Juan Solomon Park

I'm always intrigued by the parks that seem to get the most reviews. While some Indy Parks locations seem to get ignored, we occasionally get a park like Juan Solomon Park on the northwest side of Indy with 10 reviews. The park was acquired in 1971. It's a 41-acre park. I love learning how parks get their names - and Juan Solomon is named after Juan Solomon (I bet you figured that out, eh). Solomon was very active in Indy's African-American community and served as director of the Community Service Council, Indianapolis Urban League, and was on the board of the Indianapolis Department of Parks and recreation. He worked for Eli Lilly for 32 years and led the Mayor's Task Force on Employment. The park is one of Indy's parks that really has some cool features including a covered sheltered, soccer fields, renovated playground equipment, tennis courts, and wooded trails great for nature walks. There's a .8 mile loop. Crooked Creek runs through the center of the park. This is a park with public restrooms and there's an indoor facility with space for rent and a very cool sod roof. Interestingly, there's also a water treatment facility here. Parking is abundant here. While Solomon Park was developed in 1971, it actually didn't become Solomon Park until 1973. Solomon also lived in this neighborhood (across from the park).As I noted, you can book community room rentals. I know on weekends it's $80 an hour with a three-hour minimum (paid upfront). There are flushing restrooms connected to the building (though they are also open to the public). Capacity is 75 people (no kitchen on site). You can rent the shelter for $85/day with a capacity of 40-50.I used to live in this area. I don't get to Juan Solomon as much as I used to, however, I still stop in when I'm on this side of town or if I arrive on this side of town early for a meeting. While part of me thinks this should be a destination park, it even offers pretty darn good accessibility with the playground, I still think it's not quite a 5-star park as it's not always kept up really well and I'll be honest and say I think the community room rental is a bit steep for a public park. That said, there's much to love here and this park serves the Crooked Creek area quite well. It's not a destination park, however, it's definitely a popular park for this area.

I've had this spot bookmarked after driving by nearly a dozen times. We finally had the time to stop by and check it out with our son this last weekend. The thing that caught my eye the most was the beautiful building with a living roof and the trails surround the park. They have a large playscape on a padded floor, tennis courts and a soccer field. It felt like everything could use a little TLC and they are struggling to keep up with trash overflow that seemed to litter the parking lot, etc. (most likely to blame from the visitors not picking up after themselves)Overall, great bones but could use a little loving.

This place, which dates back to 1975, is named after Juan C. Solomon, a former Crookesd Creek resident, community leader and former member of the Indy Board of Parks and Recreation. This park is pretty good. At 41-acres, it is surprisingly large. It has a large parking lot and features a vast amount of green space with soccer goals all over the field. You can obviously play soccer, have a pickup football game, play catch, fly a kite, or just throw down a blanket and have a picnic. The park is co-located with Crooked Creek Community Center, but I am not sure if the community center is still operational. It was closed when I was there.The park has a couple of tennis court that looks abandoned. They are in dire need of some good old TLC. The courts has many cracks and the paint is faded and peeling. The nets are torn and ripped as well. The park's picnic shelter is good. There are picnic tables under it and a grill just outside of it.The park's best asset, by far is its playground. The playground is on a mud free rubber matting surface. The playground equipment looks pretty new. It consists of a huge jungle gym with a bunch of slides, tunnels, climbing nets, a pebble bridge, monkey bars, a conveyor belt slide, There is also a bank of traditional, toddler and ADA swings, a climbing net pyramid, a see-saw, and a hanging spinner. Like I said, it is very nice and modern. There is a low wall that forms the perimeter of the playground and serves as an excellent place for parents/guardians to sit and watch their littles while they play. If you look around the corner from the community center you will find a path that gives you access to Crooked Creek. It would be a fun place to frolic in on a hot summer day.This park is a little ninja warrior's dream. It has a huge field and a nice modern playground. Not sure if it is worth traveling to, but is well worth a visit if you are in the area or passing by. Fun Fact: In 1999, the park was recognized as being an Indy Parks Steeped in Black History.

This park has state of the art playground climbing structures with padded ground for safety. There are two tennis courts, a small number pavilion with picnic tables and a community center. There is a large field in the back for additional recreation. There are benches and a wall around the park for sitting and etching the kids. The park is named for an iconic local civil leader, Juan Solomon. The community center was closed during our visit. The roof of the center is green with grasses and plants. The center is an ideal facility for summer and after school programs. During our visit, the park was littered with trash and receptacles were overflowing with bags of trash. The grounds were in need of mowing and weeding. The tiles under the structures were also in need of repair. This well-loved park needs some attention. There is parking for about 60 cars and a bike rack. The playground and facilities are wheel chair accessible.

This is a great little playground for the kids to do their best American Ninja Warrior impression. They have a very nice (and fairly new) structure.

Great park for little and big kids. I love the soft ground and so do my toddlers. There's a shelter located by the tennis courts and there's a bbq grill there. Behind the park is an open green space and what appears to be a trail of some sort because I've seen people walk from behind the green space. The restrooms were located in the building next to the park. Parking is right out front. The best thing is that there is sitting areas throughout the park so that I could sit and not have to hover.

As I pulled up to this park, the first thing I noticed was the green roof on the recreation center. Green as in: There is actual greenery on the top of the roof. Like, actual plants growing on top of the roof, arranged in tidy little rows. Pretty neat.What I love about the playground at Juan Solomon is that it sits in the middle of a big circle, and is surrounded by a concrete wall that's small enough for adults to step over easily, and small enough for kids to climb over, but babies are kept inside the playground (which means it's way easier to keep an eye on them). The ground is also this padded tire material, which, as a mom of a baby and I discussed, is great because you can set your learning-to-crawl-or-walk baby on the ground without worrying that they will put something in their mouth, like wood chips or sand or grass.The playground has lots of climbing structures -- probably the most that I've seen in the neighborhood parks. So if you have a little climber, this is a great place to take them.There is also this really cool slide that's made out of dozens of round poles that move as you go down. It's kind of difficult to describe, but it's fun and pretty much the first thing that every kid flocked to.A great tennis court sits just off the playground, and next to it is a shaded picnic area. There's also a soccer field. All of the facilities and playground equipment were taken care of, and other than the occasional cigarette butt (grrr) or other random detritus, the playground was clean. We will visit again.

This park has a lot of the standard features (shelter, playground, parking lot) of most parks, but also has a great nature trail (about a half mile) through the woods that winds along a creek. The trails are easy to follow and in most places, stays relatively dry so that you don't have to get muddy just to walk.There are also some open areas for active sports and additional picnic tables by the east end woods. There is also a sturdy bridge that spans the creek if you wish to enter the park from the south side of the woods.Review #769

What a GREAT park and wonderful place to have a birthday party!! The not too big, not too small room next to the play ground is a great space to host a party. Best part, ALL GLASS windows overlooking the playground outside. Ample tables and chairs, clean, warm, bathrooms.And the playground has that rubbery type padding under all of it, neat, clean, and soft for landing on. And lots of different and challenging play areas. Along with the fun roller slide that was a HIT for all ages. And tender totter. and swings!! And (in warmer weather) great open area green space if needed for play! WONDERFUL and recommend!!!

Juan Solomon park is a cute, little, cozy park where you can keep an eye on your children at all times while they're getting their energy out. They have benches right by the playground if you wanted to relax while your kiddos are playing. They also have a tennis court there and it is very nice! The park also has a small venue for birthday parties and reunions. It's very nice inside, however it is small! It's perfect for a small gathering. This is definitely one of my fave parks to go!