Clark Park was one of the first locations of such a market, and served as an early success story for both The Food Trust and the neighborhood. While early markets involved staff hauling food from the Reading Terminal Market out to housing developments since farmers weren’t initially comfortable coming to low income areas of the city, the model – and the markets’ profitability – changed once farmers began selling their products directly to consumers. Created in 1992 as the Reading Terminal Farmers’ Market Trust, the organization was formed to provide healthy food to underserved areas of the city. Lacking lights, the park was off-limits after dusk except to drug dealers and their prey."Ĭlark Park’s turnaround began in 1998, spurred in part by a farmers market operated by The Food Trust. More than once, the neighbors fought the city just to get the grass cut. In her book The University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and Into the Streets, former University of Pennsylvania president Judith Rodin described how, “Trash and broken glass surrounded the Dickens statue and littered the park. The statue of Little Nell was vandalized in 1989, later repaired through a fundraising effort. In 1973, the volunteer group Friends of Clark Park (FoCP) was formed to oversee maintenance of the park, yet the sprawling green space struggled well into the late 1990s. In 1961, a $40,000 investment provided for many of the park's most well-used amenities, including a basketball court, the tot-lot, drinking fountains, and checker tables. The park was dedicated on January 18th, 1895, and in 1901 Clark Park became home to an iconic statue of Charles Dickens and Little Nell, the fictional heroine of Dickens’ novel The Old Curiosity Shop. Clark gifted the land to the city, and in the deed specified that the property could not be used for anything other than park purposes. 123 years ago, an ordinance was passed condemning the land, which had been used as a public dumping ground. Clark, the first president of the First National Bank of Philadelphia, who owned an estate at 42nd and Locust and the land which would later become Clark Park. The nine-acre Clark Park is nestled between 43rd and 45th Streets and Baltimore and Woodland Avenue. The park is many things to many people-it’s a space for games of Frisbee, pick-up basketball, or Live Action Role Playing (LARPing) it’s a place to meet for an impromptu picnic, drum circle, or game of chess it’s a venue for big events like yearly Shakespeare performances, UCD’s own outdoor movie series, or various music and art festivals throughout the year it’s a welcoming oasis in the middle of the neighborhood. The range of responses should come as no surprise to anyone who has visited Clark Park, West Philadelphia’s most beloved green space. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the words Clark Park? We polled people and received answers ranging from simple things like sledding, dogs, drumming, trees, Charles Dickens, and soccer, to loftier responses like relationships, childhood, tranquility, and diversity. Ed's Buffalo Wings & Pizza / Rana's Middle Eastern Cuisine.The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College.The Porch at 30th Street Station Events.The Mayor of The Porch at 30th Street Station.The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative.The Duo Behind the University City Review.The Growth of Philadelphia's Second Skyline.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |