Illinois Avenue Playground

To build its membership and its reputation as an organization that gets things done, WIPNO looked for a project that could meet the residents' concerns and be completed relatively quickly. Few of the neighborhood parks had play spaces for toddlers, so the construction of such a playground was a suitable project. Several elderly neighbors had been maintaining some abandoned lots as a place for children to play.

The University assisted with the site acquisition, donation of materials, and playground construction. But the design of the playground came from the youngsters' own ideas of what the "perfect" playground would be.

Marie Drake
East St. Louis Resident
[1.22 M] "...give our children a place to play..."

[0.49 M] "...input from the community..."

Jeanne Genis
Student, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
[0.24 M] "...trees, flowers, grass, someplace to run..."

 

[0.60 M] "...a living testament..."

 

Illinois Avenue Playground is a visible improvement in the community. It represents an investment in youth, provides a place in the neighborhood for senior citizens and children to be together, and promotes the development of vacant lots.

Dorothy Kenney
East St. Louis Resident
[0.18 M] "...when I look out across the street..."

Marie Drake
East St. Louis Resident
[0.17 M] "...I'm proud of it..."

Minnie Reed
East St. Louis Resident
[0.53 M] "...look out and see beauty instead of a wilderness..."