SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

November 26, 2008 by Betsy Bird

Where the Wild Things Were

November 26, 2008 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

Like the dodo, the passenger pigeon, and other animals of very little brainpower the Wild Things are no more.  For you see, dear children, there once was a playground of Wild Things at a Sony complex in San Francisco.  Once they roamed free and easy.  Now it is gone and only the photos remain.

Check out this old-timey internet posting from back in the day, showing shots of the place in question.  Be warned that it does have a tendency to play The Entertainer when you arrive on the site, so mute everything you can, please.  For a quieter picture, look here.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s what Wilson Swain had to say about it:

"The playground was pretty awesome, but finding photos has proven a challenge–I’ve looked, even for my own reference.  There are a couple of images here (of the Night Kitchen restaurant, and the entrance to the gift area, as well as one shot of the actual indoor playground).  The sculptures were full scale and fiberglass–durable but not as permanent as cast Iron, so I’m not sure if that matches your statue criteria or not.  If you find better pictures, I’d love to see them.  I so regret not going with a camera–the structure really was an object of beauty.  The same facility also had a themed adventure based on ‘The way things work’–it had already closed by the time I got there."

Does anyone remember this place?  If so, do you have any memories you’d care to share?

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

The Top Ten Most Disappointing Edibles and Potables of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

Announcing the 2023 Newbery/Caldecott/YMA Pre-Game Show!

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

2023 Arrived and a Blog Is Still Here: What Does the Future Hold?

by Betsy Bird

November 2022

A Lost Hero: The Rediscovery of Mildred Batchelder

by Betsy Bird

November 2022

The Yellow Áo Dài : A Talk with Hanh Bui and Minnie Phan

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Longlisters

Standout Debuts & Titles from Acclaimed Authors | Pondering Printz

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalists

Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Voting Is Open

Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Woody says

    November 26, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    This place was so AWESOME! I remember going there, and you could walk through the Wild Things kingdom, like in the forest. It was like walking through a book! So sad to see it go away, does anyone know why?

  2. Dan Santat says

    November 26, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    The entire Metreon was a big disappointment, just a bunch of SONY Playstations and a reason to sell stuff SONY, but this exhibit made up for it. I remember the exhibit costing seven dollars to enter and I was originally expecting it to be totally cheesy, but it ended up blowing my mind. On top of all that Chronicle Books had a store on the ground level and they were selling these awesome jackets designed by J Otto Seibold. Last time I checked (about a year ago) the space wasn’t being used for anything.

  3. victoria thorne says

    November 26, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    We live just south of SF, and I never dreamed those Wild Things would just disappear…we saw it only from afar. Had I but known, I would’ve taken dozens of photos and bought the fuzzy wild thing slippers. Dan is right: the rest of the Metreon (sans Chronicle stuff, which was always worthwhile) was a head-scratching disappointment.

  4. Kevin Vegetables says

    December 2, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    There was a row of telescopes on the upper level — most of them were normal, but when you looked through one particular telescope, what you saw was your own butt. (It was a video feed from a camera hidden behind you.) Genius!

    (Sony sold the Metreon to Westfield. The top level is going to be a Tavern On The Green restaurant.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023