Community members, leaders and City officials attended a Community Build Day on October 2, celebrating the improvements to the green space at Broad, Butler, and Germantown, known to some as Fish Park or Butler Triangle.
The City is planning a phased project to improve safety, create jobs, support businesses, and honor local history at the Broad, Germantown and Erie intersection in North Philadelphia. The community requested immediate action to beautify the space while long-term improvements to the intersection are being designed. The features installed at Fish Park over the summer and fall are short-term improvements that respond to those requests.
Mayor Jim Kenney spoke about current and future improvements at the Community Build Day.
“The Broad, Germantown and Erie intersection is a public transportation hub and shopping district, with remarkable architecture, rich history, and a strong community,” the Mayor said. “This intersection is a priority of our Administration. I am excited that the City is finally making the much needed and long overdue investments, and I thank the community members, businesses and city employees who are participating today.”
Today, Butler Triangle has a new look. Improvements were funded through a grant from KaBOOM! and the William Penn Foundation. They include:
- New seating and tables
- New landscaping, including shade trees and flowering plants
- Repainted fence posts
- Play elements for children
- Historic images of the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood
As part of the Community Build Day, area residents and leaders repainted the fence posts at Fish Park. Shalimar Thomas, executive director of North Broad Renaissance, was one of the participants.
“As someone who grew up around the corner from Broad and Butler, and as a stakeholder supporting vitalization along North Broad Street, it’s wonderful to be a part of this joint effort to improve the quality of life in this section of the city,” Thomas said.
About 100 people attended the event throughout the day. At tables around the park, attendees could receive COVID vaccinations, get a PHL City ID and eat ice cream.
Staff from the City of Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development (DPD), Commerce Department and Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (OTIS) attended the event and provided information about programs and services. SEPTA staff was also present to speak about an elevator installation project at the Erie Avenue station on the Broad Street line.
Speakers at the event also included Amelia Price from Called to Serve CDC; Dwight Nelson, owner of Dwight’s Southern Barbeque; Mark Klus, a librarian at the Nicetown-Tioga Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia; Josh Klaris, executive director of North10; and Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability.
The changes at Fish Park are temporary improvements. Check out our previous blog post for more details about the long-term changes planned for Broad, Germantown and Erie.
These public space improvements are accompanied by investments by private businesses in the area. Since 2019 five stores have installed new awnings, ten stores are pursuing new storefronts, and four stores have begun interior renovations. Some of these improvements are supported through funding from the City.
Additionally, the Nicetown-Tioga branch of the Free Library at Philadelphia is expected to be renovated through the City’s Rebuild program.
