Parkside and Centennial District Walking Tour
Join the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Michael Burch (science educator, community organizer, and founder of the Parkside Journal) for a two-mile walking tour of the Parkside neighborhood.
Parkside. The name says it all – it’s the neighborhood beside West Fairmount Park. Similarly to Strawberry Mansion on the other side of the Schuylkill, Parkside is where the city grid meets the greenspace, buffered by a boulevard of grand homes facing the park. Much of the Parkside neighborhood was built during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. Originally populated by German-Americans and Jewish immigrants of Russian descent, after World War II, the Great Migration coupled with ‘white flight’ transformed Parkside into a predominantly African-American neighborhood, which it remains to this day. In 1983, community organizers had the neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its cultural legacy and many fine examples of Victorian architecture.
*APRIL 19 TOUR SPECIAL*: In honor of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, this tour will include a special visit to Memorial Hall (present-day Please Touch Museum) – one of only a few buildings remaining from the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Since the 1920s, the basement of Memorial Hall has been home to an impressive Centennial Fairgrounds Model. The Centennial Exposition dramatically transformed 285 acres of parkland, and with no images showing the full scope and scale, the model is one of the best ways for visitors to really visualize the impact of the event.
Tour highlights include:
-Please Touch Museum/Memorial Hall
-Smith Memorial Arch
-Parkside Apartments (when built it was one of the tallest apartment buildings in the city)
-Christ Community Baptist Church (built from an old synagogue)
-Lansdowne Apartment Building (built in 1897)
-Centennial Commons
-Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park and mural
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
The tour covers about two miles on foot. Not all areas will be ADA-accessible.
The event is appropriate for adults and families with children ages 12 and up. Minors must be registered and accompanied by an adult.
Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
Please dress for weather conditions.
Bring your own water and snack (drinking water is not available in the park).
There are a limited number of bathrooms (porta-potties) available along the walking route so please plan accordingly.
We will leave a few minutes after the scheduled start time. Please arrive at the departure location at least five minutes early. We cannot guarantee that latecomers can join after the group has departed.
Important pre-event information and any event updates are sent out via email. Please make sure the email address entered is correct and that you check it before coming out to the event.
PARKING/GETTING THERE: There is plenty of free parking available in the park. As always, never leave valuables in your car! If you are traveling by public transit, the nearest station is at Parkside Ave and 40th Street. The nearest Indego bike station is roughly a half-mile away at the Philadelphia Zoo (1046 North 34th Street).
QUESTIONS? Please reach out to [email protected]
