Dilworth Park officially opens

The renamed Dilworth Park on the west side of City Hall officially opened today with speeches by dignitaries and a program of celebration featuring talent from around Philadelphia.

Calling it the most exciting project in the city in the last 50 years, Mayor Nutter said, "I love Dilworth Park."

Hundreds turned out for the ceremonies to open what is really two projects in one.

At street level, it's a 120,550-square-foot civic space where office workers, tourists, and residents can relax in the shadow of City Hall.

Down below there is a new waiting room for subway riders.

Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron says these are some notable features of the $55 million transformation:

To enhance views of City Hall's lavish Beaux-Arts facade, the park was kept uncluttered and largely flat in the center. Like a good neoclassical building, it is symmetrical, with a grass lawn at the north end and a flat water feature at the south.

The park design was overseen by Olin, the same landscape architects who reinvented Manhattan's Bryant Park. Like that Midtown refuge, Dilworth Park features a lawn where visitors can picnic and enjoy the sun.

Thanks to advances in technology, the fountain will be a flat surface that can become a public gathering space when the water is turned off. Unlike the LOVE Park fountain - which in winter becomes a barren, unusable bowl - Dilworth's becomes an ice rink in winter.

Embedded in the fountain is an unusual work of public art by Janet Echelman. The serpentine form is meant as an abstract representation of the subways moving deep below the park. Each time a train pulls in, colored light and puffs of mist will pulse along the sinuous path, symbolizing the constant movement of the city's transit infrastructure.

The most notable architectural elements are two swooping glass "headhouses" that serve as grand entrances to the subways. Designed by KieranTimberlake, they are built of incredibly clear, strong glass, such as the kind used for New York's celebrated Apple store cube on Fifth Avenue.

KieranTimberlake also designed the café at the park's north end. Like the ice rink, it is intended to draw visitors - and ensure that this new park fills with people.

Source: Philly.com