Common Ground, formerly titled Church Lot (completed)
John Stone and Lonnie Graham, in collaboration with Lorene Cary for Project H.O.M.E.

Once a valuable community asset, St. Elizabeth's church stood at 23rd and Berks Streets in North Philadelphia from 1883 until its destruction by fire in 1995. In cooperation with Project H.O.M.E., a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with chronically homeless people and impoverished communities, author Lorene Cary, photographer Lonnie Graham, and sculptor John Stone have developed Common Ground for the former site of St. Elizabeth's. The mixed-use community space includes a performance area and Sanctuary, a Common Room to house an archive of oral and photographic history, and an Inspirational Gateway. A fence incorporating the words “experience,” “strength,” and “hope” encloses the site, and quotations from community residents, are incorporated throughout.

Baltimore Avenue GEMs: Grand Planters, Earthbound Crow’s-Nest, Midsummer’s Fountain
Malcolm Cochran with Baltimore Avenue in Bloom

Malcolm Cochran suggests a series of functional artworks to unify the streetscape and enhance urban greening initiatives along Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. Constructed of steel and iron, the elements would utilize a lattice motif that refers to historical Philadelphia ironwork. The works would include two Grand Planters, one functioning as a fountain; a series of trolley shelters; and the Earthbound Crow's-Nest, an observation point where people can congregate to watch for arriving trolleys. The sculptures would also serve as trellises to support flowering vines, which community gardeners, under the auspices of Baltimore Avenue in Bloom, would plant and maintain.

Theyareus
Ap. Gorny with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in association with the William Way Community Center

Ap. Gorny proposes a series of sculptures to commemorate events important to Philadelphia's gender-minority citizens. His multi-sited work, Theyareus, would celebrate acts of heroism and resistance and bear witness to incidents of repression. Stainless-steel sculptures of portrait scale would be placed on granite pedestals carved with interpretive text. The bottom surface of each sculpture would have a small bas-relief image based on a photograph of an event from local gay history. The images would commemorate instances of "courage, vulnerability, empowerment, or insight," while the sculptures' curving steel surfaces would reflect "collapsed" images of buildings, illustrating how the lives of gay individuals "both reflect and shape the landscape."

Golden Mountain Bunka-za
Mei-ling Hom with the Friends of the Japanese House and Garden

Located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park, the Japanese House or Shofu-so (Pine Breeze Villa) is a re-creation of a sixteenth-century Japanese residence. Artist Mei-ling Hom has developed a proposal for a multipurpose performance space, a garden amphitheater, and a large sculpture as part of a new Visitors’ Center proposed for Shofu-so. The performance space would incorporate elements of traditional Kabuki theater. In the amphitheater, carved stone benches would be set amid a rock garden to create seating niches. Golden Mountain, a bronze sculpture reminiscent of a seated Buddha, would stand on a crest of ground beyond the amphitheater.

The Revitalization of Malcolm X Memorial Park
Martha Jackson-Jarvis and JoAnna Viudez with the Friends of Malcolm X Memorial Park

This proposal focuses on the re-establishment of West Philadelphia's Malcolm X Memorial Park as a community gathering point. Drawing on the park's existing visual vocabulary, the proposal integrates sculptural and planted gardens into the landscape. Among the proposal's elements are symbolic entryways, a central performance plinth, and mosaics. The artists also proposed transforming an existing park house into a "shrine house" as a tribute to those who have worked to revitalize the site. A "Kwanzaa rock garden" would refer to guiding ideals of the Friends group—the Nguzo Saba, or seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Bright Light Trail
Zevilla Jackson Preston with The Allegheny West Foundation

To celebrate the neighborhood, unite disparate civic associations, and inspire community identity, this proposal suggests the creation of Bright Light Trail, a footpath winding through the Allegheny West neighborhood in North Philadelphia. The Bright Lights, four illuminated shafts, would rise at significant points along the trail, honoring those who have demonstrated leadership in the community and alluding to the neighborhood's Bright Light Society for children who are achieving in school and in their community. Each Bright Light would feature granite benches around the base and inscriptions to celebrate the contributions of community members.

The Labor Monument: Philadelphia's Tribute to the American Worker (in progress)
John Kindness with the Friends of Elmwood Park

Developed for a park in a once-thriving working-class neighborhood in Southwest Philadelphia, this proposal memorializes the neighborhood's working class and celebrates the contributions of organized labor nationwide while building on community initiatives to revitalize the park. Drawing its symbolism from historic labor photographs and from the typical uniforms once worn by laborers, especially the uniforms' metal work buttons, the proposal calls for two central seating areas. One is designed as a meeting place: benches will face circular bronze tables with work-button-like images commemorating important moments in trade union history. In the other area, benches will face outward, with historic labor photographs in porcelain enamel mounted on the backs of the benches.

Embodying Thoreau: dwelling, sitting, watching (completed)
Ed Levine with the Pennypack Environmental Center Advisory Council

This proposal for the Pennypack Environmental Center, a 100-acre site in the northeast territory of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, consists of a series of small wood structures described by the artist as "between sculpture and architecture." Together these structures will explore the study and enjoyment of the natural world, as well as the relationship between nature and culture. Elements of the project include Thoreau’s Hut, which has the same dimensions as Henry David Thoreau’s famous hut at Walden Pond; Benches, which provide a location for people to sit together in nature; and Bird Blind, a wildlife observation structure that resembles a woven nest.

