Happy Hollow Playground — Attraction in Philadelphia

nfluenced by the Playground movement of 1905 , Mr. E.W. Clark, a prominent Philadelphian, purchased five acres of former quarry land with the intention of making it a playground after a young child drowned. He hired George T. Pearson a well-known architect to design the main building. It was known originally as the Quarry Playground House, completed in 1910 and still in use today. Mrs. Clark named the playground Happy Hollow. The Clark’s donated the state-of-the-art facility, to the Playground Association of Philadelphia. The opening of the Happy Hollow Playground was announced April 29, 1911. It is documented to be the city’s oldest playground/recreation center. Research substantiates that it was in fact the first recreation center in the state. We are now in the process of filing for a state...

I used to cut through this park on my way from W. Abbottsford Ave.to Fitler ElementarySchool. I never realized that it had such a remarkable past. I loved climbing on the rock walls of...

My teenager relies on this location as a safe place to participate in basketball training with...