Justin Thompson-Gee slides into SE Wisconsin playgrounds
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It's summertime in Wisconsin and if you're a grandparent or parent, that may mean your kids are asking to go to the playground a lot.
For this week's 58 Hometowns report, morning Meteorologist Justin Thompson-Gee takes us to his kids' favorite spot, the playground, to check out some new ones that have opened in the last six months!
We start our tour in Whitefish Bay where an outdated playground at Klode Park was replaced this spring. Klode Park was the first public park in Whitefish Bay opening in 1928. It features a beautiful bluff with great views of Lake Michigan and a beach known for collecting beach glass.
Even though most of the playground was replaced at Klode Park, a few favorites stayed.
"Sand boxes are a timeless piece of any playground. That was never going to go away. And the little log cabin has always been a favorite and when we were talking about revitalizing this park people spoke up and they were very adamant that we needed to keep that log cabin," said Village of Whitefish Bay Trustee Jacob Haller.
Next, we head to the City of Milwaukee where one of Milwaukee's pillars has recently created a new playground and public gathering space. Harley-Davidson's original headquarters on Juneau took a big empty parking lot and turned it into four acres of green space called Davidson Park.
"We wanted to build a park that was also kind of Harley. We built the first motorcycles in those buildings over 120 years ago, so this neighborhood is really important to us," says Tori Termaat the Chief HR Officer for Harley-Davidson and President of Harley Davidson Foundation.
Our tour ends in the City of Muskego at Veterans Memorial Park.
"This space was created over 25 years ago as the city's festival grounds and over time as the community grew, we've added more features, so in 2023 we replaced the playground equipment that was 20 years old…we had our Grand Opening in May," says Tammy Dunn, the Recreation Manager for the City of Muskego.
The playground upgrades include additional swings, a zip line and a large play structure. The park also hosts an all-day playground program during the summer that has over 100 kids.
"It's open. It's fun. You can do everything. You can come and hit a baseball around with your kids. You can play on the playground. You can hike the trails through the woods here. The site welcomes everybody to be able to get outside and have fun as a family," said Dunn.
You can find the new playground at Klode Park at 5960 N Lake Dr. in Whitefish Bay. Davidson Park is located at 3725 W Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee and is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily but could be closed at times due to other events. The Veterans Memorial Park Playground in Muskego is located next to Muskego City Hall at w182s8175, Racine Avenue. The playground is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. but is closed some hours each day during the summer for the playground camp.