot/AvdPlay4.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg292/shuttershoot/AdvPlay1.jpg
 
Last edited:

i grew up in willowdale ontario too, and want to see this but the links dont work :(
 
Too bad about those links to Photobucket -- but they were posted 5 years ago so I expect the accounts have been abandoned.

I wonder if that's a preview of what will happen to our present-day links - will they disappear in the future ????
 
It's a downright disgrace and crime that all those wonderful old wooden schoolyard playgrounds (with the orange plastic slides) were demolished in the '90s. What great fun we all had playing "keep your feet off the ground" tag and other games on those amazing apparatuses.
I don't remember who made the decision to have them destroyed, but that person should pay.
 
I have been in contact with the photobucket poster, and his photos along with ones I subsequently located in my own collection can all be found at http://yates.ca/Spring Garden Public School/.


Allan.

Nice memories. My father helped build that playground.

... and while I was a Hollywood PS boy, I attended the Spring Garden 50th festivities spending most of my time in the basement classroom where classic old 16mm films were being shown. I think I watched Buster Keaton's "The General" five or six times that day.
 
It's a downright disgrace and crime that all those wonderful old wooden schoolyard playgrounds (with the orange plastic slides) were demolished in the '90s. What great fun we all had playing "keep your feet off the ground" tag and other games on those amazing apparatuses.
I don't remember who made the decision to have them destroyed, but that person should pay.

I live in a housing Co-op in Scarborough. If I can remember correctly, they were deemed unsafe by the government, as the wood is full of chemicals to treat it against rotting in the elements. Apparently, kids were biting into the wood and parents were complaining. The Co-op was required to remove ours an we replaced it with a modular plastic unit. School yards were absolutely required to do so as well.

LOL...Please dont kill the messenger...I was not responsible for this decision and do believe we may be over protecting children a little bit nowadays. And yes, parents should parent better. I know all the arguments for and against this decision. But...
 
These Photos are amazing. Thank You so much Allan!

I know it has been a while since this thread was active, but a few years ago, before they demolished the old Spring Garden Building, they had a final farewell that was open to the public. Did anybody happen to go to it, and if so, take pictures? I would love any photos of the interior/exterior of the Spring Garden/Claude Watson School for the Arts building if anybody has them. I can help digitize if they are not already digital.

Thanks,

Terrance
 

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