Years after two Old City residents started voluntarily maintaining a 5,580 square foot swath of the historic neighborhood, the newly improved Girard Fountain Park – complete with new seating, WiFi service and more upgrades – was officially unveiled.
Councilman Mark Squilla, Old City District Executive Director Job Itzkowitz and Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel joined Janet Kalter and Joe Schiavo – both of community beautification organization Old City Green – on Tuesday morning for a ribbon cutting at the park, commonly referred to as Firehouse Park.
“My reward for the work we’ve done is the pleasure I take in seeing people enjoy the park,” said Kalter, who with Schiavo began tending to and improving the park in 2007.
Previously closed to the public, the Philadelphia Fire Department gave the two volunteers permission to work on the park all those years ago, and this year the Old City District sponsored a capital improvement project to upgrade it. Located near the corner of 4th and Arch streets, Firehouse Park had its 40-year-old furniture replaced and its Ash Trees trimmed, plus its fountain got a new filtration system.
To read more Firehouse Park's upgrades, click here.
For more business news, visit Philadelphia Business Journal.
