Back in the day. Image from citynoise.org

The Reading Viaduct is one of Philadelphia’s unlikely treasures, which goes unseen and unnoticed by most who live in town. For those who are uncertain what the viaduct is, it’s an elevated train track that carried trains into and out of Center City’s Reading Terminal Station for almost 100 years. It’s been out of commission since it was discontinued in 1984, when the Center City commuter tunnel was opened and the Terminal was closed to trains. The viaduct was built back in the 1890s and runs from Vine St. to Fairmount St., though it originally went all the way to Arch St. While the remaining viaduct has now become quite overgrown with grass and unruly trees, there is a ton of potential for development as it does provide pretty awesome views of the city and surrounding neighborhoods.

Washington Ave. Green takes an approach to greening the Delaware waterfront that stands in stark contrast to its much more heralded cousin, the Race Street Pier. Race Street Pier, built at a cost of $6M, stands out as a sexy new addition to the Delaware waterfront and virtually demands to be visited and utilized. It was built for style as much as for substance, and the price tag reflects that. Washington Ave. Green on the other hand, built for a fraction of the price, offers a more stark, utilitarian setting and a potential for future improvements and additions.

Opening last fall, this strip of land formerly known as Pier 53 is located at Washington Ave., to the east of Columbus Blvd. Formerly a huge lot covered in concrete, the new park’s primary goals are to give residents of South Philly easier, safer access to the…

The new and improved Roberto Clemente Playground at 18th & Wallace Sts. in the Fairmount neighborhood is almost ready for its close-up. With construction set to finish this Friday, the playground will soon boast a number of significant upgrades and improvements that the community worked hard to achieve. Justino Navarro, Vice President of the Spring Garden CDC explained that the playground improvements were paid for by a $600,000 donation from Councilmen Darrell Clark’s office, along with a $100,000 donation from the Spring Garden CDC to purchase improvements not covered in the City’s plan.

The Clemente playground will feature a new water spray park, a brand new playground for kids ages 5-12, new fencing, an archway entrance, sidewalks, and plenty of storm water friendly green space.

“We have worked for over 25 years in this community to provide affordable housing, so now we’re focusing on quality of…

The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation has announced its final Phase Two redesign of Julian Abele Park, located at 22nd and Carpenter Streets. After seeing the intended design, we can rest assured that this is something to get very excited about. Julian F. Abele (1881-1950) was a prominent African-American architect and Philadelphia native who was employed by fellow architect Horace Trumbauer. Abele is famous for having contributed to the design of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as well as designing much of Duke University.

In ode to Abele’s achievements, the park will have an entrance gate inspired by the Duke University Chapel Tower. It will consist of mostly lawn space in the middle (holds 150 people) surrounded by pavement and encompassed by a canopy of trees. Everything, including the grass area and benches, will be facing a performance space on…

Yesterday morning Schiphol airport in Amsterdam launched the world’s first airport park, which is centered around an almost-razed 130-year-old tree. The airport park has an outdoor terrace and, inside, emulates the outdoors with projected butterflies and recorded sounds of bicycle bells and animals. The park features ivy chairs, fiber-optic cables, tube lighting and cell phone charging stations that requires you to pedal a energy-generating bike; the Park Cafe has fresh juices and organic burgers. Three weeks ago the Philadelphia airport opened a mini-hotel with 13 Minute Suites and two workstation cubicles to help us work longer or sleep so we can work longer later. Yay America.

If you can read Dutch, feel free to check out the PDF of the Schiphol park here and take a tour here. —-Caitlin Connors