In 1989, a new Compo Beach playground replaced a small structure near the basketball courts, and a meager swing set by the pavilion.
The project involved hundreds of youngsters, who “helped” with the Robert Leathers design; the backing of the Westport Rotary Club and Westport Young Woman’s League, and dozens of volunteers, who built it over a long spring weekend.
A renovation 2 decades later involved a similar community-wide effort.
Another renovation is planned for next spring. It took is a Rotary project — honoring their 100th anniversary as a Westport club — along with the WYWL.
The elaborate playground is a far cry from this scene, from 1978:
Carolyn Wilkinson was home from college, and headed to the beach.
Controversy surrounded the 1989 playground. A group of residents — worried that it would ruin the view, and attract out-of-towners and partying teenagers — filed a lawsuit.
They lost. The playground prevailed.
And though the view is not the same as in the photo above, it quickly became one of the most popular — and beloved — spots in town.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)