Green Gallery: The Unsung Art of Schuylkill Banks
We know it, we love it: the Schuylkill River Trail is one of Philly’s fitness hotspots and among the city’s most frequented green spaces. Stretching from Elmwood Park in the southwest to Manayunk in the northwest, runners, cyclists, walkers, and picnickers use this public amenity for its miles of uninterrupted trail, riverside views, and an escape from Philly’s concrete jungle.
The Schuylkill River Trail is undeniably Philly’s hub for fitness and greenery, but it is equally a space where arts and culture thrive. The Schuylkill Banks portion of the trail is a site where art, architecture, and urban design come together amid a uniquely urban and natural topography, steeped with Philly history and culture. While whizzing by on the trail, you might miss the wonderful hidden gems or dismiss landmarks as mundane—but there are plenty of sights that make pausing Strava worth your while.
Phillies Mural
Photo by Aly Kerrigan
Type: Mural
Location: East side of the Schuylkill River near 24th and Walnut Streets
Date: 2015
Material: Acrylic paint, parachute cloth
Collaborators: David McShane (artist), Mural Arts, Philadelphia Phillies (funder), 25th Century Foundation (funder), City of Philadelphia (funder), The Karp Family (funder), Kevin Brown (project manager)
“‘The creation of a Phillies themed mural in such a fantastic Center City location will be a tremendous addition to the long list of spectacular murals that already exist throughout our great city,’ said Michael Harris, Phillies Marketing Manager. ‘We have the best and most loyal fans in all of sports.'" (Mural Arts)
This mural is a quintessential testament to Philly. Visible to the thousands of pedestrians on the Walnut Street Bridge and the Schuylkill River Trail, as well as to motorists on the I-76 expressway who pass the location daily, the mural includes players, stadiums, and events from the Phillies’ record-long history as the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional sports. It highlights the team’s two World Series victories in 1980 and 2008 and features hall-of-fame players, scenes from playoff runs, perfect games, and the Phillies mascot—the Phanatic.
The mural was painted by muralist, and lifetime Phillies fan, David McShane, and was installed by Mural Arts.
Walnut Street Bridge
Type: Bridge
Location: 2500 Walnut Street
Date: 1893, rebuilt 1990, improved 2012, currently under additional improvements
Material: Pavers, concrete, steel
The Walnut Street Bridge, originally built in 1893, has undergone an iterative process of disrepair and repair, with more recent improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. It acts as a main connector between Center City and West Philly, extending Walnut Street as one of Philly’s major arteries.
“The original 1893 bridge was a 60-foot-wide concrete structure with three steel Pratt trusses mounted on four heavy oblong concrete abutments and piers.” (Wikipedia) After falling into a state of disrepair in the late 20th century and demolished in 1988, the Walnut Street Bridge was rebuilt in 1990, with its piers utilized for the 62-foot-wide span.
In 2012, the bridge's roadway configuration was revisited—this time adjustments were made to adapt to the heavy pedestrian and bicycle use of this crossing. Supported by PennDOT and the Philadelphia Streets Department and with data from detailed traffic analyses, steps were taken to minimize auto traffic and promote pedestrian use. Lanes were reduced from four to three and large, overhead I-76 signs were swapped for smaller signs placed on poles at the sides of the roadway to eliminate the highway-like feel of the bridge. As a result of these changes, conflict between bicycles and auto traffic at Schuylkill Avenue was minimized, and Walnut Street became much more pedestrian friendly.
PennDOT is revisiting the Walnut Street Bridge for yet another round of improvements as part of the Market Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project. A parking-separated bicycle lane on the south side of the bridge has already been installed and plans also include resurfacing the bridge.
Air Sculpture
Photo by Aly Kerrigan
Type: Sculpture
Location: East side of the Schuylkill River near Cherry Street
Date: Cast 1979 and installed in current location in 2015
Material: Bronze on granite base
Collaborators: Walker Hancock (sculptor); Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; Schuylkill River Development Corporation
Based on Hamlet’s words, “…reminding us of the omnipresence and life-sustaining nature of this element,” Air resides on Schuylkill Banks near Cherry Street. It was originally commissioned by the Percent for Art Program, a mandate that requires that 1% of the construction cost for new development and major renovations be allocated to art in light of the otherwise drab developments in the city. Air was cast in 1979 and installed in 1982 at the former Civic Center Building until the Center’s 1999 demolition, after which the sculpture spent 17 years in storage until being installed on Schuylkill Banks.
The sculptor, Walker Hancock, studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and subsequently taught sculpture there from 1929 to 1967. During World War II, he served as a "Monuments Man” and helped recover stolen treasures from the Nazis. Hancock was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1989 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1990.
Celebration of Water Sculpture
Photos by Matt Casey for Atlas Obscura (left) and Philly Public Art (right)
Type: Sculpture
Location: East side of the Schuylkill River near 640 Waterworks Drive
Date: 1989
Material: Bronze
Collaborators: Ellen Fletcher (sculptor), Philadelphia Water Department
This sculpture, “Celebration of Water” by Ellen Fletcher, was first installed on the Schuylkill River in 1989, and has since had a storied history defined by its riverside environment.
Residing humbly behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this life-size bronze cast of a fisherman was first installed to compliment the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center (a center that educates the public about the history of the Schuylkill Watershed). In 1999, Hurricane Floyd struck a 60-foot tree, which pummeled the sculpture into the depths of the Schuylkill. The piece remained submerged for six years until a group of divers discovered and revived him, and he remained steady for another decade and a half before he was lost again to Hurricane Isaias in 2020. The staff at Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center recovered the sculpture after Isaias and returned it to its perch two years later.
The decades of tumult have broken his fishing rod, but if you look closely, you’ll see that it has been graciously replaced with a stick.
9/11 Memorial
Photo by Aly Kerrigan
Type: Sculpture
Location: East side of the Schuylkill River near the Chestnut Street Bridge
Date: 2012
Material: Steel on granite base
Collaborators: Wells Appel Landscape Architects, Delaware River Port Authority, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Schuylkill River Development Corporation
This memorial reads: “This floor beam was taken from one of the World Trade Center towers to preserve the memory of the brace and innocent victims of the attack on September 11, 2001, including the Philadelphia residents whose names are inscribed on this memorial”—Christopher Robert Clarke, Jasper Baxter, and Kevin Leah Bowser.
The Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey gave the Schuylkill River Development Corporation and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation a piece of steel from the World Trade Center to create the 9/11 Memorial on the river bank. Designed by Wells Appel Landscape Architects, the memorial features the steel crashing down on a reflective granite base, pointing towards ground zero. The design symbolizes the chaos of the World Trade Center collapse, while the sky's reflection in the granite offers a sense of hope and healing.
Humid Bench/Bike Rack
Photos by Aly Kerrigan
Type: Bench/Bike Rack (2)
Location: East side of the Schuylkill River just north of the Vine Street Expressway
Date: 2007
Material: Aluminum and wood
Collaborators: Humid (designer), Schuylkill River Development Corporation
These benches, designed by Conshohocken-based design firm Humid, were what inspired me to start this blog. On what had to be my thousandth stroll on Schuylkill Banks, I noticed these two structures for the first time (it’s a bit hard to see, but the second identical bench is visible in the background of the second photo). I figured there had to be much more on the trail that I had never noticed before, and I was right!
The pieces perfectly combine form and function, with the sculptural rods doubling as bike racks. They make a great addition to the trail, providing human-focused design that facilitates walking and biking.
This list is, of course, not exhaustive—if you have found a hidden gem along the trail, big or small, send it to @schuylkillbanks on Instagram or Facebook for a chance to be featured!
