Penn Unveils Tiny, $40 Million Park
March 10, 2009 –
City officials are buzzing over the potential benefits of the University of Pennsylvania’s newly-designed Penn Park, with its six square feet of foam trees, cardboard athletic fields, and hand-painted tennis courts. “This is truly an exciting new day for Philadelphia,” said university president Amy Guttman at last week’s unveiling, a stockinged foot filling each of the park’s two miniscule soccer fields. “There’s nothing quite like kicking off your shoes and getting your feet in the replica grass.”
 Mayor Michael Nutter expressed eagerness to enjoy the inches and inches of open space afforded by the new park. “I have a marble back in my office; we could probably get some kind of soccer game going,” he mused, hovering, giant-like, over the teensy recreational area. He then pointed to the tiny ribbon of I-76 that ran alongside the development. “Maybe I should jump in my Matchbox car and go grab it.” Anne Papageorge, UPenn’s vice president for facilities and real estate, added, “Despite the project’s price tag, we expect to see a significant economic payoff. For instance, shops in these adjoining blank white buildings should see a considerable rise in business.”
Penn Park’s architect, however, seemed strangely dissatisfied. “I was under the impression that this was a model for a park that would eventually replace eyesores, brownfields, and parking lots,” grumbled Rachel Ehrlich, of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. “I don’t understand how they expect the public to utilize the space as it is. It seems a little small.” Guttman, for her part, attempted to show just that. “Ahhhh. Taking a nap in the park is one of my very favorite things,” she sighed, trees and buildings crunching as she laid across Penn Park’s wee fields and meadows. “Ooh. I think a bridge is digging into my neck.” |
