FOR MULTIPLE PYRAMIDS

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND, Central Park West and 67th St.

 adventure Playground—which sits just north of the West 67th Street entrance of Central Park— has long been considered practically a piece of the city’s architectural history. Built in 1967 by architect Richard Dattner (with funding from the Estée and Joseph Lauder Foundation), it’s comprised of linked pyramids, mounds, and other structures built of concrete and stacked cobblestones designed to let kids determine how they’re going to play—which is what made it a go-to spot for architect David Rockwell when his two kids were young and inspired his design for Imagination Playground in the South Street Seaport. “With its clever use of shapes, textures, and colors, it manages to be visually stimulating without being overwhelming,” says Rockwell. “But what I love most is how it encourages experimentation by allowing kids of all ages to manipulate their surroundings and create their own worlds.” A pyramidlike structure with a slide down the center is situated between a volcano on one end of the playground and a stepped amphitheater on the other, and there is no shortage of high vantage points, from climbing poles to a massive tree house. A water feature feeds a shallow canal that runs through the middle of the sandy playground; it’s messy, and kids love it.