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The morning was offset by a light drizzle with dreary clouds in the sky. Sprouts of green surfaced soil and mulch; a promise of what is to come for a new park on the edge of the Delaware River.
At the Oct. 27 opening ceremony, Mayor Michael Nutter announced the name of the new public space at Pier 53 as Washington Avenue Green.
“Washington Avenue Green is the next step in our efforts to transform the Delaware River waterfront into a green and accessible space that residents and visitors from throughout the region can enjoy,” Nutter said at the event. “Transforming the waterfront is central to my administration’s vision for the future of Philadelphia.”
1st District Councilman Frank DiCicco, as well as Delaware River Waterfront Corp. (DRWC) President Tom Corcoran also were present at the official unveiling in which the 1.3-mile recreational trail unveiled last May cuts through.
“In this plan, DRWC is proposing the creation of new public spaces at key street intersections approximately every half mile along the six-mile stretch of the Central Delaware,” Corcoran said of the spaces to be incorporated into the Master Plan for the Central Delaware, which is expected to be revealed in February. “The purpose of these new parks is twofold: To provide quality public access to this majestic river to residents and tourists alike; and to spark new private investment on adjacent parcels, resulting in new jobs and tax revenues for the City.”
The William Penn Foundation, Pennsylavnia Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Philadelphia Water Department, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Coastal Zone Management each contributed funding for the project.
Focused on the ecology of the Delaware River and stormwater management, the new park features revolutionary developments that promote a green city.
Stream system drainage patterns have been cut into the surface of existing concrete and filled with soil and plants, which is intended to begin the natural decaying process in two areas in the park called the dendritic decay gardens. Floating wetlands are ecological features of the park as well. These small-frame platforms are made of hardwood, coir fiber and fabric sock material in an effort to recycle used material while the rain garden is a stormwater best management practice designed to collect rainwater, absorb the runoff and improve the water’s quality.
Behind these ecological endeavors stands the design team of Biohabitats, a partner of the DRWC. To make the design plan and concept a reality, Biohabitats teamed up with local engineers, contractors and Centre County-based environmental artist Stacy Levy.
Her art expresses itself in the way she harnesses natural elements and makes the activity of nature more important.
“It’s a compliment when you can’t tell where the art begins and the landscape ends,” she said.
As opposed to most public art displays, Levy said her work is “subtle, but powerful” and described the concept for Washington Avenue Green, which sits just behind the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union Hall, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd., as a “matrix of hard and soft.” She worked with what the concrete landscape already offered her, placing broken concrete where vegetation will grow in a rubble meadow and reusing it to create walls for sitting.
“A little more each day concrete is being broken out of the site and water channeled into the rain garden,” Levy said.
The plans call for Washington Avenue Green to become a lush vegetative green space for the community.
“It’s been raining and dreary all morning,” Nutter said. “When we opened this park, the sun came out.” SPR
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