Washington Ave Green (Pier 53)

Last Sunday Ashley and I decided to visit the nearby Washington Avenue Green on the newly developed pier 53. We'd heard that this was similar to the Race St Pier redevelopment that we visited a few weeks ago.

It was a sunny day so we decided to take a picnic.

The pier is located behind some industrial buildings to the side of the busy South Columbus Boulevard. To access it we walked along a bike lane and into the redeveloped area.

The first thing we saw was a "dendritic garden" with plants growing in between the cracks in tarmac:

We carried on and admired the flowers and plants that had been carefully layed out. It seems that the development has not  been going long enough for the plants to have properly established themselves and take on a more wild appearance.

The pier now came into view:

and we saw that it was blocked off from visitors and was being used as a wildlife reserve. I read that this pier used to be the Washington Ave immigration station for people immigrating to America.

We found a nice bench and ate our picnic:

and admired the view across the Delaware River to Camden, NJ:

The overall theme for the redevelopment was to keep hints of its industrial past. This meant keeping a lot of concrete and tarmac and interspersing the plants in between. We decided that, although it was nice that the redevelopment had been done, it would have been even nicer to have more plants and less concrete.

After we'd eaten in the sunshine we walked back through the gardens, stopping to admire a glittery gemstone addition to the tarmac:

weather: hurricane irene

Ms. Hurricane Irene visited us recently as you all know by now.

After lots preparation: getting grocery supplies (blue corn tortilla chips, granola bars, peaches), three gallons of water, waterproof tape in case we sprung a leak (we did get a little one!), getting the wind-up radio ready, and filling a bathtub with water in case we lost power (which ended with one little cat getting quite soaked), baking excessive amounts of muffins and cookies..... well, Steven was a bit underwhelmed.

The destruction? Steven really wanted to see some damage, but all we could see were some downed leaves.

Because, you see, by the time the storm reached us, it didn't have much oomph left. It was saving that for Vermont and New Hampshire unfortunately.

wellie prepared

a downed limb! take a photo!

leaves

Look what the hurricane spawned! Just kidding, it's a plastic dinosaur...

Anyway, over the days after the hurricane we did see some awe-inspiring and heart-wrenching photos of the destruction it wreaked. It also flooded almost all of the creeks and rivers around here, it was just lucky we didn't need to get over them. So all in all, it was a pretty good experience for Steven's first hurricane, as hurricanes go.

One earthquake, one hurricane, flooding.... volcano next?

park: race street pier

Earlier this summer I came across an article about the rejuvenation of the riverside. I really love living in a city that is bounded by two rivers. We are a short walk away from Penn's Landing and Steven and I often take walks over that way. When I saw that the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation had (almost) finished its Race St Pier Park project I knew we should go visit.
*the Race St Connector is still under works to connect the city more smoothly to the pier

First, a little background info about the DRWC via their website : "The fundamental purpose of DRWC is to design, develop and manage the central Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia between Oregon and Allegheny Avenues. DRWC intends to transform the central Delaware River waterfront into a vibrant destination location for recreational, cultural, and commercial activities for the residents and visitors of Philadelphia."

Race Street Pier is one of the first public spaces to be completed as part of the DRWC vision for the Central Delaware Riverfront. The original pier was constructed beginning in 1896.

When you enter you are given the choice to take two paths: to the left is a walk of shade trees with benches and to the right (above view) are the Woodland Gardens, which are planted with red maple, river birch, serviceberry, grasses and perennials.

Farther down the pier is a grassy lawn for relaxing and a seating terrace.

What I think we liked the most was actually the view of the river that you got at the end of the pier. Unlike Penn's Landing, Race St Pier sticks farther out into the river.

It gives a great panoramic view of passing river traffic. And it's just relaxing being about to sit so close to the water and enjoy the new public park.

Overall, I think this is a great new space for Philadelphians. I hope that the DRWC continues to be successful in its riverside projects!

Next pier site for us to visit : Washington Ave Green

One of the two old wharf drops that were incorporated into the park. These were originally used to unload cargo for shipping.

Race St Pier Tour Guide

DRWC website

begin at the beginning

Hello, welcome :)

We (Ashley & Steven) moved to Philly back in mid-March. After 6 months of settling in, life events, travel, and the usual day-to-day, we now have time to breathe and think "Wow, here we are, let's enjoy this!"
With that being said, we create this blog. There are already things in and around Philly that we quite want to do, and what better than to share our experiences with others!

*old photobooth photo, but there will be many more philly related photos to come

P.S. this blog takes inspiration from Steven's old London blog: www.localtouristlondon.blogspot.com