Most people know Shaab Park from the late 90s, but back in the 80s it looked completely different. I’ve been looking for photos of what Shaab Park used to look like in the early days what seems like forever, but I’ve never been able to find any… other than my own personal family photos.
Since I used to (and still do) live in Salmiya, my mum would take me and my siblings to Shaab Park to meet up with our friends since it was close by. Back then the park wasn’t fenced up, and it was a large green field and looked pretty vast in the photos. There was a sandy area with some slides, swings and toys, and there was also an area with a small rollercoaster, bumper cars and other rides.
Some of the residential buildings in the background I think are still there today. You can also see the Al-Muzaini Mosque in one of the photos and the Abdullah Al-Salem School. The Abdullah Al-Salem School is where the Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Center is today. When the school was demolished in 2014, it wasn’t operational but Al-Maidan Cultural Centre was located there. Al-Maidan was part of Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah and used to hold various performances and musical events.
Based on how old I look in the photos, the fact that my younger brother isn’t in any of them (he was born in 1985) and the different outfits I’m wearing, my best guess is these photos were taken between 1983 and 1985. Check out all the photos here.