Center City District to rename park to honor landscape architect John F. Collins

    Local mapmakers will need to call the print shop on Tuesday, Jan. 17, when the Center City District renames a Center City green space. Chestnut Park, which runs through the lot at 1707 Chestnut St., between Chestnut and Ranstead Streets, will be rededicated as John F. Collins Park at 11 a.m., complete with a new sign.

    Motorists and bicyclists might miss the small, quiet park as they zip by, but pedestrians and neighbors are likely to recognize the space.

    John F. Collins (1936-2011) was the landscape architect who turned this one-time parking lot into a popular lunch and reading spot. He’s also responsible for the Three Bears Park in Society Hill and Schuylkill River Park on the western edge of Center City.

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