Gateway Plaza
The Gateway Plaza at the famous intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue reinvents the main entrance of FDR Park with an eye-catching, 6-foot-tall “FDR” sign and a pedestrian entryway that connects the park to the Broad Street Line, bus routes, and a brand-new bike path. Completed in June 2025 thanks to support from the Fair Play Campaign, this reimagined public plaza is designed to be the welcome mat for FDR Park and a destination in its own right, serving as a meeting point and entryway for park visitors. Custom benches, groves of native trees, water misters, and a flowering understory welcome visitors, and the plaza’s design has seamlessly incorporated infrastructure to address stormwater management needs with rain gardens and plant beds.
See highlights from the Gateway to Play ribbon-cutting celebration
Recognition:
New 6-foot sign now greets visitors at the entrance of Philadelphia’s FDR Park, NBC10, October 2024
New signage at FDR Park, South Philly Review, October 2024
“I started coming here recently when I learned about the Gateway Plaza opening. I didn’t know we had this park in the South Philly area, but I can’t stop coming by now.”
Credits:
Project Team: Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, WRT Design, Rockport Construction Company, Inc.
Photography: Albert Yee Photo
Time Lapse Video: Fairmount Park Conservancy
