Dublin City Council manages over 125 playgrounds in parks and housing complexes.
I have noticed this play area until today even though I know the area reasonably well.
According to some locals that I spoke to there was once a playground here, however it was demolished approximately by the early 90’s and remained as a derelict site until it was again brought to the attention of Dublin City Council by local residents as a potential site for a ‘play’.
Given that there are 2 key city Parks and playgrounds in close proximity albeit requiring adult supervision for appropriate age group, it was agreed between DCC and local residents to develop the site in order to compensate for the lack of open space for street play and ‘free play’ activities for children as this flat complex is in the heart of Christchurch and subject to a high volume of busy city vehicle and tourist traffic.
By October 2017 a new and innovative ‘play space’ had also been developed at Ross Road. This site was officially opened in May 2018.
The Ross Road Flats form part of the most significant renewal scheme undertaken in Dublin during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Developed for Dublin Corporation and designed by C. J. McCarthy, these purpose-built apartment blocks provided improved quality housing for hundreds of families. Often referred to as tenement blocks, this simply refers to their form, with several apartments accessed by one staircase. The residential blocks on Ross Road are relatively plain, though they are enlivened by the the curved gables and central breakfronts, motifs also seen in the facades of the nearby Iveagh Buildings. The variety in the window design, and particularly the sill types, provides architectural detail to the front facades.
