2028 may be several years away, but that won’t stop us thinking about Penn’s Landing Park here in 2024. You’ve likely heard about it by now, but this 11.5-acre, $400+ million park has been in the works for years, with plans to completely revitalize the unfriendly hardscaping of the woefully underutilized Great Plaza. A number of state, local, and philanthropic groups have pitched in funds to make the grand vision from HargreavesJones and KireanTimberlake a landscaped, activated reality. This project will also reconnect Old City more seamlessly to the Delaware River Waterfront, somewhat rectifying the ills caused by the construction of I-95 several decades ago.
First, some new renderings! We told you about the name change, but now we have even more visuals, thanks to a submission to the Art Commission. Exit Design was tapped to help with branding, signage, and wayfinding, and thankfully we have another round of enticing visuals to get us pumped anew. Sans serif, modern fonts are combined with simple line drawings to define the park area, allowing the signage to complement instead of dominate the landscaping. These new visuals also give us a better idea of the pedestrian experience when approaching the park from both the city and the river.
What a difference from the closed-off, unapproachable present. These new entrances beckon people to enter instead of challenging them to venture into the beyond, blurring the edges between the sidewalks and new public space. But before we get to this grand future, there’s the little matter of construction. The view today doesn’t look quite as nice as these renderings, but all of the action that we saw when we made our way around the upper and lower ends of the park certainly looked gorgeous to us.
This progress literally had us pumping our fists with enthusiasm, and heading a bit further south, we could see even more work taking place. A new pedestrian bridge will connect the South Street pedestrian bridge directly to the wonderful Delaware River Trail. Not only will this help tie in Society Hill and Queen Village to the path, the design will also serve as something of a new gateway from the south into the reimagined Penn’s Landing area. Plenty of work was taking place here, including on the river side where the new bridge will link up with the trail.
It can be tough to wrap your head around plans this vast, but we are thrilled to report that work was taking place everywhere when we made our way around the site. With funding and firm plans to pair with these renderings and rebar, what used to be a conceptual crown jewel in the heart of the waterfront crown is quickly starting to be polished up. We can only imagine what sort of draw this will be once complete in a few years, surely serving as a new landmark for long-time Philadelphians and first-time visitors alike.