New South Shore Park Playground Opens

Sup. Jack Eckblad (center) and Parks Executive Director Guy Smith (right) at South Shore playground ribbon cutting. Photo taken July 18, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Parks officially opened a newly rebuilt South Shore Park playground Friday.

Parks rebuilt the playground in record time. Construction began in early June and wrapped up during the past week. Like so many of the park system’s new playgrounds, it replaces a rather old structure. The former playground was installed in 1996. The South Shore Park playground is also one of the biggest playgrounds in the county’s system.

“This update was long overdue and thoughtfully designed,” said Guy Smith, Milwaukee County Parks Executive Director.

Along swings and sides, the playground was designed with play equipment for different age groups. Each section has aa different theme. There is a Farmers-Market-themed play structure for children aged two to five; and a larger play structure designed to resemble a ship for children five to 12.

The county budgeted for the new playground in 2022, pairing taxpayer funding with money raised by the Bay View Neighborhood Association. The total project budget was $593,605. The Friends of South Shore Park fundraised for new benches and trees.

The new playground is one part of $35 million in projects at the park that are wrapping up this year. A new beach, funded with an $8 million grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is being finished. And the breakwater reconstruction project, which began in 2024, is expected to finish by the end of the year.

South Shore is the second full playground rebuild the department has finished so far this year. A brand-new Mitchell Airport Park playground, replacing the system’s oldest structure, opened in May.

The new playground in South Shore Park came together as a result of hard work by the parks department and considerable community advocacy, said Sup. Jack Eckblad, whose district includes South Shore Park.

“This is more than just play equipment,” he said. “This playground is a testament to our collective commitment to continue as stewards, not just of our entire county park system, but of South Shore specifically, so we can maintain them as spaces that foster play and friendship and community.”

Tim Schaefer, a legislative aide for state Rep. Ryan Clancy, read a written, lengthy statement from Clancy at the press conference. Clancy represented the area when he was a supervisor on the Milwaukee County Board. He was unable to attend the press conference because he was at the Capitol and sent Shaefer to read a statement on his behalf.

The statement thanked the donors and the community for their advocacy. It also said Clancy and his family have spent a lot of time at the park and the playground. It also noted that funding for the playground was taken out of a project to rebuild a parking lot at the Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Training Academy. The budget amendment that did that was sponsored by Clancy, a frequent critic of the sheriff’s office, and former Sup. Jason Haas.

“So instead of expanding the police state, thanks to your advocacy, and the donor dollars that showed you were serious, we won this extraordinary public space,” Shaefer read from Clancy’s statement.

South Shore Park is one of the county’s most visited parks, with a beer garden, the popular South Shore Farmers Market and the park’s lakefront location. That created a large constituency of residents interested in the future of the aging, dilapidated playground.

“So many people from Bay View and across Milwaukee got together, called their officials, donated money, showed up to events to help raise some funds and raise awareness for the condition of the park,” said Mel Benson, from the Friends of South Shore Park.

Parks worked to make sure the project was done in record time. The department’s landscape architects designed it and staff worked to make sure everything was in place for construction to begin in early June. The project also utilizes some of the existing playground infrastructure, which sped up the process. No substantial concrete or drainage work was required.

“I would say that this is probably the fastest playground project that I’ve been involved with, and I have to credit our staff,” Smith said, “Our team really made it happen.”

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