'Sanctuaries for families': St. George officials, residents celebrate Christensen Park's new playground

Written by Mori Kessler

Yet another beloved community park in St. George received a “face-lift” with the installation of newer, safer playground equipment. This time it was Christensen Park in Bloomington where city staff, elected officials and neighborhood residents gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the grand reopening of the park’s new playground.

“These parks are sanctuaries for young families, and these playgrounds are incredibly important to get a little bit of respite from your day-to-day grind,” Shane Moore, parks and community services director for St. George, said.

Moore touted the reasons why he felt places like Christensen Park, located at 3780 S. 1550 West, are beneficial to the community and why it, along with others like it across the city, are “more than just parks.”

St. George officials and staff and neighborhood families gathered to celebrate the grand reopening of the playground at Christensen Park in Bloomington where aging equipment was replaced with new infrastructure, St. George, Utah, July 17, 2025. Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“When we build a park, we really build it in the idea that we want people to be able to come out here, enjoy it, have the mental health recharge and really just have a reset in their life,” Moore said.

Christensen Park, nestled in a corner of the Bloomington area that is easy to miss, holds personal significance for the mayor and her family.

“We've spent a lot of time here,” Randall said. “My aunt and uncle donated the property, Bryce and Nisa Christensen, to have the park built. So we had a lot of family gatherings over here, birthday parties, different things like that. It was time for a face-lift. It was time for an update.”

Though the park may not be widely known outside of Bloomington, it sees a lot of use from the people who live there, Randall said. The continued use, plus the aging park infrastructure that could become a safety hazard if unaddressed, made the upgrade necessary, she said.

“When you talk about playground equipment being 30 years old, it’s hot,” Randall said, noting the difference between metal and plastic. “They didn’t have the nice plastic stuff that they do now. So the kids can play year-round … We always go with shade coverings over the parks now too.”

Like Moore, Randall views the parks as an element that enhances Southern Utahns' quality of life.

“Some people may live in an apartment that doesn't have a lot of amenities,” she said. “They can take their kids to the park and let them run. And this park is really big, a lot of grass, a lot of places to run and play and so it's important. I think it all goes back to quality of life.”