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A noted architect who worked on the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia was a resident of the Graduate Hospital area, having first lived on the 700 block of South 21st Street, then the 1900 block of Fitzwater Street before moving to the 1500 block of Christian Street.
This same man holds the distinction of being the first African-American graduate of the architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yet, there is nothing in Adrian Abele’s (pronounced "able") area, or South Philly for that matter, recognizing his vast achievements.
Until now.
The late architect’s daughter Nadia has long since died and Abele was estranged from his French wife for decades, but Oct. 18 the man’s only son, Julian Abele 2nd, came up from Ocala, Fla., to his see father’s legacy honored with the Julian Abele Park. The 66-by-103-foot space at 22nd and Montrose streets is the first urban park in decades and five years in the making.
Political leaders like state Sen. Anthony Williams, Mayor Michael Nutter’s Senior Advisor Terry Gillen and newly elected state Rep. Kenyatta Johnson were in attendance along with the woman whose idea it was to name the park after Abele, Darlene Branch Smith.
A resident of the 2200 block of Madison Square, between Catharine and Christian and 22nd and 23rd streets, Smith is a liaison of Friends of Julian Abele Park, a neighborhood group of about eight core members and 50 supporters who oversee the space.
Smith’s idea to name the park after the accomplished man, who lived from 1881 to 1950, was well-received.
"There was a lot in this area that commemorated Marian Anderson, but there was nothing that commemorated him. No historic marker, nothing that said Julian Abele lived in this neighborhood," Smith said. "I think that was something very important that he should have been recognized."
A Renaissance man, Abele dabbled in furniture-making, watercolors, lithography, etching, sketching and jewelry-making.
"He was very quiet and very conservative," Smith said. "The Art Museum has a historic marker in the front, the Free Library has a historic marker, but there is nothing in this community that says this is where Julian Abele lived. Children and adults need to know this greatness lived here."
Plans to transform the vacant lot into a city park began in 2003 when Gillen was a Democratic ward leader and Graduate Hospital-area resident. She approached City Council President Anna Verna and asked if she would be willing to take some Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) money, generally used for housing, to create a green space in the area with many city-owned vacant properties, Gillen said. Verna agreed and the city used some of the allocated funds to acquire the parcel and turned it over to the Department of Recreation to oversee. The space is the first city-run park in more than two decades, something Gillen is thrilled with.
"It’s very difficult to get a park up and running and dedicated. To get the city to create a new park is very difficult. It will be such a jewel in five to 10 years — that neighborhood will be very lucky to have this park," Gillen said. "It’s what the neighborhood needs. We need a place where people can sit in some shade, a mother can take a kid in a stroller. It will make the neighborhood so much more livable. And it’s good for the environment."
After Gillen secured the lot, The Friends contacted the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green — its urban greening division — to clean, also known as stabilize, the space.
"The community really saw the need for a park [because the area is] very dense, lots of buildings. While they were happy the lot was stabilized, they had bigger dreams for it," Philadelphia Green Senior Director Joan Reilley told the Review.
Philadelphia Green held community meetings, out of which it was learned residents wanted a "passive park. A place where people can go and relax, there was no interest in a basketball court or playground," the senior director recalled.
Funds from NTI, Citizens Bank and the William Penn Foundation paid for contractors and materials, including trees, shrubs, planters and a couple of park benches. Cleaning and greening began about two years ago with completion of the latter in the summer. Phase II of the initiative includes a mural of Abele, a sign naming the park, more benches and a possible sculpture of the man "so people will know what he looks like," Smith said. A Phase II meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at Shiloh Baptist Church, 21st and Christian streets.
The revamp is all about turning a liability into an asset, according to Reilley.
"What is wonderful is this is a neighborhood going through a lot of transformation — people who have lived there their whole lives and newcomers moving into the area. The park brings the community together."
