Shale Street ‘Playground’ is a small Worcester park that’s in the most dire shape of all of Worcester’s 60 parks and playgrounds. It’s small parcel of land of just .78 of an acre is located just off Wall Street on Grafton Hill, in between Wall Street and Shale Street, which is a short private dirt road that runs parallel to Orient Street.

This park is completely undeveloped. There are no clear access point to this park, no signs, no amenities. It is incredibly overgrown with pricker bushes and weeds.

In 2014, the city announced that $118,000 would be put aside for improvements to Shale Street Playground from the CSX Neighborhood Improvement Fund. In February of 2017, the city announced the development of a master plan for the park.

With this park’s position on the west side of Grafton Hill, it could offer some of the most spectacular views of downtown – if designed with this in mind.

Shale Street Playground was purchased in 1982 from four abutters. The Friendly House had plans to redesign the park in 1981 and even prepared a master plan. At that time, it did not come into to fruition.

In the early 1990s, the planning and construction of a concrete retaining wall was conducted using Community Development Block Grant Funds. Since then, no notable improvements have been made.