Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It consists of 63 parks, with 9200 acres (3,723.1 ha), all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.

Fairmount Park proper

The park system is named after its first park, Fairmount Park, which occupies nearly half the area of the whole system, at over 4,100 acres (17 km²). Today, the Commission divides the original park into East and West Fairmount parks. The original domain of Fairmount Park consisted of three areas: "South Park" or the South Garden immediately below the Fairmount Water Works

Fairmount Water Works

The Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks. Designed in 1812 by Frederick Graff and built between 1812 and 1872, it operated until 1909, winning praise for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction...

 extending to the Callowhill Street Bridge; East or "Old Park" which encompassed the former estates of Lemon Hill

Lemon Hill

Lemon Hill is a Federal-style mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, built by the merchant Henry Pratt. Originally part of Robert Morris's estate, The Hills, Pratt purchased at a sheriff's sale for $14,654 in 1799. According to Pratt's letterbooks, recently discovered by Philadelphia Museum of...

 and Sedgeley

Sedgeley

Sedgeley was a mansion, designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and built on the east banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia in 1799-1802.-Design and construction:...

; and West Park, the area now comprising the Philadelphia Zoo

Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874...

 and the Centennial Exposition

Centennial Exposition

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...

 grounds. The South Garden predated the establishment of the Park Commission in 1867 and Lemon Hill and Sedgley were added in 1855–56. After the Civil War, work progressed on acquiring and laying out West Park. In the 1870s, the Fairmount Park Commission acquired industrial properties along the Wissahickon Creek

Wissahickon Creek

Wissahickon Creek is a stream in southeastern Pennsylvania. Rising in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, it runs about 23 miles passing through and dividing Northwest Philadelphia before emptying into the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia...

 although this is not considered Fairmount Park proper. Likewise the Schuylkill River Trail

Schuylkill River Trail

The Schuylkill River Trail is a multi-use trail under construction for expansion along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania...

 is a modern addition and was not included in 19th-century acquisitions.

Growth

The park grew out of the Lemon Hill

Lemon Hill

Lemon Hill is a Federal-style mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, built by the merchant Henry Pratt. Originally part of Robert Morris's estate, The Hills, Pratt purchased at a sheriff's sale for $14,654 in 1799. According to Pratt's letterbooks, recently discovered by Philadelphia Museum of...

 estate of Henry Pratt, whose land was originally owned by Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of independence

A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...

. It was dedicated to the public by City Council

Philadelphia City Council

The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number...

's ordinance on September 15, 1855. A series of state and local legislative acts over the next three years increased the holdings of the city, incorporating mansions, waterworks, gardens, and even territory previously set aside for the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. In 1858, the city called for a comprehensive plan and the new Fairmount Park Commission held a design competition to determine the best way to “protect and improve the purity of the Schuylkill water supply” while also creating a naturally landscaped public park.

As the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition

Centennial Exposition

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...

 and the first zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the Philadelphia Zoo

Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874...

, Fairmount Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 on February 7, 1972.

Properties

Today, the system includes the Centennial Arboretum

Centennial Arboretum

Centennial Arboretum is an arboretum located at the Horticulture Center, Fairmount Park, at the southeast corner of Belmont and Montgomery Drives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is open daily without charge....

, Philadelphia's Horticulture Center

The Horticulture Center (Philadelphia)

The Horticultural Center in Philadelphia contains an arboretum, greenhouse, demonstration gardens, and a Japanese house and garden. It is located within Fairmount Park at the southeast corner of Belmont and Montgomery Drives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The grounds are open daily except holidays,...

, Fairmount Water Works

Fairmount Water Works

The Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks. Designed in 1812 by Frederick Graff and built between 1812 and 1872, it operated until 1909, winning praise for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction...

, Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall (Philadelphia)

Memorial Hall, designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an early example of monumental Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States. Schwarzmann, the chief engineer of the Fairmount Park Commission, also designed the temporary...

, home to the Please Touch Museum

Please Touch Museum

The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special events, mostly aimed at children seven years old and younger.-History:...

, the Belmont Plateau, Japanese house, Bartram's Garden

Bartram's Garden

Bartram's Garden which covers is the oldest surviving botanic garden in North America, including an historic botanical garden and arboretum , located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park, near the intersection of 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

 (America’s oldest living botanical garden), Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...

