i mostly prefer old to new; old buildings, old playgrounds… but one of my favorite playgrounds in brooklyn is the new pier 6 park on the waterfront. it’s hidden from the street and you meander down pathways filled with native plants to reach the different play areas that are so well designed. over the weekend, i finally went the hidden manhattan playground that joanna posted, and loved it too. curious about the architect, which seemed to be the same for both parks, i looked online and found michael van valkenburgh associates.
from the pier 6 website:
The majority of materials used in the playgrounds are sustainably harvested or recycled. Wooden equipment is chosen in many instances because of its tactile qualities, including its neutral reaction to the extreme ends of the temperature spectrum. The hand-crafted structures and naturally-based textures engage children in imaginative play, and sensory experiences.
top photos from my instagram, bottom four photos from mvvainc.com
ps: is instagram replacing blog posts?
I cannot believe the design in this place, I have never seen anything like it in Australia! As to your question, I do think that Instagram can take over blog posts depending on how frequently they are posted. I find Instagram very useful for the photography on my blog but I tend not to post a huge collage, I find those collages are a little repetitive on some other blogs. Angie xx
Hi Lena! I love that playground too — Teardrop Park — in Manhattan, but one word of warning — that slide that’s two stories high is fairly dangerous, as kids wet it and come FLYING down really fast, shooting out into the sand pit. My kids were luckily not hit, but they should perhaps put up a warning sign, as my kids were playing near the base of the slide just before some kids came down super fast, and they shoot out far beyond the end of the slide, since they’re going so fast. Otherwise, loved it! very magical. just stay out of the sand pit!
What a great place!
Instagram it’s fun but I still prefer blogs, I agree with Angie above that instagram’s collages seem a bit repetitive…I do hope it won’t be the end of blogging.
suzanne, thanks for the warning! we didn’t even go to the slide part since it seemed better for bigger kids, and stuck with the sandbox area and water area on either side. the slide is something to look forward to when eli is older!
angie and alessandra, i mostly agree about the collages, though i’m guilty of making one above!
Its a nice one though and posted in a blog.
I think blogs are reverting back to what they were before they were the “in” thing and that in my eyes is a good thing.
Pinterest and Instagram have a purpose, saving time being the most obvious.
But blogs are still unique in combining text and image to tell a story. Its just settled back into being a more manageable existence of posting when you want.
Of course some bloggers make money from their blog so maybe instagram and pinterest make that easier I can only speak from a personal blog point of view.
Your blog was the first one I ever visited and subscribed to.
I have enjoyed your blog over the years and hope to continue to for as long as it is in existence. Its been a real pleasure.
Helen 🙂
i agree helen, and i personally don’t mind cutting back on the blogs i read because it had started to get overwhelming. i still get a lot from the blogs i read, versus just looking at instagram.
ps, thanks for your sweet comment about enjoying my blog over the years!
hey lena! cool pictures of a neat playground – wish there was one like that when i was little! (did you ever see “the wooden” playground at barnstable elementary?) missing you and the family!
abby, i don’t remember seeing the barnstable playground. is it still there?
I randomly picked up the book “Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates: Reconstructing Urban Landscapes” at the library last week, and have been adoring every picture. I’ve never been to any sites designed by them, but man, I’d love to. Teardrop park looks like such a wonderful escape, and to create that sense is a total sleight of hand on the part of the landscape architect.
Thanks for sharing your experience of the space!
I was just wondering about the Instagram thing myself. Going through blogs I follow this morning I see less and less posting. Change is in the air more than usual and I’m curious, at times hesitant but also excited. I have to say the quickness of an image versus words has always been my pull.
Pinterest and Instagram are kinda the same in that they’re just lots of image and not much text. They’re less intimate for sure. I’m wondering if all these photos will put our eyes into some hyper drive, our rate of evolving culture happening at a speed we’ve never seen and maybe that speed itself with create some thing, not some style, that has never been….. since speed seams to be a catalyst in nature. -rambling for sure!
it strange to think that we have no idea what that next thing will be, that will be so much a part of our lives around the corner. in many ways instagram is the perfect social media for me, but i hope that it doesn’t stop my favorite bloggers from posting…