By: Justin Pospieck
Center City, Philadelphia (Image via FineArtAmerica.com)
John F. Collins Park entrance (Image via PlanPhilly.com)
Take a moment to envision the heart of Center City, Philadelphia’s business and shopping epicenter. Block after block of shop after shop call to customers. Liberty One and Two loom overhead, almost keeping watch over the countless people shuffling up and down the blocks. The 1700 block of Chestnut Street is perhaps the quintessential Center City street. The Di Bruno Bros. gourmet food shop offers two floors of delicacies from around the world for sale to hungry shoppers. Buffalo Exchange gives a second life to old wardrobes as people wait in line to trade in their clothing (and others wait in different lines to purchase such clothing). The bright white walls of Sephora shine through the wide-windowed storefront, showing off row upon row of any kind of makeup imaginable. Somehow, in the middle of this cacophony of consumerism, there remains an escape.
In passing, it could be easy to simply walk right by John F. Collins Park. Set back a few feet from the storefronts that border it, the park is partially disguised by the greenery growing within it; leaves greet you at the front gate and seemingly shoot out in every direction from there. But upon pausing for a closer inspection, the space can be almost immediately defined as welcoming. Cement benches afford the opportunity to rest one’s tired feet, while sets of tables and chairs offer a bit more room to get some work done, eat lunch or dinner, or simply catch up with friends. Tall trees that reach heights much further than the surrounding buildings keep watch over the park and give a sense of just how far the plant life could reach if it weren’t contained to this little location. Almost the antithesis of Central Park in New York City, John F. Collins Park offers up as much as possible within the limits of its locale. A fountain in the center of the park provides an added calming touch, with a pool of water perfectly suited for any birds who happen to be enjoying the park as well. This park is relatively new, only a few decades old. However, it has recently undergone a rebranding, an important milestone in the park’s history as a celebration of the person behind it. The renaming reflects the importance of both the park’s creator and the park’s continuation of a storied city tradition of parks and green space.
When Center City Took Shape
As Philadelphia fleshed itself out and the city began to grow, the area around where John F. Collins Park now sits became an empire of the nation’s flourishing capitalism. Storefronts, corporations, and business have been (and still are) the fuel that powers the area now known as Center City. Only about one block away from
Sofitel Hotel (Image via BarbaraCampagna.com)
John F. Collins Park sits a former site of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange that called the building home from 1966 to 1969. At that time, The Great Depression had long since ended and the American military-industrial complex was waist-deep in the trenches of Vietnam. Along with the bombs, business was booming. Currently the site of the posh Sofitel hotel, the structure at 17th and Sansom was home to all of the major financial transactions in the city. At the same time, John F. Collins was just starting the journey that would have him bestow many lasting gifts to our community.
An Architectural Star Is Born
Born on July 12, 1936, in Norristown, PA, John Francis Collins was one of seven children. Not surprisingly John fought for a way to separate himself from the pack, and found an outlet in agriculture. With his mother working as an art teacher, he grew up with a strong sense of creativity. He found himself able to combine that with his passion for agriculture and as early as the age of 15, he took the initiative of founding his own nursery in the backyard of his parents’ Conshohocken house, just outside the modern city limits of Philadelphia. At 15, Collins was hard at work planting and pruning for the benefit of those in the neighborhood. Balancing his passion with his education, he maintained his scholastic prowess well into college when he graduated from Pennsylvania State University. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Collins set out to receive his Master’s from Harvard. He did so in 1962, receiving a Master’s in Landscape Architecture. Upon returning to Philadelphia after spending time in Italy (an opportunity awarded by Harvard for his achievements within their institution), Collins wasted little time in working toward turning his architectural dreams for Philadelphia into realities.
From the Ground Up
Three Bears Park (Image via PhiladelhiaPlaneto.com)
One of his earliest projects came about in 1963, when he designed the brick pathways that meander between the homes of Society Hill, a project commissioned by illustrious Philadelphia city planner Ed Bacon. The pathways, decked with tall trees and lush vegetation, worked to serve residents and passers-through alike in offering them an alternate way of moving through the neighborhood, clear of stop signs and busy traffic. This seemingly revolutionary concept (at least for a city like Philadelphia) was just an inkling as to what John F. Collins hoped to bestow upon the city. In 1965, Collins unveiled his first green space for Philadelphia not too far away from greenways unveiled just two years earlier. Delancey Park, now known as Three Bears Park, offers up more of the John F. Collins style seen in the greenways and the park which now bears his name. Lush greenery envelops the location. Large trees encircled by brick keep watch of the children playing underneath, as this park features a swing set and jungle gym, providing for a park-playground hybrid. Deep brown bricks serve as the footing on which the park rises, keeping the earthy theme as seen in Collins’ work. Currently a small statue of three bears serves as a focal point of the park, giving it not only a new name but a visual representation of the environment John F. Collins set out to create with all of his spaces; an outdoor area rich in foliage meant to serve as a meeting place for anyone and everyone nearby. The warmth and comfort originating from Delancey Park would soon be replicated not too far away, closer to the center of the city, on Chestnut Street.
