Philadelphia 2035 (Penn: bikes, holistic, how much)

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I walked through it last Saturday.


Once the fountain is turned on it will be pretty dramatic. There aren't any hidden places for bums to "camp out" like there were before. Who wants that kind of "grit" to come back?!

Not I. That’s for sure. I don’t even understand how someone could be so critical of a park that isn’t landscaped or done.

[mslhu]

A lot of people think "grit" means more authentic. I sort of get it, but don't really agree here. Love Park was in desperate need of a facelift. I'm not sure how the author can review the redesign before it's even finished, though. We'll see.

The fountain shouldn't need to be turned on for the park as a whole to work; it's going to be turned off for a good chunk of the year.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by mslhu

A lot of people think "grit" means more authentic. I sort of get it, but don't really agree here. Love Park was in desperate need of a facelift. I'm not sure how the author can review the redesign before it's even finished, though. We'll see.

The fountain shouldn't need to be turned on for the park as a whole to work; it's going to be turned off for a good chunk of the year.

Sounds like the author was suffering from the nostalgia of 1990 Philadelphia. The thought of Philadelphia improving or dare I say gaining Manhattan-like attributes frightens many.

I have not seen the new Love Park, (I'll be in Philadelphia in April), but I am sure the renovations look great, the park was turning dingy and dirty, needed a major facelift.

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Sounds like the author was suffering from the nostalgia of 1990 Philadelphia. The thought of Philadelphia improving or dare I say gaining Manhattan-like attributes frightens many.

I have not seen the new Love Park, (I'll be in Philadelphia in April), but I am sure the renovations look great, the park was turning dingy and dirty, needed a major facelift.

From what I have seen I expected more, maybe when finally complete but the three times recently I walked by I must say there are aspects of the article that made sense


Also XMAS village there this year was disapointing

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Not I. That’s for sure. I don’t even understand how someone could be so critical of a park that isn’t landscaped or done.

I didn't bother reading it. The landscaping isn't done. No benches yet. Bids for operating the restaurant in the saucer building just went out plus it looks like it still needs work.. No functioning fountain. Seems silly to even say much about it yet. But, folks know that the Love statue is back since there were people taking photos with it when I walked through.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by mslhu

A lot of people think "grit" means more authentic. I sort of get it, but don't really agree here. Love Park was in desperate need of a facelift. I'm not sure how the author can review the redesign before it's even finished, though. We'll see.

The fountain shouldn't need to be turned on for the park as a whole to work; it's going to be turned off for a good chunk of the year.

True, the fountain will be off a lot of the time as you say. It's shallow compared to the old one and has a sleeker design, imo.
The elevator entrance to the underground garage is pretty cool looking.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Sounds like the author was suffering from the nostalgia of 1990 Philadelphia. The thought of Philadelphia improving or dare I say gaining Manhattan-like attributes frightens many.

I have not seen the new Love Park, (I'll be in Philadelphia in April), but I am sure the renovations look great, the park was turning dingy and dirty, needed a major facelift.

It's likely worse. It's nostalgia that pre-dates that decade while we are getting close to 20 years into the 21st century.

What was done was to wipe the plate clean to make it more open and inviting. No walls. No boulders. No ugly shrubbery and no hidden areas for homeless people to leave.... I have never seen any homeless in Dilworth Park. Same thing will hopefully happen in Love Park.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

From what I have seen I expected more, maybe when finally complete but the three times recently I walked by I must say there are aspects of the article that made sense


Also XMAS village there this year was disapointing

Inga Saffron hated Dilworth Park initially. I wonder what she thinks now since, as far as attracting people, it's done pretty well.

Love Park, right now, is a "wait and see".

Personally, imo, they can stop that Xmas Village. It's been disappointing for a while. Or rather combine everything in Dilworth Park and City Hall like was done for Christmas 2016. That was great.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by cpomp

A lot of that article seems to the author blowing smoke out of her behind. I will have to see the new park for myself.

Diana Lind's judgement may well be premature, but I think that were I in charge of the Fairmount Park Commission at the time DC Shoes made its maintenance offer, I would have taken the dough.

ISTR that the city wanted the skateboarders out of JFK Plaza (the park's original name) more than it wanted to keep bums from sleeping there.

I know that the skateboards leave grease marks along stone edges, but IMO cleaning those up would have been a small price to pay for a type of vitality that won't come back even if greenery does.

Aside from the stonework, did the skateboarders really damage anything else? They certainly didn't keep others from using the park, and they brought something unique to this city.

The replacement skatepark that the city and the skateboard community built over to the side of the Art Museum may have the features skateboarders want, but it lacks the ad hoc, improvised element that made LOVE Park so appealing.

I doubt we'll see anything like that in its replacement, and IMO that's a shame.

[cpomp]

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