Fun for the family

Once I’d adjusted to the thought of no longer having University Art around, I then began to worry that their purpose-built, 10,583-square-foot building was going to sit empty for who knows how long. But that worry turned out to be unfounded. On Feb. 24, Redwood City’s zoning administrator approved a project to convert the interior of the building at 2550 El Camino Real into “Monsterland,” a children’s play space with three party rooms, two play structures, two play areas, an arcade and a parent lounge. The target audience for this new facility will be kids ages 2-9, and their parents.

Although I expect I’ll never have reason to set foot in this new venture, having once been a parent of two young children in Redwood City (both now married with children of their own, living out of state) I can see the appeal. These days Redwood City sorely lacks places like this that serve children of a variety of ages — that is, beyond the city’s parks and kid-focused events.

I give Redwood City a lot of credit for creating some wonderful play areas in its parks, and for keeping them relevant for children of a variety of ages. I’ve especially been a big supporter of the Magical Bridge playground in Red Morton Park, which not only serves kids of all ages (including some adults!) but also kids of a wide variety of abilities. And I’m monitoring with great interest the ongoing project to rebuild Hoover Park, a project that will add a variety of features to a park that seemingly was not very attractive either to those kids living in the surrounding residential areas or to the kids attending the adjacent Hoover Community School.

On the subject of family-friendly civic events, Redwood City’s Courthouse Square has been transformed into an 18-hole miniature golf course and arcade, and will remain so through Sunday, April 12, (which marks the season’s end for miniature golf, but after that look for the arcade in Red Morton Park’s Armory building). Advance reservations for miniature golf are recommended, although drop-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis. See the city’s website for more information and to make reservations.

Redwood City’s Parcade and seasonal miniature golf course are great, but they do point up the fact that until relatively recently Redwood City had permanent versions of each. In fact, for the 18 or so years that my kids lived full time in Redwood City, Redwood City had numerous privately-owned, family-friendly recreational venues. The Redwood Roller Rink — which was torn down to enable the construction of the ELCO Yards office buildings — was popular with both kids and adults alike. As was our Nazareth Ice Oasis, a popular ice-skating rink along Bay Road that ended up being transformed into a research-and-development office building. Redwood City has been home to multiple bowling alleys over the years; our family played many a frame at Mels Bowl, which closed in 2011 and was later demolished to make way for an apartment complex. But Redwood City’s crown jewel may have been Malibu Golf and Games, with its two 18-hole miniature golf courses, its bumper boats and huge arcade, plus the nearby Malibu Grand Prix: a high-speed go-kart track. Both were very popular with not only our kids — they went to many a birthday party there — but with many of us adults as well. Sadly, both closed in 2013 and were demolished in 2015, after their parcels were acquired for the planned Harbor View office development.

But although that development was finally approved in late 2022, permits have yet to be issued and thus no construction has actually taken place. While in the meantime, we’ve had the sight of a multiacre undeveloped lot right along the freeway as a constant reminder of the kind of family-friendly entertainment Redwood City once had.