West End’s Clark Street Park gets new equipment, a playhouse, and dinosaur mural
By Rosanne Graef
One of the West End’s small neighborhood parks gets a gigantic makeover. Welcome Portland downtown’s newest attraction for young and old… the Clark Street Dinosaur Park.
Parks with acres of space are grand, but a tiny park can be HUGE. Especially, in the West End’s urban environment, neighbors cherish every acre of open space. So, Portland Parks Department gave the playground at Clark Street Park a major remodel with new equipment this summer and a brightly colored dinosaur mural.
Despite all the uproar, some things don’t change, like the delight of children. Indeed, if you’re familiar with this little park and have heard children in the under-8 set shout, “Dinosaur Park!” and run to the Tyrannosaurus Rex riding spring toy, you’ll know the excitement.
And now Clark Street Park is even grander. Parks staff members – a.k.a. Tater, Frosty, and 802 – built a two-story orange Clark Street Playhouse complete with slide, sandbox, and rustic upstairs club room. The outer walls are decorated with wooden dinosaurs. Already, visitors have helped accessorize by moving small dinosaurs into the sandbox.
Next time you’re in the neighborhood, bring the family for some relaxing recreation. You can’t miss this fun spot with its new Jurassic period mural on the front retaining wall. Allison Villani, Reiche School’s art teacher, designed and painted the mural with help from neighbors Lorie Dana, Brenda Gilliam, Oliver LaCasse-Moore, and Catherine Nekoie.
Ethan Hipple, Alex Marshall, and Tatyana Vashchenko from the Parks Department joined residents for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on September 27th. Now the park is open for all to run with the dinosaurs.
