Friends of Brown Street Park celebrated the transformation of the neighborhood park at a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. Above, Bear and Boo Paradiso, 5 and 3, sons of Wendy Nilsson, co-chairwoman of the Friends, try out the truck tires in the park.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

PROVIDENCE — Children are often taught that anything can be a toy, if you use your imagination. In renovating Brown Street Park, their parents thought that way, too, and now the area has a one-of-a-kind new park to show for it.

The beleaguered park at Creighton and Brown Streets on College Hill has been recreated using recycled materials.

A sandbox built from old curbstones, an obstacle course made of tractor-trailer tires, a shade sail made of recycled metal and old boat sails, are some of the features in the park’s new playground.

“We have created a magical place where families and neighbors from all walks of life can come together, use their imaginations and have fun in a wonderful park,” said Wendy Nilsson, co-chairwoman of Friends of Brown Street Park.

Last year, the Friends group held community meetings to envision the future park, and the consensus was that they would build something completely different: a fun, green park, using what they called recycled, revitalized, or “reloved” materials.

They didn’t have any money to make their dream happen, however, so they went to area businesses looking for help. More than 30 local businesses and institutions gave some form of assistance, including help from companies such as Mid City Steel, Aurora Financial Advisors, The Garden Center, Home Depot, and Evergreen Landscaping among many others.

“I am truly amazed by the extraordinary generosity of so many volunteers and businesses that were willing to pitch in and make a difference in our community. Brown Street Park reflects the spirit of our neighborhood and it’s my hope that this park will serve a model for other neighborhood parks in our city,” Nilsson said.

Yesterday, Mayor David N. Cicilline cut the ribbon on the new park, and cheered the neighborhood for its initiative and its creative thinking.

“The Brown Street Park is now a showcase for excellent 21st-century neighborhood parks thanks to the vision, innovation and determination of many of the residents who use this park,” Cicilline said. “They took ownership of their neighborhood park and, with the help of many community partners, turned this park into an extraordinary, creative public space with something for everyone.”

The Parks Department helped in the design and creation of the park, which, for a time several years ago, had been used as a somewhat controversial unofficial dog park

More renovations are coming. All-ages fitness stations will be built from eco-friendly materials, and more gardens and walking paths will be added.

In addition to the renovations, the park offers outdoor fitness classes through a partnership with the Eastside YMCA, and weekly live performances through the city’s Neighborhood Performing Arts Initiative.

dbarbari@projo.com