By Dori Katz/ Newton TAB Correspondent

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Recently, the Warren Lincoln Playground has been off-limits to local children as it underwent renovations to comply with new safety regulations and strategies.  But as of last weekend, the playground is now open and ready for kids of all ages to play safely.

On Saturday, 20 members of the family of the late Warren Lincoln gathered at the newly renovated Warren Lincoln Playground for its dedication, as many of them did more than 40 years ago. The Lincoln family was really looking forward to the event. "We are very excited about this." Lincoln's daughter, Betsy Lincoln Bentley, said a few days beforehand. "It is a big honor for my family."

Warren Lincoln is remembered fondly by his family for all that he did for them and for the community. He was active in the Waban Improvement Society, and according to his daughter, was well liked by most in the community. He worked as a sales manager in a couple of textile companies after graduating from Lowell Textile School and attending Harvard University as an undergraduate. "He was a self-made man, a man of his time," remembers oldest grandson J. Christopher "Chris" Lincoln.

He was the president of the Windsor Club in 1945, and was an active member of the Red Cross. A World War II veteran, Lincoln gave his time to the United States, as well as his local community. "If my father saw a boy on the side of the street, he would stop and bandage his knee, regardless of what he was doing at the time. That's the kind of man he was," Bentley said.

With the Montclair Realty Trust Inc., Lincoln first bought the area of land where the playground is located in the 1950s from Boston Gardening Company, to prevent apartments from being built on it. He then sold it to the city in 1953 for $25,000, $5,000 of which was from community contributions, and the area was made into a playground.

"He didn't think that having apartments there was good for the community. He wanted to have somewhere for the kids to play freely," Bentley said, who grew up near the playground in Waban.

Recently, the Parks and Recreation Department embarked on a review of all of the city's playgrounds. Being the smallest public playground in Newton, the Warren Lincoln Playground was not a part of the review, yet the new equipment will meet the city's standards and strategies for its playgrounds. Newton resident Christopher Pitts has been organizing the renovations of the playground and helped design the original plans for the playground, located between Moffat and Montclair roads. Melanie Henriques then took control over the design, working alongside many neighbors and John Taylor of O'Brien & Sons, the vendor of Landscape Structures. Jonathan Kantar of Sage Builders also came forward in the first steps of the project and volunteered his company's help to install the playground.

Currently, $48,972 has been raised for the new playground from more than 240 donors, allowing the playground to receive all-new equipment. The Village Bank was the first corporate sponsor at $5,000, but many other local businesses have joined the cause and donated large sums of money, as well as their time and services. The Brigham Community House gave the project nonprofit status helping to increase funds, with their primary focus being on Newton's youth and teenagers and the environment that they live in.

According to the playground's Web site, the groups goal is to replace current equipment with safer and more enjoyable items. This new equipment includes a completely closed-off toddler area, and slides, climbing structures and a clubhouse for older children.

The new playground design should not affect the baseball or soccer fields located within Lincoln Field. The only change will be a new backstop added to the baseball field, as the playground occupies part of that area. There has been some opposition to the playground, specifically regarding parking, and changes have been made citywide to soccer scheduling which hope to alleviate traffic congestion.