Citizens Create Temporary Park in Philadelphia

Community members in Philadelphia have taken over a languishing site and put it back into use as a temporary park space.

1 minute read

May 26, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"This a sliver of land wedged between a freeway on-ramp and the Parkway. It was once the site of sculptures by Alexander Calder, and where a museum for his work had been proposed. The museum never happened, and when the sculptures were removed a of couple years ago, the site languished.

'It is mostly for dogs,' said Logan Square resident Christine Piven. 'People weren't using the benches and stuff, so we wanted the community to use the space on a regular basis.'"

The playground will have a concrete ping pong table, gigantic foam tinker toys, and a sandbox, and will remain open until September when local officials will decide whether the idea should be replicated.

Saturday, May 21, 2011 in NewsWorks

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