Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by the Delaware River. I remember when I was really young, members of the Lenni Lanape tribe held an event at Penn Treaty Park to teach local kids about Native American culture. It was really fascinating to me, even as a little boy, that people so in tune with nature still felt connected to this land in spite of hundreds of years of industry covering the surface and burrowing through the earth with pipes and wires.
As the world changed and business in this city changed along with it, many of these piers no longer see the traffic they once did. These once busy shipping sites have become fenced off, abandoned, and overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. Small populations of birds, rabbits, and other wildlife once again inhabit these patches of land that so few people access. As soon as I was old enough to cross a street, my buddies and I would grab our fishing poles and sneak off to the Delaware, like we were getting away from the neighborhood on safari to some remote place where the burdens of the real world couldn’t touch us. Of course, to actually get to the river, you would have to find a hole in some fence and unearth a secret trail through rubble, brush, and trash piles. Then you still would have to walk a half mile before you even see the water. There is a small group of neighborhood folks scattered along these piers, mostly fisherman. But for the most part, these piers, and most of the Delaware River for that matter, remain unreachable by the citizens of this city. Aside from a few parks or Penn’s Landing, Philadelphians rarely see our river.
People have been talking about waterfront development in Philadelphia for decades, but changes have come in really small increments. My friend Rog Petersen often complains to me about how inaccessible the Delware River is to the people. “Where’s our Steel Pier?” he asked me many times. I discovered this past weekend that there is a group of people fighting very hard to give access to the Delaware River back to the people in the city.
On Saturday morning, I boarded a sail boat called “The North Wind” at Penn’s Landing. There were about twenty or so people with me. The trip was sponsored by the Friends of Washington Avenue Green. Washington Avenue Green is an “Eco-Park” located at what was formerly Pier 53 on Columbus Boulevard and Washington Avenue between the Coast Guard Station and the Sheet Metal Worker’s Hall. You can follow a trail from this park all the way south until you come out behind Walmart’s parking lot deeper in South Philadelphia. The Friends of Washington Avenue Green’s purpose is to create and maintain an inviting public space along the Delaware River where people can reconnect with the natural habitat of the river and its upland edges. Washington Avenue Green is open daily from dawn until dusk. The 2nd phase of Washington Avenue Green will include a meandering trail that ends in a bird conservatory.
In an attempt to raise awareness of Washington Avenue Green and all of the parks along the waterfront, the Friends group sponsored the “Sailing on the Delaware” event. Members of the group in attendance were Mary Stumpf, Dianne Mayer, and Julia Whalen. The Friends invited the attendees of this tour from many neighborhood groups like the Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront (N.A.B.R.), the Central Delaware Advocacy Group (C.D.A.G.) and the Pennsport Civic Association. They also went to individual piers and parks on foot from South Philly to Bridesburg and invited local neighbors. Jim McMahon of Port Richmond fishes at Pulaski Park at least twice a week. Mary and Dianne invited Jim to personally come on this tour. These ladies gave the guided tour of the Delaware River from South Philadelphia to Port Richmond, focusing mainly on parks like Washington Avenue Green, Race Street Pier, Festival Pier, Penn Treaty Park, and Pulaski Park.
For all my years of hanging out and fishing on the Delaware, I have never seen it quite like this. Sometimes it’s good to take a few steps outside your home and look at it from a new perspective. As we sailed on this beautiful sunny morning, Mary, Dianne, and Julia gave us lessons on everything from local wildlife to neighborhood history to PlanPhilly’s 25-year Master Plan for the Central Delaware Waterfront. If you go to www.planphilly.com, you will find that there is a plan in place that proposes continuing the street grid of the city all the way to the river. There are also plans to have a bike trail along the water that runs from South Philadelphia to Port Richmond. “People should have access to the water,” Mary said through the bullhorn.
When speaking of Washington Avenue Green specifically, Mary stated, “The park is a lesson in how things turn back to nature when left alone.” The park uses a great deal of what has been happening over time to accentuate this point. If you were to visit the pier you would see a very creative mix of man-made and natural environment. Washington Avenue Green features a rubble meadow, decay gardens, future woodland and man-made wetlands to help the spawning of native fish species.
When these ladies were speaking of the reason behind the park, I kept thinking of what Dr. Grant said in the movie Jurassic Park, that “Life will find a way.” Julia explained to me that they wanted to embrace the history of this pier, everything that has happened over time. “Vegetation is undoing what man has done over time,” she said. The friends of Washington Avenue Green hope to integrate the natural deterioration of Pier 53 and the vegetation and plants that are now growing to address localized storm water run-off and water quality. The Friends also want to give Philadelphians an enhanced view of the Delaware River and give visitors a deeper understanding of the ecological context and function of the river and its upland edges while also acknowledging the historical significance of the pier. For instance, I had no idea until taking this tour that the Washington Avenue Pier was at one time a prominent immigration port until the early 1900’s. The group also wants to promote artistic interpretation through design elements and public art. Stacy Levy, Environmental Artist, of Sere, Ltd., carved the park’s logo into the ground. The lines from the carving capture rain runoff that feeds water to the gardens on the pier, illustrating the function of the river.
Although Washington Avenue Green is slightly off the beaten path, the group plans on making the park more visible and bring more people to visit. Dianne told me, “We are looking to bring more awareness to the waterfront, especially to Washington Avenue Green. Right now it is a little hard to find, but we will soon be hanging banners along Washington Avenue to direct people to the park.” Dianne is very passionate about the park. She even attends the weekly Tai Chi classes there on Thursday evenings.
As we docked back at Penn’s Landing behind the Seaport Museum, it seemed that everyone on the cruise had an amazing time. They were buzzing with talk of the river and how they would like to see it used in the coming years. They walked away grateful for an awesome start to their Saturday. I asked Jim McMahon how he liked the tour, and he replied, “It was very interesting. I enjoyed it very much.”
I am not sure if my buddy Rog will ever get his steel pier, but it is nice to know there are like-minded people all across Philly who want to see people do right by our waterfront. To learn more about Washington Avenue Green, you can look them up on their regularly updated Facebook page or visit the PlanPhilly page: http://planphilly.com/welcome-washington-avenue-green.
The Friends of Washington Avenue Green will hold another tour of the Delaware River on the sail boat “Northwind” on Saturday, July 16 and invite you to attend. The tour will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. They ask for a $10 donation per person. Please RSVP to DelRiverEvent@gmail.com (limited to age 16 and over). More details will be provided when you RSVP.
