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Parklets are back, now include board games

Posted on 18 April 2019 by WestPhillyLocal.com

parklet

Philadelphia’s first “parklet” was installed in 2011 at 43rd and Baltimore (Archived photo).

Since the weather has gotten consistently warm, temporary seating platforms, aka “parklets”, have been reinstalled at six locations:

• 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar)
• 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop)
• 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe)
• 4903 Catharine St (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream)
• 3601 Market Street (between Market and Filbert, hosted by Schmear It, Jimmy John’s, and M.A.T.T.S. Sliders)
• 4725 Pine Street (hosted by the Garden Court Community Association)  Continue Reading

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New ‘parklets’ pop up in West Philly

Posted on 13 July 2018 by WestPhillyLocal.com

A new “parklet” was installed this week on Pine Street between 47th and 48th.

Two new “parklets”- temporary outdoor seating platforms where you can enjoy a meal, a drink or simply relax – have been installed by University City District crews. In addition to the returning locations at 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar), 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop), 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe) and 4903 Catharine St (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream), check out the following new “parklets”:

• 3601 Market (between Market and Filbert, hosted by Schmear It, Jimmy John’s, and M.A.T.T.’s Sliders)
• 4725 Pine Street (hosted by the Garden Court Community Association)

“Parklets” usually stay through mid- to late November, as long as the weather is warm enough for outdoor seating. Just a reminder that you don’t need to patronize a particular business to sit in the parklet.

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Parklets are back in the hood!

Posted on 14 April 2016 by WestPhillyLocal.com

fuwah parklet

Parklet outside of Fu-Wah Market at 47th and Baltimore.

Spring is finally here, and University City District has begun reinstalling Parklets, temporary outdoor seating platforms with tables, decorated with planters. Overall, six Parklets are being installed around Spruce Hill and Cedar Park, all of them next to popular businesses:

• 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar)
• 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop)
• 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe)
• 801 S. 47th St. (hosted by Fu-Wah Market)
• 4903 Catharine St. (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream)
• 125 S. 40th St. (hosted by Hai St. Kitchen, Jake’s Sandwich Board & Zesto Pizza)

The Parklets will stay until October or early November, depending on the weather.

Just a reminder that Parklets are public spaces open to everyone, and you don’t have to eat at the restaurant where the Parklet is located in order to use it.

Continue Reading

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Friday jazz at Cedar Park extended and jazz at the 40th Street parklet begins Wednesday

Posted on 21 July 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com

Friday night jazz at Cedar Park. Photo from Twitter feed of @DrStephenDavis.

Great news for local jazz fans and anyone who enjoys outdoor music and hanging with neighbors. The popular Cedar Park Jazz series, which runs every summer in the park at 49th and Baltimore, has been extended until August 14.

The Broke and Blue Band will perform this Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The two added dates – August 7 and 14 – will feature Dr. Ketchup (Aug. 7) and Clint Washington and Friends (Aug. 14). Side By Soul will take the stage next Friday.

And as if that isn’t enough live jazz … Jake’s Sandwich Board, a restaurant in that new building on 40th Street near Sansom, has announced (Facebook page) that there will be live music every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the World’s Largest Parklet (on 40th Street across from Fresh Grocer). Yes, jazz at the parklet is now a thing. Don’t forget that while the parklet fronts a bunch of businesses, you don’t necessarily have to patronize one to sit there. It’s a park, just like any other park.

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Parklet mania on 40th Street

Posted on 17 July 2015 by Mike Lyons

So folks seem to be going bananas about the new parklet – the biggest one yet – that the University City District has installed outside of the new building on 40th Street across from The Fresh Grocer at 125 S. 40th. That’s the boxy building with Hai Street Kitchen, Zesto Pizza and Grill, Jake’s Sandwich Board and Dunkin Donuts. It’s 60 feet long – the parklet that is – and the usual 6 feet wide.

This big ole parklet spans the length of the building and has caught the eye of folks around the Twittersphere. Here is everything you need to know about the new parklet:

Plan Philly claims it’s the “largest parklet on Earth”:


NewsWorks (A WHYY jawn) calls it a “Super-parklet”:

Curbed Philly has a video of it being put together:

And the Philadelphia Business Journal called it a “magnet for social activity”:

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Study shows that not all parklets are created equal

Posted on 05 March 2015 by Mike Lyons

manakeesh parkletThe numbers are in for “parklets,” those little curbside, pop-up platforms with tables and chairs found outside a few local businesses, and it turns out that people, and businesses, seem to like them.

The University City District studied parklet use in 2013 – observing and counting who used them and how – and released a report this week detailing what they found. The study included six parklets outside the Green Line Cafe on Baltimore Avenue, Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop, Fu-Wah Market, Manakeesh Cafe, Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Cedar Park and Ramen Bar at 4040 Locust.

To get the data, the UCD parked an intern at each spot during the operating hours of the host businesses on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the spring and summer of 2013.

It shows that most of the people who use the parklets are patrons of the “host” businesses (you don’t have to be, but most were). In terms of daily unique users, the Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop parklet (which both offer very portable products) saw the most traffic (just over 140 per day) with the Green Line spot second at about 60 visitors. The parklet outside of Manakeesh, which sits curbside along a busy section of Walnut Street got only a few visitors per day.

Use at the Honest Tom’s/Lil’ Pop Shop location spiked at about 2 p.m. and then again at about 6:30 p.m. Green Line’s parklet was busiest at about 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Little Baby’s parklet saw most of its daily use between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The others spiked during lunch and dinner times.  Continue Reading

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