, Boathouse Row

Boathouse Row

-Early 19th century beginnings:The history of Boathouse Row begins with the construction of the Fairmount Dam and the adjacent Water Works. The Dam was built in 1810 as part of a lock at the Falls of the Schuylkill to bring coal downriver. The Dam submerged rapids and transformed the Schuylkill...

, Azalea Garden, recreation centers, reservoirs, and countless statues (as well as other pieces of art) as determined by the park.

Public art

Fairmount Park is home to a large collection of public art, largely due to the efforts of the Fairmount Park Art Association

Fairmount Park Art Association

The Fairmount Park Art Association was founded in 1872 in Philadelphia to provide public art in Fairmount Park. The Association now maintains and provides information to the public for outdoor sculpture throughout Philadelphia....

, a non-profit organization founded in 1872 to embellish Fairmount Park Art with outdoor sculpture, including the Florentine Lions installed in 1887. The Art Association continues to commission and care for a large number of sculptures, in coordination with the park and city. In 2007, the Art Association installed Iroquois by Mark di Suvero

Mark di Suvero

Marco Polo "Mark" di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born Marco Polo Levi in Shanghai, China in 1933 to Italian expatriates. He immigrated to San Francisco, California in 1942 with his family. From 1953 to 1957, he attended the University of California, Berkeley to study...

 near the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...

 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named for favorite son Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway cuts diagonally across the grid plan pattern of Center City's Northwest quadrant...

.

Houses

Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant (mansion)

Mount Pleasant is a mansion located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was built in what was then the countryside outside of the city by the privateer John Mcpherson...

, built in what was then the countryside outside of the city by a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

, is now an off-premise gallery of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...

 in Fairmount Park.

Other houses in the park include William Peters's Belmont Mansion

Belmont Mansion (Philadelphia)

Belmont Mansion is a historic mansion located in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built in the early 18th century, the mansion is one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the United States....

 (1745), Hatfield House

Hatfield House

Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...

, Randolph House

Randolph House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

The Randolph House, is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The house was built in 1750 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972....

, Joshua Fisher

Joshua Fisher

Joshua Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade and mapmaking as applied to nautical charts...

's The Cliffs

The Cliffs

The Cliffs is a historic country house located near 33rd and Oxford Sts. in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a Registered Historic Place.-History:...

 (1753), Historic Strawberry Mansion

Historic Strawberry Mansion

Historic Strawberry Mansion is a summer home originally built for Judge William Lewis in 1789. It is located in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA....

, The Monastery

The Monastery

The Monastery: a Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Along with The Abbot, it is one of Scott's Tales from Benedictine Sources and is set in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Elizabethan period.-Plot introduction:...

, and the Woodford mansion

Woodford (mansion)

Woodford is a historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Built in 1756, Woodford is the first of the great, opulent, late-Georgian mansions to be erected in the Philadelphia area...

.

Neighborhood and regional parks

The 63 neighborhood and regional parks are:>

Allens Lane Awbury Park Bartram's Garden Bartram's Garden Bartram's Garden which covers is the oldest surviving botanic garden in North America, including an historic botanical garden and arboretum , located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park, near the intersection of 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania... Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named for favorite son Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway cuts diagonally across the grid plan pattern of Center City's Northwest quadrant... Bradford Park Burholme Park Burholme park Burholme Park is a public park in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Philadelphia. The park and the Robert W. Ryerss Museum and Library was a gift of the last descendant of the Ryerss family, a prominent Philadelphia family. Robert W. Ryerss died on Feb... Carpenter's Woods Carroll Park Christ Church Park Clark Park Clark Park Clark Park is a municipal park in the Spruce Hill section of West Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its are bordered by 43rd and 45th streets, and by Baltimore and Woodland Avenues.... Clifford Park Cloverly Park Cobbs Creek Golf Course Cobbs Creek Park Cobbs Creek Cobbs Creek is an tributary of Darby Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It forms an approximate border between Montgomery County and Delaware County. After Cobbs Creek passes underneath Township Line Road , it forms the border between Philadelphia County and Delaware County... East Fairmount Park Fernhill Park Fisher Park Fluehr Park Fox Chase Farm Fox Chase Farm Fox Chase Farm is one of two working farms in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . Formerly owned by the Wistar family, the farm is located on Pine Road in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia on the border with Montgomery County... Franklin D. Roosevelt Golf Course Franklin D. Roosevelt Park Franklin Square Franklin Square (Philadelphia) Franklin Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.- History :...

