I had a long day at work today following a short night of sleep (sometimes cats are pests), so I was feeling too tired for a bike ride. I sluggishly rode home from work, dropped my stuff, and decided to take the bike out for a short ride after all–just what I needed after a day spent talking about prisons, from OPP and Angola to Abu Ghraib. I headed for the smooth ride that is Simon Bolivar and flew along with a nice tailwind that was to become a rough headwind on my way home. I stopped at Euterpe to wander through this new park, brought to you by Planter’s Peanuts. This corner has been vacant for as long as I’ve been riding my bike past it (which isn’t very long), sometimes hosting trucks for sale. And the suddenly something was being built there. And then a week later it was finished. And it’s a “park,” in the shape of a peanut, with Mr. Peanut sitting on a bench. There’s just gravel, and only one bench–and Mr. Peanut is hogging it–so I’m not sure exactly what we’re supposed to do in the park. As I was leaving a mom and a couple kids wandered over, and they seemed just as confused as I was. Why can’t we just get an actual park here? Sigh. I continued my ride to and around the CBD and back Uptown. Yep, it is *always* a good idea to go for a bicycle ride.
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 
From the NOLA.com article, it looks like what you saw is only part of the plan. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/central_city_getting_an_urban.html
Phew! I do hope something overcomes the Mr. Peanut sense of the place.
I am sure there will be more with a classy guy like Mr. Peanut welcoming visitors. A ride with discs that look like peanut butter cookies. Slides with peanut butter to make you go faster. Open pits of peanut butter with a pits of jelly next to them and next to that, a machine with slices of bread for 1.00 each. Endless possibilities.
Agreed, they need more seating and I’m unsure why they chose a gravel surface for the interior. The whole project came about fairly quickly and was a bit of a surprise to the neighborhood – by the time we were invited to comment on the design it was pretty much set in stone. We did get some safety and lighting concerns addressed.
There are some nice touches – the scattered plantings around the central area contain varieties of mint and other hardy herbs, for instance. Will be interesting to see how the park’s greenery fills in over the next few years.
Mr. Planters might not last that long, however.