East Falls: Playspace In The Works For McMichael Park
Outside of Fairmount Park, one might be surprised to hear there is a six-acre plot of land in East Falls that remains completely natural and undeveloped. But within the neighborhood, there is a great deal of disagreement over whether or not it should stay that way. McMichael Park, bracketed by Henry and Midvale avenues on […]
Hunting Park: Esperanza’s Gabriella Gabriel Paez Uses Trees To Connect Community
On the blacktop next to McClure Elementary School, Gabriella Gabriel Paez (above) stood in front of what looked like a forest-in-the-making — rows of short and sparse baby trees in planters. She gave them out, free of charge, to families as they left parent-teacher conference night at the school. Gabriel Paez organized the yard tree […]
Mantua: Despite Lack Of Funding, Miles Mack Recreation Center Continues On
Khadijah Muhammad, the on-site supervisor at the Miles Mack Recreation center, prepared about three dozen hot dogs for neighborhood children after school on Friday, Sept. 14. Every day, she makes lunch for children that come through the recreation center, located at 36th and Aspen streets. She pays for most of the food out of her […]
Port Richmond: National Night Out, a Princess in Port Richmond, and a Missing Cat
In case you missed it, we found a few places where people were talking about things happening in Port Richmond: Princess bringing Happiness To Port Richmond and Beyond: Port Richmond native Kennedy McCabe works with the city’s Parks and Recreation office as a recreation specialty instructor, even getting to dress up as some famous characters […]
Fairmount Park: Protecting the Water Supply
One of the largest urban green spaces in the nation sits right here in the City of Brotherly Love. With more than 10,000 acres of parks, trails and trees, Fairmount Park wasn’t originally created to build recreation centers with playgrounds and pools. It was created to protect the city’s water supply. To begin to understand […]
South Philadelphia: The City Unites over Soccer
The city will host the second annual Philadelphia International Unity Cup , a 48-team regional, World Cup soccer-style tournament, this fall with the final match set to take place at Lincoln Financial Field on Nov. 11. In addition to a highly competitive soccer match taking place that day, there will also be a parade of nations, where each team […]
Fairmount Park: Historic Homes Have Stories to Tell
The Charms of Fairmount Park are six historic houses with six different stories to tell. Cedar Grove, Laurel Hill, Lemon Hill, Mount Pleasant, Historic Strawberry Mansion and Woodford are maintained as historic house museums. Some people have visited all of them while others have never heard of them. In recent years, fewer people are visiting the […]
Fishtown: Get Up’s Gettin’ it in the Park
Anyone who has been to the Electric Factory in the Callowhill neighborhood has seen local artist Get Up’s creations on the walls inside. The 31-year-old Kensington native has been creating street art in the city since 2012, after living and working in Oakland for six years. Get Up is not only a street artist, he is a musician and […]
West Philadelphia: A Slice of Japan in Fairmount Park
Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is getting ready for a partial roof replacement later this summer. While most might find this subject to be of no interest, there is actually a unique story behind it. The roof on the home is made out of hinoki bark. “Hinoki roofs are a pretty rare thing to find […]
West Philadelphia: A Place to Learn About Japanese Culture
Derek Finn is the associate director of Shofuso Japanese House and Garden. He started at Shofuso in 2010 after earning his bachelor’s degree in East Asian studies from the University of Pennsylvania. His passion for Japanese culture kept him at Shofuso, where he started as a visitor service assistant and worked his way up to […]