Franklintown Park Germany Hill Glen Foerd Harper's Hollow Park Holme Crispin Park Hunting Park I-95 Park John Byrne Golf Course John F. Kennedy Plaza Juniata Golf Course Karakung Golf Course Kay Park Kemble Park La Noce Park Logan Circle Logan Circle (Philadelphia) Logan Circle, also known as Logan Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's northwest quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid. The circle itself exists within the original bounds of the square; the names Logan Square and Logan Circle are... Loudoun Park Manatawna Farm Manayunk Canal Marconi Plaza Marconi Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Marconi Plaza is a neighborhood located in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.An Italian-American enclave, Marconi Plaza has two main halves, East and West, which are divided in the middle by Broad Street. It is located at the most southern end of the city and within the northern... McMichael Park Morris Park

Palmer Park Pastorius Park Pastorius Park Pastorius Park is a 16-acre park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is maintained by the Fairmount Park Commission. Established in 1915, the park was named in honor of Francis Pastorius, a leader of early German immigrants to the area. It is located in the Chestnut Hill section of... Penn Treaty Park Penn Treaty Park Penn Treaty Park is a small park on the western bank of the Delaware river, in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at the intersection of Delaware Avenue and Beach Street, just off Delaware Avenue.- Overview :... Pennypack Park Pennypack Park Pennypack Park is a municipal park, part of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park system, in Northeast Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Established in 1905 by ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, it includes about of woodlands, meadows and wetlands. The Pennypack Creek runs through the... Poquessing Creek Park Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are... Roosevelt Boulevard Roosevelt Boulevard (Philadelphia) Roosevelt Boulevard , often referred to simply as "the Boulevard," is a major traffic artery through North and Northeast Philadelphia... Schuylkill River Park Schuylkill River Park Schuylkill River Park is a swath of land owned by Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses most of the area bordered by 25th Street and the Schuylkill River between Manning and Delancey Streets and the area bordered by the Schuylkill River and 26th Street between Delancey and...  includes the Schuylkill River Park Community Garden Schuylkill River Park Community Garden The Schuylkill River Park Community Garden is a unique approximately 70 plot community garden located at 25th and Manning Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania... Somerton Woods Southern Boulevard Stephen Girard Park Stephen Girard Park Stephen Girard Park is a park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the South Philadelphia neighborhood at 21st and Shunk Streets. It is maintained by the City of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park Commission. The park was established in 1953 on land donated by Stephen Girard, and includes a house formerly... Tacony Creek Park Wakefield Park Walnut Lane Golf Course Washington Square Washington Square (Philadelphia) Washington Square, originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's Southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. It is part of both the Washington Square West... West Fairmount Park Wingohockon Park Wissahickon Valley Park Wister's Woods Park Wooden Bridge Run Woodward Pines

See also

• Historic Strawberry Mansion
  Historic Strawberry Mansion
  Historic Strawberry Mansion is a summer home originally built for Judge William Lewis in 1789. It is located in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA....
  
  
• Schuylkill Banks
• Philadelphia Aquarium
• Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
  Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
  The annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia is a spring celebration commemorating Japan’s 1926 gift of 1,600 flowering trees to the City of Philadelphia as a gesture of goodwill...
  
  
• Sedgley Woods
  Sedgley Woods
  Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course is a section of the Fairmount Park System located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This section of East Fairmount Park attracts people from all walks of life. Continuous play since 1977 makes Sedgley Woods one of the oldest permanent pole-hole...
  
  
• Sweetbriar
  Sweetbriar
  A Neoclassical mansion in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sweetbriar is decorated in the Etruscan revival-style, with a double parlor and sweeping views of the Schuylkill River.- Sources :...
  
  
• Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club
  Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club
  The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is an inner-city horsemanship program in north Philadelphia, where local horsemen teach neighborhood youth to ride and care for horses while encouraging academic excellence. The unusual homegrown community program provides children and youth with positive ways...
  
  

External links

• Fairmount Park Commission, City of Philadelphia
• Map of the Fairmount Park System
• Works Progress Administration, Topographical map of Fairmount Park, 1938
• Philadelphia Zoo
• Please Touch Museum, located in Memorial Hall
• Fairmount Park Art Association
• Public Art in Philadelphia
• Fairmount Park Conservancy
• Article: Cherry Tree Maintenance at Fairmount Park