Tacoma Women Rally for Public Playgrounds
Prominent clubwomen push for safe, supervised spaces to keep city children off dangerous streets.
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The public playground question was the topic of primary interest at the meeting of the Woman's club yesterday afternoon, at the home of Mrs. John Bagley. Several prominent speakers were present at the request of the club, among whom was Mrs. I. W. Jennings of Seattle, one of the organizers of the playgrounds in that city. Mrs. Jennings told of the organization of the public romping grounds, and of the immense favor which the grounds met with as soon as they were installed. She said that the grounds are daily filled with happy children who would otherwise be running about the streets and getting into danger. Dr. W. V. Gulick and Special Humane Officer Van Voris were other important persons on the program. The club signified its intention of taking immediate action in the line of playgrounds.
“The grounds are daily filled with happy children who would otherwise be running about the streets and getting into danger.”
This civic push for safe, managed play areas predates the modern Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma. It reflects a turn-of-the-century shift where the city began to take responsibility for child safety and urban development outside of private homes.
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