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One of Anaheim’s most iconic parks got a new playground designed by neighborhood kids and built in a day by more than 100 volunteers from The CarMax Foundation, KABOOM!, Anaheim Family YMCA and the city of Anaheim.
The playground was built on Thursday, May 16, replacing the park’s existing playspace, which dates back to 2003.
The playground marks Anaheim’s 17th with KABOOM!, a national nonprofit working to ensure every child has an amazing place to play, and the city’s first with The CarMax Foundation.
The new playground is based on what we heard from neighborhood kids about what they want to see.
On March 7, we gathered with 65 kids and grownups at nearby Benjamin Franklin Elementary School to help design the playground.
Based on their ideas, the new playground will feature a zip line (always a kid favorite!), two slides, swings, a climbing wall, see-saw, drums and chimes and an educational panel where kids can learn the Braille alphabet.
To ensure fun for all abilities, the playground design includes bucket swings and see-saw seats with backs for kids who may transfer from a wheelchair.
There are also ground-level learning panels and music play.
“More than 125 CarMax associates from 20 CarMax locations in the Southern California area and our partners at Edmunds are proud to team up with KABOOM! and the Anaheim community to build this playground,” said Jeff Hall, president of The CarMax Foundation. “The CarMax Foundation is honored to provide funding for the new playground through our $3.9 million partnership with KABOOM! Our hope is that this space ensures that every child has access to the invaluable physical, social, and mental health benefits that a community playground offers.”
The playground, which will open for kids to play right after safety checks, marks another community investment in an important Anaheim park.
“Playgrounds are where kids can experience the wide range of physical and mental benefits of play and have the freedom to take risks, build strong relationships, grow, explore, and learn through joyful moments of play, said Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!. “KABOOM! is thrilled to work with Anaheim Family YMCA and longtime partners, The CarMax Foundation and the city of Anaheim, to bring to life the new playspace at Little People’s Park and ensure that kids in Anaheim and generations to come have a vibrant place to play designed for them to enjoy childhood and unlock their greatest potential.”
The new playground at Little People’s Park comes on the heels of September’s addition of a must-see, selfie-worthy Chicano heritage mural spanning 300 feet along the park’s southern edge.
Little People’s Park, which takes its name as a place for kids to play, opened in 1970 and sits on about an acre in the heart of downtown Anaheim.
Just across from Little People’s Park is the “Memories of the Past, Images of the Present” mural by iconic Southern California Chicano muralist Emigdio Vasquez.
Painted after a 1978 riot, the mural features Cesar Chavez and other scenes from Chicano history.
To mark Chicano Heritage Month in August 2023, Anaheim commissioned a new mural along the south wall at Little People’s Park.
Completed in September by Santa Ana-based Latino artist Damin Lujan, known as Zaoone, the mural features “Little People’s Park” lettering in front of a vivid floral backdrop with images inspired by Mexican folk art.
The new mural is a social media hit with its vivid colors, iconic images and street art design.
Little People’s Park is a greenspace for neighborhood families and others who live in nearby apartments and homes in the historic heart of Anaheim.
