By Pat Beaudet, Member, Southeastern Pennsylvania Group; Sylvanian Team
"The greening of Philadelphia’s urbanscape began more than 300 years ago — and continues wholeheartedly today. William Penn and Hannah Callowhill Penn, the city’s 17th-century founders, envisioned Philadelphia as a “greene countrie town,” with planned parks integrated into residential and commercial life. Today, the power couple’s thriving outdoor squares remain essential to Center City, but they’re just the start. Gardens dot Independence National Historical Park; parks line the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers; trees, trails and creeks flourish in expansive Fairmount Park; and just beyond city limits lie some of the nation’s preeminent horticultural destinations — creating a city-in-a-park feel that makes Philadelphia stand out from other urban centers."
According to Philadelphia's Department of Parks and Recreation, the agency is in charge of "protecting over 10,200 acres of public land and waterways, and managing hundreds of recreation, environmental, and cultural centers." A huge job to be sure. Often cited as the largest landscaped urban park in the country, it is ten times larger than Central Park in New York City
In 2010, the Fairmount Park Commission merged with the Recreation Department to become the Department of Parks and Recreation. At that time, what was known as Fairmount Park was broken up into large areas, each with its own management operation. Only two retained the Fairmount Park moniker: East and West Fairmount Park.
In order to protect its water supply, the City began buying up property along the Schuylkill River. In 1844, the City of Philadelphia purchased the Lemon Hill Estate of Henry Pratt, overlooking the Schuylkill River, which became the basis of Fairmount Park. The Lemon Hill historic mansion still stands in East Fairmount Park today. According to Grid magazine, it is the presence of 20 historic houses, some dating from the time of William Penn. which separates Philadelphia's urban park system apart from others. (1)
East Fairmount Park is also home to the famous Boat House Row along the Schuylkill River, the Schuylkill River Trail, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Japanese Tea House plus several historic houses. West Fairmount Park contains the Philadelphia Zoo, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the Horticulture Center, and the Centennial District which hosted the Centennial Exposition in 1876.
The City gradually acquired land to create more parks, reaching from South Philly to the far Northeast.to serve more of the City's neighborhoods. They include Wissahickon Valley Park, Cobbs Creek, Tacony, Pennypack, FDR Park, to name a few. I encourage you to visit www.myphillypark.org for an extensive look at all the places that make up the Philadelphia park system, from watershed parks to neighborhood recreation centers This is the website for the Fairmount Park Conservancy, a nonprofit funding and volunteer organization which works closely with the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop, maintain and advocate for park improvements.
The City has historically set aside relatively little out of its budget for the park system according to ParkScore which rates 100 most populous cities on how much taxpayer money goes to support its parks. (2) Hence, a nonprofit sector grew up alongside it, beginning with the Parks Alliance, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and many neighborhood associations which supply funding and volunteers to help maintain and improve the park system.
I'd like to touch on two more issues: accessibility and equity. Most residents have a short walk to a nearby park or recreation center, but lower-income residents do not have very good access to the larger parks, like the Wissahickon Valley and East and West Fairmount Park. Again, it was the nonprofit sector that has stepped in to educate residents on using the transit system. A program called "Getting to Green: Routes to Roots" was initiated by volunteers from the City's Mural Arts Program with funding from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
(1) Grid Magazine, June 2025 p. 27
(2) Grid Magazine, June 2025, p. 2
This blog was included as part of the September 2025 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!