Years ago, Mr. Diarist and I had a membership at the Philadelphia Art museum, though we lived some distance away. For several years, we’d meet at the Museum on Friday nights for Art After 5. Mr. D. drove in from his office, and I took the train. We’d picnic in the gazebo above the river, and then spend the evening at the museum.
The walk from the train station was a pain: utterly un-pedestrian-friendly and grueling in summer’s heat. All that has changed now. When Basil and I took the train into the city for this year’s Tweed Ride, we got off at the 30th street station, and rode the Schuylkill River Trail along the river to the Water Works. Quelle difference!
The new multi-use trail is gorgeous. Talk about making a city livable! You want beautiful Philadelphia? You got it.
In general, though, Philadelphia is more gritty than effete. Here’s effete: Boathouse Row, from the trail.
But I love the way that gritty essence is preserved along this trail. Yep, that’s a freight train, in the middle of the city.
The trail runs between the river and the railroad track.
You’ve got yourself some cyclists, in-line skaters, pedestrians, joggers, trains and river traffic. All, essentially, downtown. Does “urban” get any better than this?
There’s really only one little quibble I have with the new trail. Getting to river level from the Amrtrak station requires descending (and later ascending) three flights of stairs. There’s a track for bicycles, but it’s only on one side.
Basil regards the stairs skeptically:
I used the track to go down, but I’m not coordinated enough to ascend using my left hand and arm, so I carried him up the three flights instead.
Here’s a view of the bridge you cross from the 30th Street Station to get to the stairs, which are on the other side of the illuminated arch.
There’s no obvious signage l directing the way to the trail, noting its existence, or identifying the stairs. That’s an oversight that should be corrected. The trail’s a resource with which everyone, including out-of-towners, should be familiar. Hey, Philadelphia, don’t hide your trail away!
2 replies on “Changing Philadelphia”
Hi! Another lovely post with very nice photos. There are actually a few places to descend down to the trail from the upper street level, that do not require you to carry or push you bike up or down a rain channel. My son thinks those rain channels are slides, btw! He slide down a few a dozen or so times this past summer, dirtying the seat of his shorts but enjoying his “ride” immensely. Anyway, there are ramps for bikes, rollerbladers and people in wheelchairs at the Market St, Chestnut and down by the end of the trail that’s part of the new stairway over the train tracks. Venture to the end and check out the sights, you’ll be even more pleasantly surprised at what you see and what’s been done over the past 8 years. Cheers!
Thanks, Denine! So they are rain channels, eh? That makes a lot more sense . . . actually, I did discover another stair sysstem, and lovely ramps, last weekend while in Philadelphia. (They are the subject of a future post. I’m running unexpectedly ahead of myself in the posting department.) I definately will follow your suggestion and do some more exploring further down the trail. It’s exciting that there’s so much to see!