September 21, 2018
For the uninitiated, the streets of Philadelphia might’ve been a bit more whimsical than expected on Friday as the city celebrated the 14th annual PARK(ing) Day.
PARK(ing) Day, which began in 2005 in San Francisco, happens every third Friday in September. Artists, activists and everyday citizens across the country turn metered parking spaces into temporary public places, illustrating two things: how much valuable public space in cities is spent on cars, and what can be accomplished with tiny spaces.
Philadelphia, a city which acknowledged Thursday just how crowded Center City has become thanks to vehicles, celebrated in a big way.
We’ve assembled a sampling of the best displays below.
DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, a Philadelphia-based architecture and urban design studio, created an enormous traffic cone in Old City:
It's like the ultimate traffic cone. Great visibility for @Land_Collective at their pop-up space on N. 2nd Street in Old City. #PARKingDayPHL pic.twitter.com/AnYxUcpRdL
— PARK(ing) DAY Philly (@parkingdayphila) September 21, 2018
Space 1026, a gallery and studio space, set up a mini skate park near the convention center (right next to traffic!)
Lots of goings on at this year’s #PARKingDayPHL including a mini skate park! Good work @Space1026 pic.twitter.com/K9RGpAwlkR
— cdesignc (@cdesignc_tweets) September 21, 2018
WRT Philadelphia set up an impossible-to-miss house of pink umbrellas across from the Midtown III:
It’s @parkingdayphila! Come visit us at 18th and Ludlow and tell us what brightens your day! #urbandesign #PARKingDayPHL pic.twitter.com/LOwy6ZL694
— WRT Design (@wrtdesign) September 21, 2018
A nice Chaise lounge, a hip checkers set, and floral seating decorated more Old City streets:
#ParkingDayPHL underway in Old City! pic.twitter.com/O2t995kQBm
— OldCityDistrict (@OldCityDistrict) September 21, 2018
Architecture firm Looney Ricks Kiss brought puppies to Chestnut, turning it into BARK(ing) Day. We’ve got to say, this was a pretty strong move:
There's gotta be some puppies at one of today's #PARKingDayPHL spots. And we found it at LRK's space on the 600 block of Chestnut Street. Adorable! pic.twitter.com/UBcaL9w7jU
— PARK(ing) DAY Philly (@parkingdayphila) September 21, 2018
Conrad Benner from Streets Dept. teamed up with Mural Arts for a Get Out The Vote-style pop-up event, where you could actually register to vote in this November’s midterms:
SURPRISE: @muralarts and I have a pop-up #ToThePolls voter registeration tent today outside LOVE Park for #ParkingDayPHL!
— Streets Dept (@StreetsDept) September 21, 2018
Come. Register. Bring your friends and co-workers! pic.twitter.com/LnXQ9qWTP1
The Center for Art in Wood had a very hands-on approach to PARK(ing) Day: you could write down a wish on a block of wood, and then use a planer to add your wood shaving to a big paper ram.
Write your wish on a piece of wood, shave it with a planer, then add your shaving into our ram’s wishing coat. Also, we have @jessicaeldredgestudio on hand making dyed paper flags. Just wishes & rainbows here until 4:30 — c’mon by! #PARKingDayPHL #PlayfulLearningPHL pic.twitter.com/B4cQmxcHHG
— CenterforArtinWood (@C4AW) September 21, 2018
Philadelphia Department of Planning & Development got in on the fun by creating an enormous board game near Logan Circle:
#PhilaPlanning is participating in our 11th #PARKingDayPHL! Today we’ve created a planning game called HIVE (Healthy Inclusive Vibrant Equitable neighborhoods),🐝teaching players about the elements of a healthy community. Come see us @ Sister Cities Park! #PlayfulLearningPHL pic.twitter.com/cj9XIR4hYP
— PHL's Department of Planning & Development (@PHLPlanDevelop) September 21, 2018
The SEPTA parklet is a pretty strong replica of your favorite bus (sans bed bugs):
Stop by @SEPTA headquarters at 1234 Market St & participate in the “Electric Bus Toss” with @SEPTAPHILLY for the Park(ing) day event. #PARKingDayPHL 🚌 pic.twitter.com/ksdMF89Cr4
— SEPTA_SOCIAL (@SEPTA_SOCIAL) September 21, 2018
J Davis, another architecture firm (wonder why they had so much fun today?), built a couch of used CDs:
Sparkling in the ☀️ #PARKingDayPHL @JDavisArchitect @parkingdayphila pic.twitter.com/wIrxYuXIys
— wcla1401 (@wcla1401) September 21, 2018
See any good parklets or street displays in the city today that we missed? Drop a link in the comments or send me an email at adam@phillyvoice.com.
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