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How
the park came to be:
Our
grassroots organization was formed to create a play area and
park around the north (Brown Street) and east (Corinthian
Avenue) sides of Eastern State Penitentiary in the Fairmount
section of Philadelphia. The park grew out of an idea from
the principal of the Bache-Martin School who asked several
parents to consider developing a lawn on the Brown Street
side of the prison, across from the school, for recreational
use.
Both the Brown and Corinthian areas, comprising over 3 acres,
were overgrown with weeds, and had become a dumping ground
and a magnet for trash. The City of Philadelphia had leveled
a dilapidated exterior structure for the prison when it had
become an attraction for drug users and pushers. The sidewalks
on both sides were also in serious disrepair and it was impossible
to walk on the east side of the prison as the weeds had grown
through the cracks in the concrete reaching to over six feet
high. An asphalt area on the north side was used by neighbors
for changing the oil in their cars. The neighborhood in general
had problems with graffiti and litter. Clean-up after area
dogs was problematic as well.
Our success in turning a trash-strewn, weed-infested lot into
the lawn and garden that constitute the Eastern State Penitentiary
Park during the last three years relied heavily on our Philadelphia
Urban Resources Partnership (PURP) grant and the cooperation
it fostered with the City of Philadelphia, area businesses,
and neighbors. By the careful husbanding of resources and
the further cooperation of the City, we used PURP funds, proceeds
of our own fundraising, along with the hard work of volunteers
to improve the appearance of our neighborhood and bolster
the quality of life in our community.
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