Rebuilt playground opens at Pell City’s Logan Martin Lakeside Park
Story by Eryn Ellard
Photos by Graham Hadley
As an early August sun set on Lakeside Park, a new beginning officially rose for a 20-year-old landmark – the grand reopening of Kids Kastle.
The project was first put into motion at the beginning of the year, and through months of collaboration and design work, along with long days in the triple digits by city employees, the new playground was ready – and so were hundreds of local children.
Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt gave the inaugural speech, saying that there were many in attendance who were kids back when the original Kids Kastle was built in the early 2000s. Now, those same children are all grown up and were there with their children.
Seven-year-old Cam Williams cut the ribbon along with the mayor, and it was officially time to play. Several new features have been added to the park, including many new swings and rubber mulch walkways throughout, swings and features for disabled visitors, plus new slides.
The layout and the “face” of the park remain the same. Pell City Parks and Recreation Director Bubba Edge said the city’s vision was to keep the original face of the park the same. “We wanted to keep the face of Kids Kastle the same as it has always been all these years,” Edge said. “It is something that all people recognize when they come to our city.” Edge noted that it was also important to keep elements of the old park the same because when people are looking to come to our city, one of the first things they look at is the city parks and things that are available for kids.
After an hour or more of running, climbing, bouncing and spinning, the kids and parents were ready for some refreshments. Southern Snow Shaved Ice passed out over 300 snow cones, and the city prepared hundreds of hotdogs, pounds of popcorn and cold drinks for those in attendance with the police chief and fire chief manning the grill.
Pell City resident Rachel White said it was such a special occasion for her and her 4-year-old twins. “I can remember coming here when I would summer with my grandparents,” White said. “Now we live here, and my girls will get to have great childhood memories here, too.”
Pell City Councilman Jay Jenkins thanked all the employees who spent hours of their time, during inclement weather and in the blistering heat to get the project done on time. “Many of our employees were out here, often times when they probably shouldn’t have been, to make sure this thing came together,” Jenkins said.
With ceremonial duties out of the way, speeches made and the ribbon cut, children rushed into their new playground, already making new memories at the new Kids Kastle.
