There is new construction among the Upper Arlington community; the famous Wickliffe wooden castle is being replaced with a brand new STEM-based learning playground. Students at UAHS have mixed feelings about the rebuilding of the Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School playground, given that the playground was a huge part of their experience at Wickliffe. Students even gave the playground nicknames including “The Big Toy” and “The Wooden Castle.”
“We had three recess periods. We were out there all the time,” former Wickliffe student Audrey Dwyer said.
Dwyer agreed that the playground was in need of some form of refurbishing, as parents raised concerns of splinters caused by the castle.
“I understand why they’re tearing it down and building a new one. I know that it was getting to be unsafe, and that’s the problem with wooden playgrounds,” Dwyer said.
However, this understanding does not mean the former students of Wickliffe are happy with the rebuilding.
“I don’t think that tearing down the big toy was a good idea,” Wickliffe alumnus Laila El-Maraghy said. “I think maybe refurbishing it, but I’m sad to see it go because it’s such a big part of Wickliffe.”
The problem with the playground being its old age as a wooden playground was recognized by El-Maraghy as well.
“Some kids got splinters. Me included,” she said.
The overall issue students saw was the creative capabilities of the old playground along with the memories that they made.
El-Maraghy remarked that “It was like a big maze, and every kid loved it” and Dwyer said “We played so many different types of games. It was really good for hide and seek.”
One concern they voiced was that a new STEM-based playground could take a lot of the fun or charm out of the recess periods that the old wooden playground offered. However, it is mainly agreed upon that at least an update on the old playground is necessary.
Even though students at UA are saddened by the memorable Wickliffe playground being torn down, the former castle that shaped many UAHS students’ childhoods is now evolving into a new STEM-based playground that values inclusivity, and nature-based play, with lots of environmental learning for all. All of this construction is a large project developing within the community, with lots of help from a parent core team, which is a small group of parents collaborating with the PTO at Wickliffe, the principal of Wickliffe, Angela Evans, and UA School district. This small group of parents has had a great impact on this new project, including Sarah Sweeney, a parent who has been heavily involved with the build.
The new playground will have some loose parts temporarily, then there will be an enhancement of the boulder area with an accessible swing this winter, and spinning structures this spring. Next, the construction team will work on building a new marquee structure and play space. Following this, the castle playground will be completely knocked down. The date has yet to be determined for this renovation.
A grassy field and play area will take the place of the wooden structure. The playground will go through these sets of phases, which will continue to develop over the next few years. In three to five years, Wickliffe’s new playground will have an outdoor classroom and an expansion of the Octopus garden, which is a garden with plants, musical instruments and mosaic artwork.
With the new build, parents and students were looking for more of an accommodative place to play. This project is intended to be more accommodating for students and visitors.
“[It will be easier for] some students in wheelchairs that are not able to access the playground [and] other students that have different neurodiverse needs that the current structure just doesn’t allow them a place to play,” Sweeney said.
Not only was the old playground difficult to navigate for those with accommodations, but it was 30 years old, meaning the structure was coming to a close on its lifespan. Students are going to be using this new structure daily at school, so valuing student voices has been a big aspect of this project.
“The answer for me has been to trust the student voices; let them guide our work. In addition to their input for the conceptual design, it will be great to have their input as we move into the next phase of the project – solidifying equipment and pricing,” Sweeney said.
This project is a new exciting addition to the Upper Arlington community, however, it hasn’t been perfectly smooth sailing throughout the process.
“I feel like it’s been challenging as a parent to really garner community support. One of the biggest aspects of the build thirty years ago was [that] the community really rallied together,” Sweeney said.
However, with support from the community and different connections, the playground is going to be a positive upgrade for the Upper Arlington community. The memory of the playground that played a big role in many of our childhoods will not disappear, thanks to the Upper Arlington Historical Society.
“We’re currently working with the Historical Society to document the original, the original build and all community stories. And so they’re going to digitize all of the files and pictures that we find,” Sweeney said.
Along with this documentation of the former playground, there is more being done to honor it.
“We’re hoping, throughout this, to create a castle story. And at the end when we have to say farewell to the playground, we’re hoping to have an event to honor the playground as well as the members that created it originally and the students that are currently building this new playground,” Sweeney said.
This is a big piece of Upper Arlington, and a very drastic change for many. It’s exciting to see a new memory for students being built in front of our eyes. This construction is emotional but marks a new chapter for Wickliffe and the community.
