Matteo's Dream

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Matteo's Dream
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Matteo's Dream
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Matteo's Dream (the United States)
Location Concord, California, Hillcrest Park
Coordinates 37°59′50″N122°2′43″W / 37.99722°N 122.04528°W / 37.99722; -122.04528
Area16,000 square feet (1,486 m2)
Created2007
DesignerLeather & Associates
Owned byCity of Concord
StatusOpen all year
Budget US$700,000+donated labor
ParkingFree
Public transit access County Connection
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Matteo's Dream is an all-abilities playground in an urban park in Concord, California. It opened on May 16, 2007. Matteo Henderson was a boy with serious disabilities including blindness, cerebral palsy, and cognitive development. He used a wheelchair for transportation. The playground was built with US$770,000 of donated materials and with the labor of 1600 volunteers. Matteo, and many other children of all abilities have enjoyed the playground. Persons with disabilities are able to drive their wheelchairs directly onto the structure. Features of the playground are specially engineered to accommodate people with various disabilities. [1] Matteo died on March 16, 2011, at the age of 11. [2] In January 2014, a Matteo's Dream themed Rose Parade float was featured in the 125th Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. [3]

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References

  1. Jones, Carolyn (April 28, 2007). "A playground for all to play on / Matteo's Dream is a place for the disabled to slide down slides, wheel to a tree house". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  2. Thissen, Paul (May 23, 2011). "After Matteo's passing, his dream lives on in Concord". East Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. DeBolt, David (April 8, 2013). "'Matteo's Dream' lives on in Tournament of Roses Parade". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.