Children's Fairyland, the storybook park on the shore of Lake Merritt that generations of East Bay kids have grown up visiting, is getting a $5 million boost from Sacramento.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee's office announced the money on Monday, Oct. 5, alongside Fairyland CEO Kymberly Miller, CBS San Francisco reported. The funds come straight from this year's state budget and let the park finish the first phase of its long-term capital plan.
Where the money goes
According to NBC Bay Area, $2 million will help cover operations and the other $3 million will pay for restoration and upgrades. Much of that work is out of sight. The San Francisco Examiner reported that in the coming months crews will replace the water lines that bring drinking water into the park and work on sewer lines and their connections to the city system. NBC Bay Area described some of the pipes being replaced as about 100 years old.
The park also plans new communications gear, including a speaker system, network cabling and security equipment, plus routine maintenance on its electrical system, the Examiner reported. Some of the work will reach the public right-of-way along Grand Avenue.
Visitors should eventually notice changes too. The plan includes accessibility improvements and updates to the farm animal exhibits, the puppet theater and the park's storybook sets, including its well-known talking storybook boxes, according to CBS and the Examiner.
A park that nearly closed
Fairyland opened in 1950 and calls itself the country's first theme park designed for small children, the Piedmont Exedra noted. It marked its 75th anniversary last year, only a few years after the pandemic forced it to shut down in March 2020 and furlough all 56 of its employees, the Examiner reported, a stretch when its survival was in doubt.
Miller said at the announcement that the "historic gift from the state" will help staff take care of the park "for 76 more years," as quoted by the Examiner. Board president Jana Pastena called the money "an important milestone" in the park's efforts to secure its future, according to the Exedra.
The Fairyland grant is part of a larger $14 million state package for Oakland that also covers small businesses, public safety, transitional housing and community partners, CBS reported. Lee's office credited state Sen. Jesse Arreguín, Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks, and Gov. Gavin Newsom for securing it.