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Currently, the City of Philadelphia has more than 9,200 acres of park space. While the Fairmount Park Commission and the city’s Department of Recreation oversees the upkeep for the city’s park system, some local residents recently took the forefront in saving an area park.
Located at 230 Dickinson St., the small stretch of land, known as Karen Donnelly Park, celebrated its grand opening and rededication during an April 21 ceremony with state Sen. Larry Farnese, 1st District Councilman Frank DiCicco and about 60 area residents in attendance.
The site previously provided a home for only a few trees and a tract of worn and damaged concrete. Now, thanks to a renovation process that took nearly six months to complete, it boasts a brick walkway stretching from its entrance at Dickinson Street to Greenwich Street, on the opposite side. While several old trees were torn down during the construction process, new ones along with shrubbery have been planted. The area also includes a play area for younger children, a plot of artificial grass, as well as several benches and three checker tables.
“There is a bigger park not too far away at Second and Reed,” Bob Theil, administrative assistant to Farnese and resident of the area, said. “That park is for older children, so we provided some toys for the smaller kids at Donnelly Park.”
First built in 1978, the space received its name in memory Karen Donnelly, a former resident of the 200 block of Dickinson Street who passed away in the late ’70s from leukemia. The park, originally intended as no more than a resting space for residents, hosted no more than a few tables and chairs. The area went without improvements for about 15 years, until the City finally flattened everything down.
Theil said neighborhood rumors had continually resurfaced over the years regarding possible plans to develop and blacktop the space. Nevertheless, it was not until three or four years ago, when the City put the lot up for development, that residents decided to take action to save their neighborhood park.
“I contacted DiCicco’s office to see what we could do to stop the sale, and after three or four years the City finally pushed it over,” Theil said.
The recent renovations — totaling $350,000 — were handled by Sam LePera, on behalf of the Capital Program Office, while Francesco Corrati handled the architectural design. Although residents had always tried to get small changes made, such as the placement of new lights, the pending sale provided the necessary impetus for the complete refurbishment.
“It was like getting a fire lit,” Theil said. “We wanted to get the park back up to what it was once supposed to be, a passive lot.”
There are no plans for further development of the site. The responsibility for continued maintenance of Donnelly Park will rest solely on area residents.
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