Diana Ross Playground
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The Diana Ross Playground is located in New York City's Central Park, near the corner of West 81st Street and Central Park West. Its namesake, the recording artist Diana Ross, who gave a fabled 1983 free concert in the park and lives across the street in The Beresford, donated $275,000 to the project, helping the city to rebuild an existing playground. Ross had pledged to fund the project with proceeds from the television rights of the 1983 concert; however, when this did not prove profitable, she used personal resources. Groundbreaking took place in September 1986, with both Ross and then-Mayor Ed Koch present. Ross reportedly called the event "one of the most fulfilling aspects of [her] life and career." [1]
Today, the Central Park Conservancy describes the playground as a space for children and child-accompanied adults that is equipped with "sturdy wood equipment, tire swings, a tube slide, a corkscrew slide, and a mushroom water feature." [2] It is open from 7:30am to dusk.
To the north of the playground, the ground rises in a steep slope to Summit Rock, the highest point in Central Park. To the east, secluded in shrub plantings, is Tanner's Spring, one of two natural springs that remain in the park.
The playground's fame on a national level can be attributed to actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard, who lambasted the location's ironic name in her 2006 off-Broadway show Everything Bad & Beautiful and in a June 16, 2006 appearance on the ABC daytime talk show The View. Bernhard said the playground was a place "where children learn to be vicious, backstabbing, and throw their arms up in front of other children," in reference to the diva reputation of Ross.
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