Follow GPS and you should not have a problem finding Harborview Memorial Park or another name it goes by is Tyng/Tate Park. Either name you punch into your GPS will bring you to the right spot. Parking however is a different story. It’s downtown and like everything downtown it’s street parking. I was here at about 11am and found a spot across the small street. There are no bathrooms and it is partially, mostly, shaded and its fenc3d in. Across the street is a small field, which in my days of nannying, I’d bring my nanny kid here for a picnic and then cross the street to the playground. There is a small coffee shop within walking distance as well as another neighborhood playground.
Once you’ve parked and reached the fence that surrounds the entire playground you’ll find one big structure and some stand alone equipment distributed around. There are two separate swing sets, one with bucket swings and the other regular swings. If your kid is a climber and not afraid of heights, they’ll like the huge realistic looking climbing boulder. There are some spring loaded animals to ride, but the spring kind of just holds the rider forward and it’s difficult to rock back and forth.
The structure is made to look like a boat. Fitting because of you look out towards that small field I mentioned is a view of water with boats going by occasionally. Near the bow of this boat made of steel bars, easy for climbing, are two tunnels below and they just lead underneath the slides on the other side. To get up on top of this structure you can choose a curved ladder, there’s two on each side, or the steps. At the top of any one of these climbing designs, it is one giant platform with two tubular covered slices on each side. There are some finger mazes and one steering wheel towards the front or the bow of the boat is.
When I was a nanny, my nanny kid and I came here every single day until she was about two years old. It’s been 13 years since I’ve been here and nothing has changed. No updates, no upkeeps but still a charming playground. It’s a good playground for all ages up to I’d say 6 or so. It has just enough to do you could realistically spend 45m-hr more if you do a picnic across the street. For the purpose of knowing, I do wanna say that marijuana was definitely being smoked somewhere nearby but I could not see it. This doesn’t bother me but again I’m just stating so yall can make an informed choice. Another thing worth stating is, just down the hill of the field is the tent community, as in the homeless campsites. Again not an issue for me nor did it bother our time at the playground. If you live in Portland, have errands in Portland, passing through with extra time to pass, this is a playground checking out. If you live more the 30m away I’d say skip it and find one closer to you. If you’re spending the day in Portland or exploring Portland playgrounds like me, stop a while! Grab coffee and food and go to the few playgrounds within walking distance of each other.
little Movers Maine 