Parking

Amy Freeman joins our staff today with a weekly column on Philadelphia's many parks. A native of the Philadelphia area, Amy thinks soft pretzels take the cake in the battle of Philadelphia delicacies and travels the city with the strength of her own two legs—by foot or by bike. Welcome, Amy!

One of my favorite things about our great city is its vast number of parks. You'll never have to wander far to find a green area to sit down in with a book or to people watch. There are currently 75 parks under the supervision of the Department of Recreation and 63 parks under the supervision of the Fairmount Park System. However, in July, the two departments will merge and all 138 parks will be under the direction of the Department of Parks and Recreation. In this column, I will highlight one park at a time, detailing its history and why you just may want to grab a book or a picnic basket and spend some quality time sitting in that park.

Up first will be Washington Square, at Walnut and 7th Streets. A popular site for cattle markets and camp meetings in the post Revolutionary War era, the park also served as a burial ground over 2000 Revolutionary War soldiers as well for those who died of yellow fever after the war. That may give you pause about going there, but in the daytime, that is about the creepiest thing the park has to offer. An eternal flame burning in memorial to those who died in the Revolution sits to the west of the fountain in the center of the park.

This park is located right around the corner from my office, so I've taken to eating my lunch there when the weather permits. The park is rarely very crowded, even with the tourists floating in to look at the tomb of the unknown soldier and the statue of Washington. The relative quietness of the park makes it a great place to read or have a lunchtime meeting on the benches. It also seems to be the place where teachers take their classes for a nice lunch break, so do beware of small children underfoot, particularly when the first signs of spring appear. They occasionally get out of hand in their excitement to be outdoors.

In the oddity department, the Bicentenial Moon Tree was planted in 1976 from a seed carried up to the moon and back on Apollo XIV. The tree is located near Walnut Street and Independence Mall West. Also, should your shoes be in need of a shine, there is a kindly gentleman who strolls about the park frequently, offering his shoe shine services. I've never taken him up on his offer, choosing to instead hide the toes of my obviously scuffed flats.

Upcoming events in the parks:
Kissing Commerical In Love Park: February 8th from 11-3PM. This could be your chance at stardom, so if it's your thing, grab a partner and head to the park to make out with them for the sake of tourism.

Get your veggies: Farmer's Markets: Fitler Square (Saturdays, 9AM-2PM); Clark Park (Saturdays, 10AM-1PM), Rittenhouse Square (Saturdays 10AM-2PM)

Help out: Park Clean Ups : Dickinson Square (Saturday, 9AM)

If you know of anything exciting happening in your local park in the near future, please e-mail amy@phillyist.com!

Image Credit: Flickr user boliyou