TOPEKA (KSNT) – A new playground opened at Boswell Square Park Monday after years of advocacy from the College Hill community to improve the park and secure its future.
Officials with the College Hill Neighborhood Association, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation and Topeka Public Schools celebrated the dedication for the new playground on the evening of Sept. 21.
The park, located at 1300 SW Jewell Ave., has long been a gathering place for the College Hill neighborhood. Bruce Emmert, president of the College Hill Association, called the park the “focal point” and “hub” of the community.
“When I see kids like this evening playing in our playground, that says neighborhood to me, that says real community, people enjoying themselves, kids having fun, making memories,” said Bruce Emmert, College Hill Association president.
Residents of the neighborhood began pushing for improvements after the previous playground became worn and difficult to maintain. The park’s ownership also complicated efforts to make improvements because the land was owned by Topeka Public Schools.
Over the past several years, the College Hill Neighborhood Association worked with the school district and Shawnee County to establish a path forward for the park. In 2025, the USD 501 Board of Education and Shawnee County Commission approved resolutions securing the park’s future in county hands.
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Shawnee County Commissioner Bill Riphahn said the new playground also pays tribute to the site’s history as the former location of Boswell Junior High. The playground uses the school’s red and white colors, reflecting the Boswell Wildcats.
“We now own the land and we just built this beautiful play structure and it’s the same colors as the Boswell Junior High, the Boswell Wildcat, where red and white,” Riphahn said. “So, we stuck to that theme.”
For residents of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, the new playground is the first of what they hope will be several improvements to the park.
Laura Burton with the College Hill Neighborhood Association said the goal is to see another generation of children grow up playing at the park and making memories there.
“We have been really excited just in the last year to have Shawnee County and Topeka Public Schools and the Neighborhood Association all working together to make this park better,” Burton said. “And we are thrilled tonight to dedicate this playground. It’s the first of what we hope are many improvements.”
The playground is now open to the public.
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