Bird Park

Bird Park blends pleasing island colors with fun play options for kids.

When our long-term collaborator, Thomas Safran & Associates, began working on an affordable subsidized housing development on Catalina Island, they called on us to create a variation on our classic Jefferson play structure that would fit in with the beautiful surroundings. Bird Park Apartments was specifically created to offer an uplifting and aesthetically pleasing place to live for those who work on this unique island, which is a tourist destination off the coast of Los Angeles.

Creative play structures need equally creative color schemes, so Barbara based the palette for Bird Park on the natural hues of the island: the sea (Calypso), the sky (Periwinkle), the plants (Parsley), and the sand (Sand). Our signature non-toxic tung oil stain also protects the lumber from the coastal elements, while still allowing the wood’s natural grain to shine through.

Of course, our wooden play structure also needed to pack in quite a few play activities into a small footprint, including a rock climbing wall, rope net climb, slide, roofed tower, mini tunnel, and an ADA compliant transfer platform. In the eyes of an imaginative child, the structure could transform into a boat, a castle, spy headquarters, or ninja training grounds!

Because Catalina Island is only accessible by ferry and visitors are not allowed to bring vehicles, installing this structure required some creative thinking. Luckily, we are no stranger to complicated logistics, and arranged to package the components of the structure into five crates that were loaded onto the ferry and brought to the site by a local transport company. Our crew relied on golf carts, electric bikes, and foot power to get around the island as we installed Bird Park on-site.

So as you can see, when you want a playhouse fort installed onto an inaccessible cliffside or a custom play structure tucked into an odd-shaped space, you can count on Barbara Butler Playhouses, LLC, to come up with an efficient and creative solution to meet your parameters.

This structure meets ASTM F1487 Standards for Public Use Playground Equipment and the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act.