Penn Park is a park on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The park is at South 31st Street and
Walnut Street, and features two athletic fields, a multipurpose stadium with 470 seats, a tennis center, a seasonal air structure, and picnic areas. In Fall 2014, Penn partnered with the Philadelphia Orchard Project to establish the Penn Park Orchard in the southeastern corner of the park.
History
The site was originally home to parking for the USPS (whose main Philadelphia location is immediately to the north). The site is also at the level of the train platforms of the former postal complex and
30th Street Station
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
which means that it is nearly below the adjacent streets.
In 2007, Penn purchased the postal complex and entered into agreements that led to the redevelopment of the northern portions of the complex. Funds from the agreement were used to fund part of the $46.5 million cost of the park.
Description
The park is located between Penn's campus and the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...
. It includes two turf athletic fields, a seasonal athletic sports dome, a softball stadium, a twelve-court tennis complex, and open space and walkways.
Walkways connect the facilities from
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, track and fi ...
to Walnut St.
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
trains run to the west of the park and Amtrak
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
trains run to the east.
See also
*
List of parks in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a total parklandincluding city parks, squares, playgrounds, athletic fields, recreation centers and golf courses, plus state and federal parksthat amounts to . The Fairmount Park system historically encompassed 63 park areas pri ...
References
External links
Penn Park Overview- University of Pennsylvania
Parks in Philadelphia
Sports venues in Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania campus
{{Pennsylvania-sports-venue-stub