Race Street Connector

As construction progresses on the Race Street Pier, designs for a better way to get people to the site continue. Designers of the park, James Corner Field Operations, are designing a better path from 2nd Street to the waterfront.

A section of the fence and lighting that will be provided along the route to the Race Street Pier.

Problems that need to be addressed by James Corner Field Operations and the project managers, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, include sidewalks, landscape, and the Interstate 95 underpass. The James Corner Field Operations design includes painted bike lanes, new landscaping, better lighting, and a metal screen that will line Race Street under the interstate.

The illuminated fence will span the width of 95.

Public art will also be included as part of this extension. It is anticipated that the Race Street Connector will be complete for the Race Street Pier's grand opening this spring.

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has suggested that the nearby on-ramp may eventually be eliminated.

Brownstoner: Full Steam Ahead: Plans for the Race St Connector

Horticultural Hall

The original Horticultural Hall

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827. Its most well known home was designed by Frank Miles Day in 1894 and demolished in 1917.

Frank Miles Day - Horticultural Hall

An earlier incarnation was designed by an unknown architect and served as the society's hall until it was destroyed by the fire of a nearby church on February 1st, 1881. It was later replaced by the Day design, both located next to the Academy of Music on South Broad Street.

Horticultural Hall c.1881

One of two permanent buildings constructed for America's first World's Fair, the Centennial Exposition in 1876, was Horticultural Hall, designed by Hermann J. Schwarzmann. It was influenced by London's Crystal Palace. Horticultural Hall was demolished in 1955.

Horticultural Hall - Centennial Exposition

Although none of the society's original buildings remain, their legacy lives on as the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park, which was built on the site of the Centennial Exposition's Horticultural Hall for the Bicentennial celebration where it remains today.

North Horticultural Drive and Montgomery Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131

Display House: Open Daily 9am - 3pm, except holidays
Horticulture Center Grounds : Open Daily, except holidays
November 1 - March 31 - Hours 8am - 5pm
April 1 - October 31 - Hours 8am - 6pm