Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, Missouri; Republic Services; the Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association and the Springfield-Greene County ParkBoard cut the ribbon for new playground equipment at Lafayette Park Thursday, Oct. 10.
Earlier this year, Habitat for Humanity received a $100,000 Neighborhood Revitalization grant from the Republic Services Charitable Foundation’s National Neighborhood Promise program. The grant provided new playground equipment for Lafayette Park, one of Springfield’s oldest parks, located in the Woodland Heights neighborhood, Habitat for Humanity’s Neighborhood Revitalization partner.
Volunteers with Republic Services, Habitat for Humanity and Woodland Heights partnered with Park Board operations staff to deconstruct outdated playground equipment at Lafayette Park in June, making way for the new equipment.
The new ADA-accessible playground includes four slides, interactive climbing features and a state-of-the-art rubber padded surface for added safety. It was designed by Cunningham Recreation.
Lafayette Park was built in 1869 as a sister park with Washington Park, just before the Frisco Railway brought the railroad to North Springfield, a separate city until 1887. It was privately maintained until it was acquired by the Park Board in 1913. Lafayette Park is one of Springfield’s 10 Historic Parks, and serves as a school-park for nearby Reed Academy.
