Bloomfield
Eastern neighborhoods, developed by several builders, joined the already incorporated city of Lakewood in a series of annexations in the 1960s that extended the boundaries of Lakewood beyond the San Gabriel River to the border of Orange County. The neighborhood adjacent to Bloomfield Park was built by Emblem Homes beginning in 1961. Bloomfield Park became part of the city in June 1964. It was then the third largest of the city’s major parks.
What makes Lakewood a “Playful City” (a title awarded by KaBOOM!, a national recreation organization, in 2010)? It’s the investment the city has made since 1957 in new and remodeled facilities and expanded sports and recreation programs for all ages and abilities. Among these are the new playgrounds at Del Valle, San Martín, and Bolívar parks, an innovative parent-child fitness playground at Rynerson Park, the city’s Teen Resource Center at Bloomfield Park, the soccer mini-pitch at Palms Park, and the city’s emphasis on family activities and having unstructured fun.
The city’s commitment to maintaining and improving its parks can be measured by the range of its recreational programs. City parks offer between 75 and 125 youth classes in each season of the year. Free After-School Activity Zones operate year-round at Lakewood parks, where children can play, do homework, and take part in sports leagues in a supervised setting. Lakewood Youth Sports uses volunteer coaches to provide team play for thousands of young athletes. Programs at the Weingart Senior Center offer activities and camaraderie. If you want to learn to play pickleball or dance the hula, Lakewood has a class for you.
At the heart of the city’s recreational heritage are safe places for children to play, including 12 parks and 18 playgrounds. Lakewood’s parks are located within neighborhoods, encouraging short walks for sports and play. Bloomfield Park is just one way Lakewood brings residents and neighborhoods together to create a true sense of community.
Bloomfield Park fits the profile for a place to have fun in Lakewood, whether on an organized LYS team or at a pickup basketball game or hanging out at the Teen Resource Center after school.
Scenes on the wrap
Lakewood’s recreation programs for youngsters and families earned the Playful City USA award from the KaBOOM! National Campaign for Play. It’s one of many awards the Lakewood Recreation and Community Services Department has earned for the creativity and breadth of the city’s park programs.
Longtime Lakewood residents remember Giganta, the towering metal structure that let kids climb and slide and playfully imagine having a giant robot for a friend.
Lakewood parks were born in the Space Age in 1957, when the first artificial satellite was launched into orbit. Thrilling space adventures were available in themed playgrounds that Lakewood began installing in city parks that year.
Lakewood parks have been making life better for all ages of Lakewood residents since 1957. With 10 major parks and many playgrounds, ball diamonds, and game courts, every Lakewood neighborhood has a rich heritage of recreational opportunities and unique memories of giant robots, rocket ships to the stars, and Cinderella’s magic pumpkin.