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The City of Los Angeles' Department of Recreation and Parks currently has several Universally Accessible Playgrounds where children of all abilities
can play side-by-side. The Department has a goal of developing additional "Accessible Play" playgrounds and is working to identify more parks citywide
which could be enlarged or otherwise accommodate installation of a mid-sized playground to help the vision become a reality.
| Facility Name: |
Address: |
| Aidan's Place -
Westwood RC |
1350 S. Sepulveda
Los Angeles, CA
90024 |
| Hansen Dam RECREATION CENTER |
11770 Foothill Blvd.
Lake View Terrace, CA 91342 |
| Hazard RECREATION CENTER |
2230 Norfolk St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033 |
LAKE BALBOA/ANTHONY C. BEILENSON PARK
|
6300 Balboa Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91316
|
| LAKE STREET PARK |
211 N. Lake Street
Los Angeles , CA 90026 |
| Lincoln Park |
3600 N. Mission Rd.
Los Angeles, CA
90031 |
| MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. THERAPEUTIC RC |
3916 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90062 |
Orthopaedic Hospital
|
2400 Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007 |
| RENÉE'S PLACE AT PAN PACIFIC PARK |
7600 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036 |
| Rosecrans Recreation Center/
CVS Playground |
840 West 149th Street
Gardena, CA 90247 |
Shane's Inspiration
- Griffith Park
|
4800 Crystal Springs Drive
Los Angeles, CA
90027 |
Wilshire Crest Elementary School
|
5241 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036 |
The first west coast playground began with one mother. In March
of 1997 Catherine Curry-Williams gave birth to a son, Shane, who
died two weeks later of spinal muscular atrophy (a disorder that
would have left him severely disabled had he survived). Catherine's
sister-in-law sent her an article from an East Coast paper about
another family who also lost a child. They had turned their grief
into action by creating a playground.
Inspired by the story, Catherine and her husband Scott did their
research and learned that there were no wheelchair-accessible playgrounds
on the west coast. They decided to take action. Catherine joined
with a friend, Tiffany Harris, and together they created a non-profit
organization called SHANE'S INSPIRATION.
Their mission: To create a truly unique recreational environment
in Los Angeles that provides an opportunity for children with disabilities
to play at their highest level, enhancing their emotional, physical
and social development, as well as teaching compassion and acceptance.
Catherine and Tiffany raised $1 million for their playground. Former
Councilman Mike Feuer learned of their desire to build the playground
in Griffith Park. He presented the motion to the City Council, which
voted unanimously to allocate two acres of prime land in Griffith
Park to the
project.
According to Catherine, "Department staff worked with Shane's
Inspiration (the organization) on a daily basis, in a seamless public/private
partnership - cutting through obstacles and red tape. In many ways
it was the best of both worlds. Our private funding made it possible
for us to choose our contractors. The partnership with Recreation
and Parks and former Councilman Feuer removed all bureaucratic obstacles.
If we had to do this on our own, we would be years away from completion."
Our first Universally Accessible Playground, Shane's Inspiration, opened on September 21, 2000.
Special thanks to www.shanesinspiration.org for their help with the Universally Accessible Playground images used on our UAP photo pages.
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GET information about Shane's Club play dates organized by shanesnspiration.org that take place at SOME local UAP sites.
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