HSPV 7210

Rethinking Public Space Capstone Studio

Historic public spaces - like parks and plazas, recreation centers and libraries – require forms of preservation that depart from standard practice, which typically emphasize what can be regulated and thereby focusing on physical materials. This studio developed more expansive preservation approaches appropriate for a set of dynamic civic assets, intended to encompass a diverse array of interconnected contemporary and heritage values, tangible and intangible.

Kids at the playhouse at the Kingsessing Recreation Center in 1957. Source: Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation Archive.

Dedication of the exterior murals at the Blanche A. Nixon / Cobbs Creek Branch in August 1982. Source: Free Library of Philadelphia Digital Collections.
The studio began by studying the evolution of Philadelphia’s system of civic assets; tracing intertwined social reform movements, charitable and philanthropic influence, and notions of the public good that continue to shape these places. Students then focused on a constellation of historic recreation centers and libraries in Southwest Philadelphia which were selected for a multi-million-dollar city reinvestment program, Rebuilding Community Infrastructure. The class studied Kingsessing Recreation Center and Library, Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library, and F.J. Myers Recreation Center, conducting historic and ethnographic research at each.
Studio team outside of Kingsessing Recreation Center with Andrew Goodman from Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier’s office. Photo credit: Ashley Hahn.

Betsy Ivey conducting the postcard writing activity at the Black History Month Extravaganza at F.J. Myers Recreation Center in February 2023. Photo Credit: Ashley Hahn.
Students developed a toolkit designed to document and communicate the diverse cultural and social context and histories of these civic assets and the communities that make them whole, that their value and meaning might be better stewarded and sustained as each of these sites face major change.
Cast of characters from the Exploration Fun Kit. Art by Abbey Dyer.

Cover of the toolkit developed by the studio team. Photo source: Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation Archive.

Rethinking Public Space Capstone Studio

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