One of the most fun things about working in the playground industry is when a customer comes to you and requests a play structure that represents themselves and their community. MRC’s Oregon Playground Designer Martha Rainey was put in contact with The Friends of Boring Station Trailhead Park from one of her valued customers, Clackamas County Parks. The Friends of Boring Station Trailhead Park are a group of volunteers who are passionate about the Boring Station Trailhead Park development, the rich history of the Boring Station and the playground project.
This projected began back in 2014 and was recently unveiled to community members with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The design concept was to create a play environment that paid tribute to the old Boring Station Trailhead the city is notorious for. After detailed discussion and design sessions, Martha presented a unique custom playground to the city that is strikingly similar to the historical station building.
The play structure is primarily constructed with standard playground equipment. The element of customization came with the actual train station structure which was designed and manufactured using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) panels. HDPE is often used by GameTime for custom playground projects due to the material’s many design capabilities. To complete the train themed playground, the play environment also includes a train themed climber equipped with a steering wheel and a double slide off the back, an authentic railroad crossing sign and a strikingly similar sign from the original Boring Trailhead Station which reads “Boring” in the middle, “To Portland 22.10 MI” on the left and “To Cazadero 14.71 MI” on the right.
Although the children may not remember the original Boring Station Trailhead, they will surely enjoy playing on the train themed playground for years to come. Incorporating a city’s past into a play structure is not only exciting but creates a sense of pride within the community. Families flock to these iconic playgrounds seeking fun. If you build it, they will come!
About Boring, Oregon: In 1903 the unincorporated area of Boring was named after one of its first residents, W.H Boring. As an interurban railroad took shape from Portland, Oregon, the area of now known as Boring was covered with virgin timber, timber that would prove to be valuable and helpful in providing crucial energy so that the rails could now provide passenger transportation from Portland to Boring. Prior to this time, it was at least a 6 hour horse and buggy trip to Portland, but now, thanks to the newer electric trolly, the time was reduced to 1 hour. Within a few short years, the residents of the area built its first school (1904), a new Post Office (1905) and the community began to take shape.
Photo credit to Emma Gaty: http://www.emmagatyphotography.com
