Has life got you feeling like you’re running on a Hamster Wheel? If so, you’ll soon be able to live out your metaphors in real life at the new Waterfront Park Playport! Part of the Phase IV Waterfront West Expansion, Playport is a new $15M, 3-acre playground running between 10th and 13th streets north of Rowan Street, just north of the floodwall.
Expected to open in Spring of 2025, it features real River and Construction Equipment, modified for free play. A pilot house from a Buoy Setter boat creates an open-air fort for kids to climb and survey all the action from above. Turn the wheels and spin real propellers attached to the boat! From there, you can climb through sky tubes to a Crane Loader, eventually landing on the Conveyor Line. Play in an Excavator! Slide down the back of a Dump Truck! Climb up or down the Climbing Wall to bounce on the Draw Bridge! Random ropes hang down all over, allowing little hands to move big equipment overhead. Driftwood poles to climb and jump from! (Floor is Lava anyone?) Have I mentioned the human sized Hamster Wheel?
There’s a building on site with bathrooms and a room available for rent, and programming provided by the Louisville Science Center. The 22-acre westward expansion will eventually stretch to the 14th street bridge and will include expanding and connecting River Road to Rowan Street around 10th Street. This is a very fresh and innovative park and will be a crown jewel of our neighborhood. I can’t wait for spring!
