Dinosaur Playground

The Dinosaur Playground in Riverside Park takes its name from two massive, climbable fiberglass statues that have served as neighborhood landmarks for generations. A triceratops and a hadrosaur stand guard over the space, representing the plant-eating giants of the late Cretaceous period. While these figures provide a whimsical centerpiece for children to explore, they also serve as a reminder of a prehistoric era that saw the rise of the first flowering plants and small mammals. The playground was constructed between nineteen thirty-four and nineteen thirty-seven as part of the massive West Side Improvement Project that reshaped this stretch of the Manhattan waterfront.