May Street: A Place of Remembrance and Honor
Rick Lowe and Deborah Grotfeldt with the Mill Creek Artists' Collaborative

This proposal suggests an ongoing, multiphase, environmental project to transform May Street in West Philadelphia. The one-block street would be closed off, and empty buildings would be restored and converted into artists' studios. Weeds, trash, and abandoned automobiles would give way to gardens, landscaping, and benches. Murals and other artists' interventions would add color and meaning. While the Mill Creek Artists' Collaborative plans ways for the neighborhood's rich pool of artists to contribute to the project, local children and their parents would help develop the gardens and play areas. Annual festivals and exhibitions would unite local artists with those from outside the community.

The Vietnamese Monument to Immigration
Darlene Nguyen-Ely with the Vietnamese United National Association of Greater Philadelphia

Proposed for Penn's Landing Quay on the Delaware River, The Vietnamese Monument to Immigration would be a huge lantern-sculpture with shapes suggesting the mast and hull of a boat. Besides referencing the journey of the Vietnamese "boat people," the work would evoke other modes of travel. The structure would float in mid-air like an airplane and be supported by cables like a suspension bridge. As the artist explains, "the vessel is a symbol of travel, exploration, transformation, life changes—even a new life." Through its reference to lanterns constructed during the Vietnamese holiday Tet Trung Thu, the proposal also addresses the community's desire to link the cultural past, present, and future.

Perseverance
Todd Noe with the communities of Kensington and Fishtown

Named for the world’s first steam-powered ship, which was built in the area of Kensington and Fishtown, Perseverance offers a series of functional elements to reflect the neighborhoods’ rich history. The elements are to be located on reclaimed lots throughout the communities. The proposed works include Hat Bandstand, with a roof resembling the Stetson hats made by the world-renowned company that was located in the community until the 1960s; Baseball Bench, a stepped bench topped by a giant baseball that evokes the A. J. Reach Company, which once provided baseballs to the American League; and the Fishing Dory Benches, Propeller Bench, and Sunken Schooner, which commemorate the neighborhood's heritage of shipping, shipbuilding, and fishing.

I have a story to tell you . . . (completed)
Pepón Osorio with Congreso de Latinos Unidos

This proposal focuses on the recently renovated headquarters of Congreso de Latinos Unidos in North Philadelphia. In the windows of the main building, the artist will install a series of large-scale photographic images. A more intimate casita (little house), also fabricated with photographic images on glass, is to be located in the adjacent courtyard. To create this "community photograph album," Osorio has collected photographs from community members, seeking images that reflect "shared experience" and "depict local events that have impacted community life." Congreso is the leading provider of social, economic, health, and educational services to the Latino community of Philadelphia.

Manayunk Stoops: Heart and Home (completed)
Diane Pieri and Vicki Scuri with the Manayunk Development Corporation

This proposal suggests a series of landscaped stoops or "front steps" on the towpath of the Manayunk Canal along the Schuylkill River. The Stoops are designed to abut existing buildings whose arched architectural elements suggest doorways. Made of cast concrete, the stoops would include custom iron railings, mosaic inset tile mosaic "welcome mats," and tiled planters to suggest the "folk landscaping" that surrounds a typical neighborhood stoop. Through art workshops led by Diane Pieri, local children would help develop motifs for the mosaics and railings. The artists envision a community-sponsored extension of the project. Proceeds from producing and selling additional planters can be reinvested in community endeavors, such as maintenance of the landscape along the canal.

Glorietas of Fairhill Square:
The Completion of a Neighborhood Cosmos
Jaime Suárez with the Neighbors of Fairhill

This proposal seeks to embrace the diversity of Fairhill Square's North Philadelphia neighborhood while assisting efforts to rehabilitate the once-vibrant community and refurbish the park. Myths about the sun and the moon are common to most cultures, artist Jaime Suárez notes, and Fairhill Square already possesses an evocation of the moon—Rafael Ferrer's sculpture El Gran Teatro de la Luna, currently in storage. Suárez therefore proposes the "completion" of the park's cosmological associations through references to the sun and air. The proposal includes two steel Glorietas (pavilions or gazebos): the Glorieta del Gran Teatro de la Luna, which would provide a new base for Ferrer's work, and the Glorieta del Gran Teatro del Sol. Two nearby playgrounds would symbolize the third element, air. The Plaza of the Eclipse would be created at the park's center. The Guardians of the Park, small totems covered with ceramic hands and eyes created by neighborhood children, would stand at the park's four entrances.

Proposals for the Wissahickon
George Trakas with the Friends of the Wissahickon

George Trakas has proposed a series of projects for the Wissahickon Creek area of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park to address the park’s aging infrastructure while preserving its wilderness and historic character. Among the projects is a Stepping Stone Bridge at Livezey Dam, a series of stones set into the creek bed. Made of Wissahickon schist, this pathway would bring visitors into a dramatic physical relationship with the creek. For adults standing on the bridge, the water tumbling over the dam would be at eye level. By connecting two staircases from the Work Projects Administration that lead down to either side of the creek, the bridge would also allow Park Rangers to respond more quickly to emergencies. The proposal further calls for two short steel decks and a creekside terrace for visitors with disabilities.

Open-Air Library and Farmer’s Market Plaza (commissioned)
Janet Zweig with the South of South Neighborhood Association

This proposal calls for the creation of an outdoor structure resembling a row house, minus the exterior walls, to function as a community library. Constructed of bricks salvaged from a local demolition project, the work will be located on vacant land created by the demolition of abandoned housing. Inspired by the outdoor bookstalls of Paris and New York and developed with assistance from Drexel University’s College of Information Science and Technology, the library will literally "open a cultural institution to the public." The small adjoining plaza is designed to accommodate a community farmer’s market.