Arrochar Playground is a park located in the northeastern section of Staten Island, below the Verrazano- Narrows Bridge. It takes up roughly one acre of land between the streets of Major Avenue, Sand Lane, and McFarland Avenue in the neighborhood of Arrochar. The playground is located next to the neighborhood's local public school, P.S. 39.
Arrochar Playground is now situated on what was once a part of William Wallace MacFarland's estate. In 1871, William bought 200 acres of land in, what was then, the village of Clifton. His estate extended from the current Arrochar Playground to St. Joseph Hill Academy, an all-girls Catholic school located at 850 Hylan Boulevard.. In the early twentieth century P.S. 39 was built and in 1945, the playground had been assigned to both the Board of Education and the Department of Parks & Recreation to be operated. At this time it was originally known as P.S. 39 Playground, but later the name got changed to Arrochar Playground.
This playground is lined with London plane trees, which have been known to reach a height of 85 feet. Interestingly, the symbol of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is the amalgamation of a leaf of these trees and a maple leaf. The park has a variety of activities for children of all ages. It holds handball and basketball courts, a softball field, swings, and a play unit. In 1997 and 1998 there were a couple of different renovations made to the park. Firstly was the refurbishment of the play equipment and handball courts. Then, they added rubber safety surfacing to the ground and fixed up the pavement and sidewalks.
Leave A Comment