Three Project Get Approval By Philly Art Commission

On Wednesday three projects along the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers received final approval by the Philadelphia Art Commission.

The first project calls for improvement at the Flat Rock Dam at the Manayunk Canal.  This project is overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation and the Philadelphia Water Department.  The dam is in imminent danger of collapse  and could be triggered by any level of flooding from minor to severe.  The dam has also stopped the flow of water in the canal allowing algae byproducts to flourish affecting the taste and odor of drinking water.  Fixing the trail will also make it better suited for recreational uses along with the trail.

A second Manayunk Canal project involves the construction of a new bridge connecting Lock St. to Venice Island.  the art commissioned piece is a sculptural piece that serves as seating for a new children's spray ground and is made of natural boulders, sourced from California, where the artist, Masayuki Nagase, lives.

Along the Delaware a second of a series of planned connectors linking the street grid, as prescribed in the Master Plan for the Central Delaware.  Artist Donald Lipski designed a pice for the Columbia Ave. connector which references Lenape origin myths and the animals associated with its three clans, the wolf, turkey, and turtle.  The connector connects the I-95 underpass to Penn Treaty Park, the site where William Penn signed a treaty with the Lenape.  The project involves better lighting, access, streetscaping, as well as the construction of another smaller park.

Lipski's project takes the form of Cavawood light stanchions guiding the way to the river.  Two lamppost will flank the entranceway to the underpass, one with a fiberglass wolf sculpture on top, and the other with a turkey.  At the opposite end a series of light poles attached to the backs of cast bronze turtles will lead into the park.