With Art Philadelphia

Located at the foot of City Hall, Dilworth Plaza is undergoing a major transformation into a modern and welcoming outdoor space.

Scheduled to reopen in 2014, the renovated plaza will feature more than 120,500-square-feet of public space complete with a large lawn, tree groves, a massive programmable fountain and a café with seating for 125 diners.

Public Art

The location serves as a gateway to the Broad and Market Street subways and trolley lines, which are reflected in a new work of public art created by internationally recognized artist Janet Echelman.
Entitled Pulse, the new installation uses the plaza’s 11,000-square-foot programmable fountain to trace the path of trains traveling on the three lines below the plaza in real time, coded to the colors associated with each transit line. Thin columns of dry mist from the fountain help highlight the routes and allow visitors to walk through the installation with getting wet.

The Market Street Walkway

The Market Street Walkway is the plaza’s central axis, running from 15th Street, through to Market Street between the plaza’s head houses, creating a “bridge” as it passes through the fountain and art installation. Along the walkway, changing digital images mounted on railings at the head houses will provide a variety of historic and current information for those living, working in and visiting the city.

Tree Groves

There are six tree groves located on the plaza, providing shade and creating an oasis in the center of Philadelphia. The tree species selected are conducive to city settings and include Honey locust, Black locust, Katsura and London plane. These tree groves will help lower air temperature as well as make the air healthier.