Longfellow School Playground Renovation

The Longfellow School Playground is a community playground managed by Portland’s Parks, Recreation and Facilities (PRF) Department. It is among Portland's most heavily used playgrounds and is an important multi-functional recreation space year-round.

Longfellow School Community Playground is a roughly 30,000 sf play area that includes 24,000 sf of existing open space and playground areas with equipment, and a 6,000 sf stand of mature pine trees that has informal “fairy” woods play. The current primary play structure and smaller support equipment is extremely old, being donated from the old St. Patrick's school play equipment after it’s closing in 2007.

Longfellow currently has 16 out of 18 full classrooms, and their recess use of the playground entails groups of children in groups of grades k-2 and 3-5, with approximately 120-150 kids at any given time. A new Pre-k program is anticipated once renovations to the building are completed. Full capacity makes recess play numbers approximately 150-180 children during peak hours. Higher use rates and more complicated drainage issues at most hybrid play areas contribute to elevated design, construction, and maintenance costs for these spaces. The surrounding neighborhoods include Deering Center where the school is immediately located, and bordering Rosemont and Riverton neighborhoods.

Pre-k classes consist of up to 18 children with a lead teacher and assistant teachers. Children may start the school year around 4 years of age, and typically will reach 5 years of age in the school year. Pre-k play areas usually have age specific types of manufactured play equipment and separation from older age play spaces.

The Parks department worked with Maine Recreation and Design and Parks Playground technicians to replace a failing net climber in 2021. An existing 4 bay swing set is also a more recent equipment addition. These two pieces of equipment will remain. Several years ago a community design intervention was attempted to improve erosion / runoff issues that flood the lower parking and ball fields areas with debris. Some debris comes from the playground and upper slopes on the Stevens Avenue side of the school. Parks intends to work with Portland Water Resources to address the drainage concerns, pathway and circulation requirements are being reviewed to ensure neighborhood use can continue appropriately.

Construction of the new playground is taking place summer of July through mid-November 2026.

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