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Neighborhood Park Maps, Plans and Drawings

 Collection
Identifier: FP.2012.002

Scope and Contents Note

Of the 70+ parks within the Fairmount Park system, there is a disparate amount of material available in this collection. Major watershed parks (such as Fairmount Park and Wissahickon Park) are not covered in this collection, nor are significant indepedent parks such as FDR Park and Bartram's Garden. This collection is concentrated on neighborhood parks, particularly smaller parks and squares.

Some parks are undocumented, or have only one or two related items, while other parks have a wealth of material available. The collection is particularly strong in material related to Awbury Park. Burholme Park, Fernhill Park, Franklin Square, Eastwick Park, Hunting Park, Pastorius Park, Penn Treaty Park, and Washington Square. Specific areas of note include Awbury Arboretum, the Burholme Mansion, Logan House, and the Rittenhouse Square Guard House. Also included are documents relating to Roosevelt Boulevard and the Vine Street Expressway, as they are under the jurisdication of the Fairmount Park Commission.

Within the collection are variety of materials, roughly 99% of which are maps, drawings, or plans. There is a very limited number of correspondence directly relating to materials which have been arranged accordingly to preserve their relationship. The documents are largely printed on paper, mylar or linen, and range from pencil sketches to blueprints and bluelines. Size varies from legal-sized documents to large, oversized items.

Dates

  • 1860-2025
  • Majority of material found within 1922-1983

Conditions Governing Access note

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Extent

20.0 Linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Included in this collection are maps, plans, and drawings of some of the locations operated by the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department. It primarily contains documentation on smaller neighborhood parks and squares. In addition to operating these locations, the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department also cares for street trees throughout the city, and a small number of records related to prominent streets (particularly Roosevelt Boulevard) are also included in this collection.

Arrangement Note

This collection has been arranged into ten series, which divide the collection alphabetically by park or group of parks within the Fairmount Park system. These series have been further subdivided into files, continuing the alphabetical order. Parks which are particularly well-documented have their own folder or folders within a series, which may slightly affect alphabetical groupings. Additionally, certain parks are commonly paired with nearby park neighbors. In these cases- Delaware Avenue area parks, Fluehr Park and Eden Hall, Harpers Hollow and Kemble Park, and Wakefield Park and Wister Woods- priority has been given to their relationships over alphabetical order.

Related Archival Materials note

Please see the Basement Recovery Collection for additional plans of neighborhood parks (limited).

Title
Neighborhood Park Maps, Plans and Drawings Collection FP.2012.002
Author
Finding aid prepared by Caity Tingo
Date
2012 October 1
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Fairmount Park Historic Resources Archive Repository

Contact:
1515 Arch Street, 10th Floor
Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19102 United States
215-683-0211