In contrast

Because Tuesday’s walk was mostly aimed at checking up on a couple of projects in both San Carlos and Belmont (plus the office building and associated parking garage under construction at 200 Twin Dolphin Drive), on Wednesday, I stayed closer to home. Mostly, I poked through the residential neighborhoods between Jefferson Street and Woodside Road, from El Camino Real to Alameda de las Pulgas. My walk ended with a swing through Red Morton Park, to see how the Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center is progressing. I sat on a nice bench just outside of the park’s Magical Bridge Playground, gazing at the building and watching a dog playing in the park’s temporary dog area.

Sitting on that bench, I couldn’t miss the happy sounds of children just behind me. I turned and was delighted to see the playground abuzz with activity, with dozens and dozens of kids enjoying the equipment and sliding down the playground’s hills and slides. Turning back to the building, I was struck by how close these two major features of Red Morton Park are to one another, features intended for people occupying the two extremes of the age scale.

Based on my recent tour, and on what I already knew about the Senior Center project, the center, and its many varied activities, will undoubtedly draw throngs of seniors on a daily basis. From the new building’s second-floor outdoor walking track, folks will have a fairly clear view of the nearby Magical Bridge Playground and its many and varied attractions, which itself will draw children (and others), also, on a daily basis. I’m not sure whether the placement of the two project in such close proximity was intentional or a happy coincidence, but I have to imagine there might be a bit of cross-pollination between the two. On occasion, children will be brought into the Senior Center for holiday activities and such, and at least some seniors will discover the joy of sitting in or around the Magical Bridge Playground, as I did, savoring the joy of children at play.

Contrasts abound almost everywhere you look. The residential neighborhoods I walked through are full of houses that differ in size, shape, style and age. Some of the newer ones employ a modern-style that contrasts with the remaining houses on the block, but most, at least, attempt to blend in somewhat. When taken together, I almost always find that the varying styles and ages of the homes in the typical residential block make for an attractive, interesting whole. On rare occasions, I come across a house that really just doesn’t fit in. One such is a long-running construction project on the 400 block of Iris Street. That project is yielding a large, 4,500-square-foot house with all-metal framing and, until recently, corrugated metal siding. Fortunately, it recently gained conventional plank siding, painted yellow with white trim. The house still contrasts somewhat with its neighbors due to its sheer size, but this latest addition makes that contrast not nearly so stark. Perhaps, in time, changes to neighboring houses, might even cause it to blend in.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.