Equipment by Miracle, Landscape Structures.
Surface: wood chips.
This isn’t a great playground, but the thing that saves it – the only reason to visit, really – is the splash pad.
It’s not huge, but it’s beautiful. Five large flowers (daisies maybe?) are clustered in the middle, all spraying in different directions, and five smaller ones (tulips?) give off a mist. Meanwhile, several in-ground sprayers send up arching jets of water at various aesthetically pleasing angles. It feels more like playing in a decorative fountain than a splash pad.
Right across the street is Happy Kingdom, one of the best indoor playgrounds in the city. And since Happy Kingdom allows re-entry with their wristbands, maybe your best plan is to head to Happy Kingdom, then hop over to the Maple Claire splash pad when your kid gets too sweaty, and then head back to Happy Kingdom once they’ve cooled off. But as soon as splash pad season is over, Maple Claire will lose the bulk of its appeal.
Oh, one other quirky thing about this park: the flags.
Approaching Maple Claire Park, one of the first things a visitor notices is the dozen-or-so flags flapping in the wind. At first I figured these were probably national flags to point out Toronto’s multicultural nature, but when I realized that no country’s flag featured a panda, a cat, or an array of polka dots, I got curious.
Turns out this is an art instillation by Josh Thorpe called “Flag Field.” According to the installer, ERA Architects:
The flags are clustered in two groups adjacent to the main pedestrian path of the park, and are intended to bring movement and colour to the site, to partly screen the surrounding urban fabric, and to create a loose system in which people can stroll or children can play.
Which…cool. I’d argue that 14 flags isn’t quite enough to create a landscape that invites play or strolling, and definitely not enough to “screen the surrounding urban fabric” but I appreciate the attempt.
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