| Playscapes | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map ofPlayscapes | |
| Type | Playground |
| Location | Piedmont Park |
| Nearest city | Atlanta,Georgia,United States |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Created | 1976 |
| Designer | Isamu Noguchi |
| Administered by | Piedmont Park Conservancy |
Playscapes is aplayground designed by artist andlandscape architectIsamu Noguchi. Completed in 1976, the playground is located inAtlanta,Georgia,United States, in the city'sPiedmont Park.
Japanese-American artistIsamu Noguchi developed his firstplayground design in 1933. While the design, calledPlay Mountain, was never realized, Noguchi continued to create playground concepts and tried over the next several decades to implement them, with little success. In 1940, he developed a playground idea forAla Moana Park nearHonolulu, though this project never came to fruition. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he unsuccessfully attempted to build a playground inNew York City, with potential sites including near theheadquarters of the United Nations andRiverside Park. For the latter project, Noguchi worked with architectLouis Kahn in the designs. His first realized playground project came about in 1965, with the temporaryKodomo no Kuni playground outside ofTokyo.[1]
In 1973, a volunteer at theHigh Museum of Art inAtlanta suggested creating a playground that could also serve as awork of art. Themuseum director was responsive to the idea, and it was decided that the piece would serve as the High Museum's gift to the city of Atlanta for theUnited States Bicentennial. The museum was given a site in the city's Piedmont Park to build the playground, and Noguchi was officially hired in October 1975, with his designs for the playground completed that December.[1] Noguchi was given a commission of $225,000 to build the playground.[2] The playground was completed the following year, in time for the bicentennial celebrations, withAtlanta MayorMaynard Jackson accepting the playground on behalf of the city.[3] Theribbon-cutting ceremony on May 1, 1976, was attended by both Jackson and Mayor H.R. Pufnstuf, a fictional character from thechildren's television series of the same name.[2] The playground, occupying about 1 acre (0.40 ha) near the park's 12th Street entrance,[4] was the only playground constructed by Noguchi before his death in 1988.[5]
In 1996, 20 years after its debut, the playground underwent apro bono restoration by the Japanese construction companyKajima.[3] This was in preparation for the1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.[1] By the mid-2000s, additional issues with the site became present, includingrust on the slides andgraffiti on some of the equipment.[1] A 2008 appraisal put the replacement value for the playground at $3 million, and between 2008 and 2009, the city spent $350,000 restoring the playground, including minor alterations to the design of some of the equipment to meet improvedsafety standards.[1][2] In 2014, the playground underwent another restoration.[6] The restoration, funded by a $21,000 grant from the manufacturing companyHerman Miller's philanthropic foundation, saw the entire playground repainted and apavilion wall repaired.[1]
33°47′06″N84°22′40″W / 33.7849°N 84.3777°W /33.7849; -84.3777