{"id":58,"date":"2018-04-20T12:59:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T16:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T14:10:40","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T19:10:40","slug":"mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Mural, Pocket Park Being Celebrated Earth Day Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last summer, we joined artist Paul Santoleri <\/a>and Roxborough and residents for a community painting event<\/a> that laid the foundation for Watershed, the mural that now overlooks the neighborhood\u2019s newest community green space\u2013Roxborough Pocket Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just in time for Earth Day weekend, Santoleri\u2019s work is finished and will be celebrated with a dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. this Saturday, April 21st<\/strong>. Starting at noon, the \u201cArt Is Life\u201d event<\/a><\/strong> also marks the official opening of the park and will feature food trucks, live music, and local artisans.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re celebrating the Roxborough Pocket Park opening tomorrow as part of Art Is Life! #roxborough #watershedmural #artisliferox #visitphilly #groundswelldesigned<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Roxborough PA<\/a> (@roxboroughpa) on

As sponsors of the mural, we will join Roxborough Development Corporation (RDC) in welcoming Watershed<\/em>, which draws attention to the green transformation of the once-vacant asphalt lot at 6170 Ridge Ave.<\/p>\n

Working alongside Mural Arts Philadelphia and RDC, we commissioned Santoleri\u2013a Roxborough native\u2013to create a piece of art that captured the essence of the new pocket park and the community\u2019s relationship with water. The result was a vibrant blend of history and nature that invites the community and visitors to take a closer look.<\/p>\n

Water elements, like the waves and ripples woven into each section of the mural, are reminders of how closely water connects all forms of life. The ball-like mass of water rolling downhill acknowledges Roxborough\u2019s location at the top of a hill. As the divide between the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek, Roxborough feeds into two of Philadelphia\u2019s seven watersheds.<\/p>\n

Watershed<\/em> is located within the Schuylkill watershed. On the opposite side of Ridge Avenue, most of the land drains into the Wissahickon Creek. In addition to Roxborough\u2019s relationship with water, Santoleri pays tribute to the neighborhood\u2019s connection to its past.<\/p>\n

The mural includes historic folklore like the Cave of Kelpius<\/a>, a local cave by the Wissahickon Creek that served as Johannes Kelpuis\u2019 and his followers 1694 escape to wait for the end of the world. The red fox is a nod to those who claim Roxborough got its name from Kelpius\u2019 writings describing the area as \u201cwhere the fox burrows in the rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watershed<\/em> is also a complement to another exciting feature of the park \u2013 its green stormwater infrastructure<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The pocket park contains rain gardens and water-absorbing pavement that capture and filter polluted stormwater runoff before it enters our sewers and waterways. All of the species in the mural \u2013 from the red Bee Balm flowers to the red fox \u2013 are native to the Schuylkill and Wissahickon watersheds. The red salamander, which stands out thanks to a mosaic of tiles, is featured on PWD\u2019s Wissahickon storm drain markers.<\/p>\n

Storm drain markers are a fun reminder that every drain leads to a creek or a river. Philadelphia residents can participate in marking storm drains around their community by ordering a free wildlife marker kit<\/a> for their specific watershed. You can monitor which drains need marking, check off the drains that you\u2019ve marked, and report damaged or missing markers by using PWD\u2019s storm drain marking app<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We hope to see you on Ridge Avenue!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last summer, we joined artist Paul Santoleri and Roxborough and residents for a community painting event that laid the foundation for Watershed, the mural that now overlooks the neighborhood\u2019s newest community green space\u2013Roxborough Pocket Park.<\/p>\n

Just in time for Earth Day weekend, Santoleri\u2019s work is finished and will be celebrated with a dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. this Saturday, April 21st.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8,35,39,44,61,64,69,83,84,94,112,113],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-announcement","tag-event","tag-free","tag-green-infrastructure","tag-mural-arts-program","tag-northwest-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-parks-and-recreation","tag-schuylkill-river","tag-schuylkill-watershed","tag-storm-drains","tag-wissahickon-creek","tag-wissahickon-watershed","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Mural, Pocket Park Being Celebrated Earth Day Weekend","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/mural-pocket-park-being-celebrated-earth-day-weekend\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Events","author":[],"creator":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["announcement","event","free","green infrastructure","mural arts program","northwest philadelphia","philadelphia parks and recreation","schuylkill river","schuylkill watershed","storm drains","wissahickon creek","wissahickon watershed"],"dateCreated":"2018-04-20T16:59:00Z","datePublished":"2018-04-20T16:59:00Z","dateModified":"2022-12-07T19:10:40Z"},"rendered":"