Culver Viaduct

St. Mary's Playground, underneath the viaduct at the corner of Nelson and Smith is bizarre, spacious, depressing and nearly always empty. We drive by without seeing anyone there, all the jungle gyms barren. It's an abandoned stretch filled with more broken glass than I've seen in any nearby area.

My daughter was the first to call it St. Mary's Prayground, and when you are there, you do want to pray. You want to pray that no one takes advantage of how isolated you are, or pray that all that tarp and netting screwed into the structure overhead holds tight so no chunks of concrete fall on your head, or you might want to pray that the whole thing doesn't come crashing down. I was praying that I didn't kick any little pieces of glass into my sandal, and that the 2 guys hanging out in the section of the park across the street had better enterprises afoot than what I couldn't help suspecting they were up to. I was also praying to get a good shot of one of the cement trucks from the plant nearby, the ones bearing fresh grey, orange and yellow paint applied in a way that suggests circus elephants.