Former reservoir set for rebirth as North Philly preserve

A 37-acre waterway that was shuttered as a reservoir a half-century ago is being reborn as a lake in North Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports Mayor Michael Nutter will announce the new Discovery Center Tuesday by attempting to climb a 30-foot temporary rock wall at the lake in the city’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood.

Since the East Park Reservoir was closed as a city water source and gated off from the community more than 50 years ago, it has morphed into a pristine lake that is home to hundreds of native and migratory birds.

The fence around the lake will soon come down, and the center is slated to open in 2017 as a 50-acre Outward Bound and National Audubon Society lake-and-woodlands nature center for kids.