Rocket Slide in Edmundson Park, Oskaloosa, Iowa

Cold War playground equipment was intended to foster children's curiosity and excitement about the

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

. It was installed during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in both

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

countries.

United States

In 1959, ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'' wrote that a

Kiwanis Club Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

was "in tune with the times" when it erected a three-story rocketship in a local playground. Around 1962, a high moon rocket was installed in a playground in

Calwa, California Calwa (formerly, Calwa City) is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 2,052 at the 2010 census, up from 762 in 2000. Calwa is located south-southeast of downtown Fresno, at an ele ...

. The "Calwa Rocket" still stands in the park "as an affectionate symbol of an earlier time," and was designated a heritage property in 2013. The "space-age shift" in playground design was described in a 1963 issue of ''Life'' magazine, which featured

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

on the cover. A row of tree trunks installed in a

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

park could elicit "any game an imaginative child might think up," including "an array of ICBMs on a launch pad." By 1963,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

had installed 160 space-aged playgrounds, which featured satellites, rockets, and submarines.

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University of ...

installed a space-themed playground in 1965, with a radar tower, Saturn climber, submarine, radar dish, planet climber, and three-story high rocket ship. When the city tried to replace the playground equipment in 2008, it was met with local opposition. A task force established to investigate the removal found the rocket ship had "very limited play value," and had "hazardous conditions that present a great danger to young children." The playground equipment was dismantled despite the objections. Two companies were noted for their military and space-themed playground equipment: Miracle Equipment Company of

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who were ...

, and Jamison Fantasy Equipment of Los Angeles, California, which manufactured a moon rocket, nautilus submarine, and space slide. Author Fraser MacDonald wrote "nuclear weapons were made intelligible in, and transposable to, a domestic context" through children's toys and playground equipment featuring Cold War symbols.

Eastern Bloc

Playgrounds in the Soviet Union were also designed to stimulate children's excitement about space, as this was an ideology supported across Communist states. Eastern Europe "followed the Soviet playgrounds movement and was under the influence of the Cold War fashion." The success of the Soviet space program was celebrated through monuments, parks and museums. Still today in the village of

Baikonur Baikonur ( kk, Байқоңыр, ; russian: Байконур, translit=Baykonur), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered ...

, Kazakhstan, where

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

was launched into orbit in 1961, rocket-shaped playground equipment and other mementos of Soviet space exploration are scattered around the village. Playground equipment—including rockets—was usually mass-produced at large manufacturing plants which tended to follow repetitive designs and patterns. As a result, playgrounds across the Soviet sphere of influence often featured identical equipment, with "brutal construction" and "generous use of old tires."

Gallery

File:Radar Climber, Riverside Park, Riverside, Iowa.jpg, Radar climber in Riverside, Iowa, United States File:Soviet playground Rocket.jpg, Soviet Space Probe File:Sunset Park, Washington, Iowa.jpg, Missile in Washington, Iowa, United States File:Playground apparatus in Thetford, England, 2008.jpg, Thetford, England File:TexasRichardson rocketShipSlide.jpg, Richardson, Texas, United States File:Fotothek df ps 0003578 Schlösser ^ Stadtschlösser ^ Kinder ^ Kinderbeschäftigung.jpg, Dresden, East Germany. Photo by

Richard Peter Richard Peter (10 May 1895 – 3 October 1977) was a German press photographer and photojournalist. He is best known for his photographs of Dresden just after the end of the Second World War. Life Richard Peter was born and raised in Klein Je ...

. File:"Space Rocket" in Lescon Park - Toronto, Ontario, Canada.jpg, Toronto, Ontario, Canada File:Rocket Hill Park - Hutchinson, Minnesota, United States.jpg, Rocket Hill Park, Hutchinson, Minnesota, United States File:Rocket in Levy Lowry Memorial Park, Princeton, Missouri.jpg, Princeton, Missouri, United States File:Radar defense station in American playground.jpg, Radar defense station, United States File:Radar Climber in playground.jpg, Radar climber, United States File:Cropped-rocket-at-rocketpark-mtalbert.jpg, Playground rocket at Rocket Park, Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand

References

{{Reflist Cold War Playgrounds Playground equipment