Sister Cities Park

Sister Cities Park is located in the heart of Philadelphia's arts & culture district. The park contains a water fountain with ten geyser spouts, each representing one of Philadelphia's sister cities around the globe. The 2010 renovation of the park was inspired by the natural landscape of Wissahickon Valley, a seven-mile wooded gorge that runs along the Wissahickon Creek in northwestern Philadelphia. The park incorporates sustainable design, including geothermal technologies and a green roof on the cafe building. There is also a Children's Discovery Garden featuring winding paths, scalable rocks, and a wading stream to encourage play and imagination. In 2016, Robert Indiana's six-foot AMOR sculpture was installed in the park, spelling out the word "love" in both Latin and Spanish. The sculpture was originally placed atop the staircase to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in honor of Pope Francis's 2015 visit to the city, before it was permanently installed in Sister Cities Park.

Preparations for the renovation of the Sister Cities Park began in 2010. At that time, archaeologists unearthed sixty graves from the early nineteenth century when the land was used as a potter's field and graveyard in Northwest Square. (This square was renamed Logan Square in 1825, in honor of the city's mayor, James Logan). During the summer of 1864, Logan Square was used as the site of a Great Central Fair hosted by the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which evolved to become the American Red Cross. The proceeds from this fair were allocated for the manufacture and purchase of supplies for the Union Army during the Civil War.

In 1976, Sister Cities Park was dedicated as part of Philadelphia's participation in the international Sister Cities Program. This program paired Philadelphia with eleven sister cities in ten different countries around the world. These sister cities include Florence, Italy; Tel Aviv, Israel; Torun, Poland; Tianjin, China; Incheon, Korea; Douala, Cameroon; Nizhny, Novgorod, Russia; Kobe, Japan; Aix-en-Provence, France; Abruzzo, Italy; and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The program seeks to encourage dialogue and promote understanding between nations and cultures, while also strengthening global economic ties. Near the park, there is a row of international flags on display along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Within the park, sustainable design is emphasized through the incorporation of geothermal technologies and a green roof on the park's cafe building. The green roof helps to moderate extreme temperatures by providing insulation against the cold in winter, while offering a natural source of shade in summer. The grasses planted on the roof also help to absorb and reduce stormwater runoff year-round. In addition to the cafe's green roof, the park's native plants naturally help to filter the air, thereby reducing urban pollution and smog. After the renovation of the park was completed in 2010, Inga Saffron, a journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote that "the transformation of this tiny shard of land amounts to a small miracle. Every Philadelphia neighborhood should have a park as good as Sister Cities."

Sister Cities Park History, Center City District Parks. Accessed January 8th, 2023. https://centercityphila.org/parks/sister-cities-park/sister-cities-park-history.

Sister Cities Park, Center City District Parks. Accessed January 8th, 2023. https://centercityphila.org/parks/sister-cities-park.

Children's Discovery Garden, Center City District Parks. Accessed January 8th, 2023. https://centercityphila.org/parks/sister-cities-park/childrens-discovery-garden.

Logan Square: Neighborhood History, Preservation Alliance. Accessed January 8th, 2023. https://www.preservationalliance.com/explore-philadelphia/philadelphia-neighborhoods/logan-square/.