Sometimes you don’t really appreciate a public space until it’s gone. Like, for example, the Oval. This summer Parks and Rec. took the parking lot in front of the Art Museum fountain and animated it with chairs and games and hosted public programming six days a week from mid-July through mid-September.

Over the summer

When we passed by the artist formerly known as the Oval last week, the space looked as bleak as a parking lot in autumn, which is exactly what it is. After their Farewell Festivities a few weeks back, the lot was repainted, transitioning away from a public space and back into a parking lot. Still, the creation of the Oval was an interesting and worthwhile exercise for a couple of months- and to keep the interesting going, Parks and Rec. is hosting drive-in movies every Friday night at The Oval through November. Did you know the first drive-in theater was located in Pennsauken, just over the bridge in Jersey?

Recent shot is less exciting

Back to The Oval. We like a good natural landscape as much as anyone. But we don’t think the parking lot at The Oval is an Ansel Adams subject. And even if it is, it isn’t one we’re hanging unless we’re feeling post-industrial blue. So it was interesting to see the bean bag tosses, and adirondack chairs fill the parking lot. Finally there were people using the space instead of empty cars. And the good news is, The Oval will be coming back.

Another shot of the former Oval, looking toward City Hall this time

“The Oval was essentially proof of concept,” said Partrick Morgan, Parks and Rec. spokesperson.

It grew of out of the More Park, Less Way initiative from the Mayor’s office to increase residents’ usage of the Ben Franklin Parkway. At public planning meetings this year, community members living around the Parkway told Parks and Rec that they felt disconnected from the space, which has been used mostly for one-off events like big concerts July 4th. According to Parks and Rec numbers, 20,000 people visited The Oval during the two months it offered programming. Right now, Parks and Rec is working on planning for next year and figuring out what works before it decides to make The Oval a permanent space, according to Morgan.

Like The Porch at 30th Street Station, The Oval transformed a concrete slab into a bed of civic programming. We’ll not only look forward to the reincarnation of the Porch next summer, but also to learn what will be the next underutilized space to be re-imagined for popular use.

–Lou Mancinelli