Parking

This past Saturday, I decided to venture out in the ridiculous cold to track down I-95 Park. The Fairmount Park website lists the park as one of its 63 neighborhood parks, but doesn't give an address, unless you count locating it on this almost useless jpeg map. From looking at the map and knowing where 95 is, I gathered that I-95 Park was somewhere near Spruce and Front Streets, near where those three towering apartment buildings break up the landscape and there there is a nice brick plaza.

I was wrong, though, or at least I'm assuming I was wrong, since when I got to Front and Spruce, what I found was not a sign welcoming me to I-95 Park, but rather two memorials, one for the Korean War and one for Vietnam. I had forgotten they were there. So this week's Parking and next will be about those two memorials. I don't know if it was because the day was so bright and sunny, and the remaining snow was sparkly on the ground, or what, but I really liked both memorials, even though I'm not really the type to get excited about such things. Actually, I'm never really sure how to behave at them. Should I be overly somber or just natural? The brightly-colored wreaths suggest that we needn't be too long-faced while visiting the memorials, but then again, they are memorials to the dead. Any thoughts on this?

The Korean War Memorial was dedicated in 2002 to honor the 610 servicemen from Philadelphia and four surrounding counties (Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester) who died while fighting in the war. The memorial consists of four 16-foot columns and six walls of black granite. Each column stands for one year of the war and has the names of those who died carved into it. Etched photos on the walls depict the war and there are recreations of badges and medals to serve as historical details. Brick walkways lead up to the memorial and are bordered with patches of shrubbery with American flags stuck into the dirt. At one corner is a bronze by Lorann Jacobs called The Final Farewell

The memorial rests in what is called Foglietta Plaza, about which I wasn't able to glean much information. It is pleasant enough at the plaza, with those old style concrete chess top tables and benches built into planters, but seeing that my feet were beginning to go numb and there was snow on benches, I didn't spend to much time sitting in the plaza. Across Spruce Street is the Vietnam Memorial, which we'll get to next week. And I-95 Park? I'm still not exactly sure where it is.

Upcoming Events in Parks:

Get Involved:

• Dickinson Square Park (map) Clean-Up – Saturday, 9 a.m.

Farmer's Markets:

• Fitler Square (map) – Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Clark Park (map) – Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Rittenhouse Square – Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

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