Overview

The Polliwog Park playground has been a community institution in Manhattan Beach, Calif. for 50 years. Constructed by members of a city service group in the 1970’s, the original playground featured a large, sunken galleon ship that captured the imagination of generations of children. After much use over the years, it was time for the playground to receive an upgrade. Completed in September 2023, the new state-of-the-art 12,500-square-foot play area features modern play equipment and SpectraPour Supreme surfacing.

Key Challenges and Solutions

The revitalized Polliwog Park playground pays homage to the park’s history with a new galleon ship as its centerpiece. Complimenting this are nature-inspired play elements, including a bioswale designed to aid drainage after storm events, and a natural play area that features boulders. The playground is now ADA-accessible, and features play structures for kids of all ages.

Children can easily play on the new equipment since SpectraPour Supreme is the highest-quality playground surface on the market! This system is the play surface of choice for critical fall areas and offers ADA access. Mixed on-site, SpectraPour Supreme features a higher density, smaller particle size (0.5-1.5 mm Spectra TPV granule) in the top layer with a high-quality UV stable aliphatic binder. This mixture is then poured over a shock-absorbing rubber base pad, making it extremely safe, in the event of a fall. SpectraPour Supreme also lasts longer than other surfaces and requires less maintenance. 

In addition to the new playground, this 2.95 million dollar project also features 3,000 square feet of shade structure coverage, 5,000 square feet of walkways, and an additional 4,000 square feet of park walkway rehabilitation. The Polliwog Park upgrades were funded from three sources: the Los Angeles County grant funds, California State Parks Proposition 68, and the City of Manhattan Beach Capital Improvement Project.