Cannery Park, located at 901 Virginia Ave., stands on the exact site where the original community…read morecannery, built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935, once operated. The WPA helped establish the canning plant in St. Cloud, Florida, where surplus meats, fruits, and vegetables were preserved for local use. The cannery remained in operation throughout the Great Depression before eventually falling into disrepair.
In the 1990s, local teacher Mary Lee Powell and her students spearheaded a restoration project to save the historic building. In 2003, the original cannery was relocated to Peghorn Nature Park & Trails, where it has been preserved as a museum. A replica of the original 1930s cannery building was added to the park and serves as a community space available for rentals and includes a kitchen, restrooms, and office space.
Today, Cannery Park has been transformed into a modern, inclusive recreational space featuring an ADA-accessible, all-inclusive children's playground, covered picnic pavilions, and park benches. The playground was designed by Landscape Structures, founded by Steve and Barb King, which is known for creating innovative, one-of-a-kind playgrounds across the country, including several in Florida.
The playground includes wheelchair-accessible ramps, a Sway Fun Glider, climbing structures, a sensory dome, Braille and clock activity panels, slides, and more. The zipline looked especially fun.
This was my first time visiting a Landscape Structures playground, and it is impressive. The thoughtful design goes far beyond traditional playground equipment, creating a space where children of all abilities can play, explore, and have fun together. A little more greenery and landscaping would have been nice but Cannery Park feels like the playground of the future.
