There's a new superhero in town, and his home base is Trinidad.
Demolition of the Trinidad Recreation Center's playground, at 1310 Childress St NE, is underway, and by November it will be replaced with a new playground with "Captain Trinidad" as its mascot.
Actually, two new playgrounds, one for kids ages 2-5 and the other for ages 5-12, separated by a small, artificial mound, according to Athens Qin of LSG Landscape Architecture, which designed the playground with neighborhood input.
The new playgrounds will have up-to-date play equipment, game tables, climbing wall, skate spot, a zipline, a wall for showing outdoor movies, and adult fitness equipment. A rubber surface will replace the existing mulch. A large rain garden, based on rainfall calculations, will address the current drainage issue.
The whole playground has the theme "super heroes," which the Trinidad Neighborhood Association chose. "Captain Trinidad" will serve as mascot.
The playground improvements are scheduled to be done by November of this year. It is one of eight playgrounds selected for renovation last year, as part of the PlayDC initiative which is renovating a total of 40 playgrounds in the District, according to John Stokes, DPR’s chief of staff.
Anthony Higginbotham, site manager for the Trinidad Recreation Center, said 40 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony. “The community is excited,” he said.