The construction of a new set of playground equipment at Roxhill Park in West Seattle began as an echo of efforts that had come before. Community powered since the park was established in 1955 a parks levy provided the money but it was the responsibility of volunteers and local business working with Seattle Parks to make it a reality.

Dozens of volunteers showed up and with the help of local organizations brought their skills and dedication to the task. Some had experience but many just brought their enthusiasm and learned how to use power tools, to build a playground for kids that will last. Some kept working late into the night in early November. The result is a castle themed play area with multiple levels, designed by the same company, Leathers and Associates, that created the the playground gear in 1995.

The work took four days to assemble the pieces though the park won't be complete until January when the adjacent skatepark is also scheduled to be complete. That work is being done by Grindline Skateparks.

The park features stylized turrets, walkways, places to jump and bounce and hanging rings, climbing features on multiple surfaces that are cleverly deployed, rope ladders for kids to clamber over, several slides and more in the layout's imaginative design. Some features like a sand pit will be completed later

Local restaurants provided food for the workers too and they were urged to bring food to local food banks. This was a unique collaboration.

Organizers Mat and Whitney McBride were there through the whole process and Mat said, "The project has been amazing. We have done everything we set out to do, which was to get the community together to rally around it and to build a park (…) It's something for the entire neighborhood and community to wrap themselves around and kind of have and hold on to."

You can learn more about the project here:
http://roxhillcastle.wordpress.com
or on the official project page for Seattle Parks here:
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/roxhill/