Thursday, July 19, 2012

Devonian Gardens and Playground

Location: 8 Ave. & 2 St. S.W. – Downtown Core Shopping Centre 4th Floor
Parking: Core Shopping Centre parking info (free evenings and weekends)
Transit: Access to the Devonian Gardens is located directly behind the 3rd Street West C-train station. Right inside the doors to the TD Square is an elevator that you can take up to the 4th floor, right into the gardens. It is confusingly labelled ‘P’ on the elevator, but if you look close it also says Devonian Gardens above it.
City of Calgary website – Devonian Gardens

DSC_0592


Playground


Gordie’s Review (3 years old): “What was the best part?” “Going down the slide!”
Age Range: 4-12 years
Ground Cover: Pour-in-place recycled tire
Features: school-aged play structure with slide; 2 bowl spinners and 3-D climbing wall
Footware: Shoes
Seating: There’s plenty of small patio tables and chairs near the playground and throughout the gardens.

Overall assessment: Gordie had a lot of fun on this playground, but did find it to be pretty challenging. It doesn’t offer a lot for toddlers, so I wouldn’t plan on them spending a lot of time here. The gardens also have fish to look at and a fountain (as well as the plants!) so it would still be a fun diversion. We were there on a rainy week day morning and the playground was pretty busy, but there was still room for the kids to play and most people were able to find a seat nearby. This is popular location for people working downtown and so seating will be hard to come by around lunch time.

DSC_0593

DSC_0600  DSC_0599

DSC_0601  DSC_0596

DSC_0614  DSC_0611

DSC_0612

DSC_0606

The Gardens

From what I remember, the Devonian Gardens seems brighter, and more open than before the renovations. It does have a less intimate feel but it is still an oasis in the city. It is also an excellent destination if you want to take your kids on a ride on the C-train. You can bring in a lunch or there is a food court area just to the west of the gardens on the same floor.

DSC_0570

DSC_0576

DSC_0591

East side of the fish pond

DSC_0573

Fish pond – apparently these are the same fish from before the renovations – they put them in foster care until they could come back

DSC_0589

DSC_0586

DSC_0583

DSC_0574

DSC_0615

Fountain and pool on the west side of the gardens

DSC_0617

DSC_0618

DSC_0619  DSC_0621

DSC_0623

Have you been to the Devonian Gardens? What did you think?

2 comments:

  1. We were also impressed with the newly reopened Devonian Gardens. The playground was too challenging for Max (2yr) but he is a pretty cautious playground explorer. We will definitely go back and take the C-Train since parking cost me an arm and a leg! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never knew about this place, its looks amazing and many activity are there for kids to enjoy and have fun.Thanks for sharing pics and information.

    ReplyDelete