Community Design Collaborative Report
All the text and renderings on this page are courtesy of the
Community Design Collaborative
FSRP was awarded a service grant from The
Community Design Collaborative
that provided design help to program and design improvements to the area
around Markward Playground.
We extend special appreciation to Community Design Collaborative for this project.
The report is a 11.5 MB pdf file,
so it may take a few minutes to download. It is worth the wait.
Excerpt from the report
The gateway to Schuylkill River Park, at the corner of Pine and Taney Streets, is not only a major entrance into a
very well used green space, but is also a venue for a large variety of organized and impromptu activities. The
project area also serves as the forecourt for the Markward recreation building which hosts a variety of commu-
nity activities and educational programs. In its current state, this section of the larger park is still very well used
even though much of the facilities have fallen into disrepair and no longer serve the community as well as they
could.
The project area consists of two major areas; the entry, which is referred to as the “Front Parlor”, and a larger
paved gathering area that is referred to as the “Living Room”. At the entry, there is a wide shallow stairway
that takes up most of the space, with a retrofitted handicap ramp running up the right side, providing wheelchair
access. A small war memorial, erected by local veterans, sits on top of a retaining wall directly behind the
handicap ramp. There is also a small seating area off the sidewalk to the left of the entry that contains precast
concrete tables and chairs that have fallen into disrepair. Both the seating area and the war memorial are well
used by a group of community members and are to be retained. The stairway is used by skateboarders and
rollerbladers, creating a use conflict with visitors entering and leaving the park.
The “Front Parlor” and “Living Room” are divided by a portico that spans across the entryway and is an exten-
sion of the one-story recreation building. This feature is valued for the sense of gateway it creates, however,
the dense wood cladding makes the space below dark and uncomfortable and it also invites younger visitors to
climb on top of it.