More Park, Less Lot
John F. Collins Park (Image via LandscapeOnline.com)
It was in 1977 when Philadelphia philanthropist Dorothy Haas announced her plans for a new park to be created in Center City. Shortly before this announcement, she visited New York City and found herself taken by a small urban park known as Paley Park. Opened in 1967, the 4,200 square foot space made its impression through use of small furniture and plentiful greenery accompanied by a towering waterfall adorning the back wall of the pocket park. So struck by this oasis, she became determined to recreate it back home in Philadelphia. Able to acquire a plot of land which was at the time being used as a parking lot, Haas unveiled a competition asking for Philadelphians’ best renderings of what type of park they would like to see take over the space. As it would turn out, John F. Collins submitted the winning renderings, giving birth to Chestnut Park. Officially opened in 1978, Chestnut Park’s biggest difference from its New York City inspiration was the fact that though it was similarly bordered on two sides by pre-existing structures, it’s two remaining sides were open, stretching from street to street (in this case, Chestnut and Ranstead Streets). This helped the park achieve a sense of depth unattainable by Paley Park. This depth is cleverly masked by wrought iron gates on either end of the park, designed by Christopher Ray. In 2011, the park received a number of upgrades. New cement entryways were installed at the entrances, and the gates were restored and complimented with iron figures of animals and vegetation native to the region. The benches were upgraded and the central fountain was restored, but perhaps the biggest change to the park was its name. Almost thirty years after it opened,
Park Rules & Regulations (Image via Temple.edu)
Chestnut Park was renamed in honor of the man who not only reshaped a seemingly meager plot of land in Center City, but whose work to achieve a more inviting city can be found across the whole of the cityscape.
The Man Behind the Plans
John F. Collins (Image via Temple.edu)
Aside from his physical structures, John F. Collins also bestowed upon Philadelphia a strong philosophical and emotional benefit. Humble and thoughtful, when funding grew thin for Chestnut Park, he took it upon himself (along with his wife and children) to work to maintain the park, clearing debris and pruning the shrubbery. He initiated a work release program that allowed area prisoners time out from behind prison walls to tend to greenery along the banks of the Schuylkill River. Though on a smaller scale, this program continues to exist today. He spread his intellectualism when he lectured area schoolchildren about native vegetation and took his passion to a collegiate level when, in 1988, he helped found the Landscape Architecture and Horticultural Department at the Ambler, PA campus of Temple University. While there, he helped shape the department into one nationally recognized for their excellence, and locally recognized year after year at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Collins kept pace at Temple University up until 1998, when he chose to retire. Upon his retirement, Collins returned to his residence in Glenside, PA where, much like the 15-year-old Collins, he maintained the Collins Nursery, specializing in making sure native area vegetation maintained a presence in the area. Collins died from complications related to Parkinson’s disease on August 5th, 2011.
A Lasting Legacy
As the world around us changes, it is important to have some familiarity to ground us. In a whirlwind of development, it is important to have a place of reflection. John F. Collins recognized this and attempted to achieve it through his work. He was a master of taking any given location and breathing new life into it. Three Bears Park gave Queens Village families a safe new playground hidden away from surrounding busy city streets. His pioneering efforts with the Schuylkill River Trail laid the foundation for the grand promenade we now have today. With a southern extension just completed and a “boardwalk” section that will reach out over the Schuylkill River in the midst of construction, John F. Collins’ vision lives on in myriad ways. Not just in developers and city planners who recognized the brilliance in connecting the city with its waterway, but also in the countless people found along the pathway; joggers, bikers, dog walkers, fishers, clusters of kids up to who-knows-what, all together sharing space along the Schuylkill River. This same concept can be applied to the park which now bears his name. John F. Collins Park is a crossroads for the many types of people who call Center City home (even if just for a few hours every day). Business folks in suits, shoppers trekking from store to store, youths out of school (be it because of the school bell or an unlocked door) exploring the excitement of the city; everyone is welcome. With Philadelphia known colloquially around the world as “the city of brotherly love”, John F. Collins masterfully encompasses this concept into his works. In a cultural climate that works to portion off everybody into easy to define quadrants (poor, rich, hipster, conservative, black, white, etc. ad nauseam) John F. Collins Park works to break down and negate any kind of dividing lines we might draw between ourselves. In the park, we are all in awe of the beauty that surrounds us. We are collectively amazed at the majesty contained in this otherwise mundane block. Visitors to John F. Collins Park are too enamored with calm beauty to even consider the ways that separate us. In planning out Philadelphia, William Penn created four different plots of green space equidistant from Center Square (where City Hall sits today) meant to serve as unofficial borders; reminders of pure land free from human interruption. To this day, sprawling Fairmount Park sits as a massive testament to the founding principles of our city. However, tucked into a tiny former parking lot in the heart of Center City, John. F. Collins Park accomplishes just the same.
The Fountain at John F. Collins Park (Image via TheLightingPractice.com)
Writing Workshop Fall 2013 