Waterfront News: Groundbreaking for Boardwalk Park at Washington Avenue

Pier 53 rendering via DRWC.

It’s more activity at the Delaware River waterfront. A planned new park at the site of Pier 53 will break ground. A project of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and part of the Central Delaware Master Plan, the formerly barren, decaying pier will be rebuilt to allow public access. The pier was once Philadelphia’s landing station for immigrants; after decades of civic indifference, it actually became an ecological haven with trees, various types of plants, a nursery for migrating fish, and a home to several species of mussels.

The plan calls for a boardwalk to be constructed over the pier so that people can walk out to the end — not just to enjoy the proposed recreational amenities but also to serve as a model of ecological restoration and preservation. We’ll have more from the groundbreaking, so stay tuned…