Have you Seen the New Playground at Freebody Park Yet?

If your youngster is looking for a change of scenery and hasn’t been to Freebody Park recently, now’s the time for a visit.

The new playground has recently opened and it will satisfy even the most ardent little climber, with netting strung between twisty and arching bright green and yellow poles.

Not to be confused with a work of modern art, the new playground was bought by the city’s Public Services staff from Landscape Structures and installed in-house.

“This new playground utilizes a very modern design that focuses on developing physical fitness and dexterity and is an exciting new addition for Newport’s youngsters,” city officials said in a release.

Freebody Park, known as the longtime home of the Newport Jazz Festivals, is one of the city’s busiest recreational facilities. Ongoing improvements there include renovation of the softball fields, grandstand, new ADA compliant sidewalks and dugouts and a new scoreboard and goalpost.

Freebody Park has a rich and storied past and has operated as a hub for entertainment and sporting events alike. Starting back in the 1800s, the park served as the site for an open-air theater and hosted early movie screenings and vaudeville programs. After the theater burned down in World War I, the park was transformed into a recreation field where the development of baseball in Newport occurred. Most recently, Freebody Park was a music venue, acting as the site of the Newport Jazz Festival and infamous riot in 1960 until the festival outgrew the space provided by the park.

“With the resurrection of this new playground, Freebody Park will continue on with its tradition of serving as a site of enjoyment and recreation for past, current, and future generations to come,” the release stated.