The Porch at 30th Street Station, now a couple of years old, has been a big success story for University City District. The public plaza replaced a sad stretch in front of our main train station, with events and food trucks adding life to the landscaped streetscape. It's been great for travelers, commuters, and the thousands who work at the IRS building across the street.
We confess, we didn't expect any more public spaces to pop up over here, but that's exactly what's happened. Thanks to a solid tip from a reader, we visited a new green space that's appeared on the eastern side of the IRS building, where there was previously a giant hole that peered down upon I76. We can't seem to find any information or press about it, but we were really impressed with this newly landscaped area on land that was rescued from oblivion.
Does anyone know more about this new public plaza? While we'd be interested to know whether it was UCD or the IRS or the City (or possibly some sort of combination) that built it, we're just pleased as punch to see this new space created. With the weather turning cold soon, we're not sure how much use it will get in the coming months. But by the time springtime rolls around we imagine people will flock here to enjoy lunch, meet a friend, or just have a seat as they're going from one place to another. Sure, most of the people you'll find here will be IRS employees. But they probably won't audit you while they're on their lunch break. Probably.