Esplanade Playspace Could Curb Child Obesity

Until now, a neighborhood resident says, 5- to 12-year-olds on Beacon Hill, in Back Bay, and in the West End have not had a designated space to play.

The following is slightly modified from Brittany Fischer's post in the Friends of the Esplanade Playspace newsletter. The Esplanade's new 10,000 square-foot Esplanade Playspace is as exciting to the doctors as it is to the kids; experts say the park will play a leading role in helping Boston fight childhood obesity. Until now, 5 to 12-year-olds in Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the West End have not had a designated space to play. Beacon Hill only had three playgrounds—Myrtle, Clarendon, and TADpole, all geared towards toddlers. “Older children need equipment devoted to what they like to do and to their physical abilities, but they’ve had to play in areas designed for pre-schoolers,” said State Representative Marty Walz [CQ], whose district …

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PHOTOS: Esplanade Playspace Ribbon-Cutting on Friday

The playground for older children is now complete.

The playground is complete! The community will come together for a ribbon-cutting Friday at 4 p.m. to celebrate the opening Esplanade Playspace, a playground designed for older children, and built by donations from residents over the past three years.  "But our commitment is not finished," says the Friends of the Esplanade Playspace. "We still need to make sure the Playspace can be maintained and kept up. The good news - it was designed to be pretty easy on maintenance. The other good news we have a matching grant program on right now." For every dollar you give, they get $2.  Donate online or send to Friends of the  Esplanade Playspace, Cambridge Trust, 65 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108, Attn: Donna

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Five Things

Five Things to Know Today, Oct. 24

Electrical work on Beacon Hill streets continues; the Esplanade Playspace takes shape; city councilor-at-large forum tonight; teens continue to text and drive; and a cool, cloudy Monday.

1. NSTAR will continue the electrical work at Beacon at Bowdoin streets, Ashburton Place at Bowdoin Street, Temple at Derne streets, and Cambridge at Bowdoin streets until Nov. 1, according to the Beacon Hill Civic Association. The work is necessary to relieve a load from a substation. Anyone with questions or concerns can call NSTAR at 1-800-592-2000. 2. You've seen the drawings and artist renderings of what the Esplanade Playspace would be.  Now you can head on over and watch it become a reality. Recently the privacy fence was taken away and you can check out how the Playspace is evolving every day. In addition, the Friends of the Esplanade Playspace received a matching $50,000 grant. Help them raise the funds and donate online or send …

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VIDEO: Esplanade Playspace Groundbreaking

The community came together to start building a playspace for 'older kids' by the Hatch Shell.

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Esplanade Playspace Groundbreaking on Thursday

Ceremony starts at 4 p.m. for 'older kid' play area.

Volunteers will break ground Thursday on a new Charles River Esplanade playspace designed for children ages 5 - 12-years-old. The $1 million, 10,000 square-foot playground, to be constructed by the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge near the Hatch Shell café, has been completely funded through the generosity of local parents, businesses, schools and neighbors. Read morehere. "We’ve been working really hard toward this day for many years,” said Tani Marinovich, Founder of the The Friends of the Esplanade Playspace, a group of Boston neighborhood parents that formed in 2009 with the dream of having more outdoor play space for their children. “It was wonderful to see the community come together to make this project a reality," she said.  Boston-based …

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Esplanade Playground Attracting Supporters, Raising Funds

A playspace on the Esplanade is still a long ways off but the plan is attracting a lot of attention in the neighborhood.

Since the Department of Conservation and Recreation hosted the first public meeting to discuss a proposed playground on the Esplanade, the project has attracted the support of Beacon Hill businesses and residents. "Plans for the Esplanade playground are under way," said Colin Zick, the Beacon Hill Civic Association's Parks and Public Spaces Committee chair. "They seem if nothing else to have the advantage of being nearly fully funded which makes everyone love their plan," Zick said at Monday night's Civic Association board meeting. "As I understand it, it's entirely  privately funded," said Zick. The plan is being developed and funded through the Friends of the Esplanade Playspace, a group of parents who say they recognized the need…

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