CCD unveils new café on Parkway

Michael DiBerardinis, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, joined Paul R. Levy, President & CEO, Center City District, for the dedication of Three Parkway Plaza and the grand opening of Capriccio at Café Cret.

The balloon festooned activities marked the completion of another initiative by the CCD, in partnership with the Fairmount Park Commission, to enhance and animate public open space along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The café, which features indoor and outdoor seating, will be open seven days a week, year-round, generating revenue to support maintenance of the plaza and the Parkway.  The café, named after one of the original designers of the Parkway, Paul Cret, will also serve as an information center for programs and events on The Parkway. 

The renovation of the plaza began five years ago. Landscape improvements designed by Cope Linder Associates, engineered by Urban Engineers and built by Seravalli Construction, were completed in 2005 and consisted of new paving, a granite seating wall at the western point of the park, new benches along the Parkway, approximately 15 new trees and seasonal flowers, a new underground irrigation system, and new pedestrian scale lights.

The café will be open Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 7 PM and 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekends (until 8:00 PM between Memorial Day and Labor Day).  Café Cret’s menu will include local Philadelphia products, such as La Colombe coffee, LeBus breads, Gilda’s Biscotti, Lore’s Chocolates and Bassetts Ice Cream.

Posted by Matt Golas. Contact him at mgolas@design.upenn.edu