I'm not really sure when "dark park" started. It might have been in the '80's, because I don't remember calling it that when I was a kid. They took out the tall, metal slide just a couple of years ago. The merry go round is still there, though. It's funny, I still let my kids play in the creek when it is warm, but I can't tell you how many mothers won't let their kids near the water. "don't go in the water! It's dirty! you'll get sick!! Jeez, maybe if you lie down and drink it...
Yeah, I remember seeing that, though by the 70s my playground days were long past. Still, I do have gag picture of me, age 26, sitting at the top of a slide there in 1972. I thought the fort might be visible in the background, but when I checked it out, no luck.
BTW, when did this "Dark Park" business start? I lived just around the corner from it my whole life up until 1980, and I never heard it called that.
Who remembers the triple story wooden climbing structure/fort that was in Larkspur's Dark Park (Dolliver Park) during the late '70's? It was completely insane! there was a rope net to climb up to the first level, then a ladder to get to the next level, then, if you were crazy enough, you could somehow get up on the roof. To top it off, there was a firepole that ran the entire length of this thing! What madness! We all love it. I seem to remember it being at least 30 feet tall. I also remember hearing a story about one of the Cancilla brothers falling off the top and ending up in a body cast.
