Giant Sturgeons Settling In at Tribeca's New Marine Science-Themed Play Area

The playground, under construction on Aug. 26 between Piers 25 and 26, with the recently arrived sturgeon play equipment. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Like hardhat midwives, workers gingerly delivered the first of two giant, sculpted sturgeons Wednesday morning to the much-anticipated marine science-themed playground under construction between Piers 25 and 26 in Tribeca. After what appeared to be lengthy logistical discussions, the 4,500-pound structure, resembling a shortnose sturgeon (minus tail and dorsal fins to be added later in the day) was slowly slid by crane from a semi-truck trailer and swung to its landing.

Sections of its larger cousin, the Atlantic sturgeon, began arriving on Thursday and by Friday afternoon its body was partially constructed. Once assembled, the big fish will be 80-feet long, 42-feet tall, and weigh 12,000 pounds. Both sturgeon species are endangered and native to the Hudson River.

Structures evoking the shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon were chosen for what they can teach, as well as for play. Kids will be able to climb, slide down and explore inside the structures where they will find interactive, stylized representations of major organs as well as text that explains how the fish breathe, protect themselves from predators and navigate through the Hudson in search of food. Poles that rise above the play area are meant to recall the reeds that grow along the sturgeon’s home along the river bottom. The area will be landscaped with trees and other plantings.

A spokeswoman for the Hudson River Park Trust said the playground is expected to open in mid-to-late fall.

The 4,000-square-foot site is the intended home of a long-sought river study center, known as the Estuarium, which will be a place for science research and public education on river ecology. As of last December, the Hudson River Park Trust said that sources for about half of the $30 million cost of the building had been identified. A Trust spokeswoman has yet to provide information on the Estuarium’s current funding status.

The play structures are designed by Olin [1], the landscape architects for Pier 26, and were fabricated by the Danish firm Monstrum [2], which specializes in whimsical playground equipment. The playground is being constructed by the landscaping and construction firm Alpine [3].

Hudson River Park Friends [4], the Trust’s nonprofit advocacy and fundraising partner, raised nearly $4 million for construction of the play area, with former Friends’ Chair Mike Novogratz providing a $1.3 million match for private donations.