The renovated Hellen Diller Civic Center Playground will open on Valentine's Day in San Francisco's Civic Center, completing a $10 million project that began one year ago.
The refurbished, 20-year-old playground features seven new weather- and nature-themed play structures and light installations in front of San Francisco City Hall.
The Helen Diller Family Foundation donated $10 million for the renovation project in 2017, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The Civic Center Community Benefit District used the funding for the park, as well as a new street café serviced by Bi-Rite grocers and a community gathering space.
San Francisco architecture firm Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture designed the playground and park.
"We're proud and honored to officially open these new playgrounds in the late Mayor (Ed) Lee's memory whose career was exemplified by his kindness to San Francisco's children and families," Phil Ginsburg, Recreation and Park Department general manager said in a statement.
The play structures are named "Sky Punch," "Lenticular Cloud," "Fog Valley" and "Cumulus City," and inspired by weather patterns in San Francisco.
"KARL," a 140-by-50-feet light display named after local Twitter personality Karl the Fog, is the largest interactive floor light display in the country, according to city parks officials.
Local
A community celebration of the park's reopening is planned for 4 p.m. Wednesday, with a special interactive light ceremony at 5:45 p.m.
