Wilmington celebrates National Parking Day with art

In honor of National Parking Day, the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation and Creative District are bringing attention to parking areas transformed into a space of art.

On Friday, the organizations came together to debut what they call a park(let) located outside the iNSPIRE Lot on 7th Street between Orange and Tatnall Streets in Wilmington’s Creative District.

“As a conversation starter, ‘park(lets)’, which transform a parking spot into a temporary public space, were conceived around creating green spaces in urban areas and reintroducing pedestrian scale amenities,” said Laura Semmelroth, Creative District Strategist.

Several groups were involved in the project. The new park(let) was commissioned by WRC and designed by the Wilmington Placemakers Inc. The Challenge Program also had a hand in the project with the Wilmington Parking Authority that sponsored the work.

The new park(let) runs along the Creative District’s 7th Street Arts Bridge which is the first phase of public art projects within the district. Project leaders said the 7th Street Arts Bridge (7SAB) is where residents will see the strategic corridor transform parking areas to create structural and visual connections between people and places. Some of the properties targeted are considered to be in need of revitalization.

“National Parking(ing) day is celebrated worldwide, helping cities bring life back to their streets. We are excited to celebrate park(ing) day in Wilmington and hope it leads to more creativity around space,” Semmelroth said.