Kane Park: Transforming 33rd and Spruce Streets with a New Public Space |
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July 16, 2013,
Volume 60, No.1 |
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From left to right, above, Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and EVP for the Health System Larry Jameson, with donors Martha Wallace and Edward W. Kane, along with CEO of UPHS Ralph Muller; EVP Craig Carnaroli and Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services Anne Papageorge. Photograph by Scott Spitzer. |
Penn’s new Edward W. Kane Park, marked its official opening to the University community on June 11, with a ribbon-cutting celebration (see photo above). Edward W. Kane, C’71, and his wife, Martha ‘Marty’ Wallace, are parents of two Penn alums who graduated in ’06 and ’09.
Mr. Kane is co-founder & senior advisor of HarbourVest Partners LLC, Boston, MA. He is a former member of Penn’s Board of Trustees (1996-2000) and a former member of School of Veterinary Medicine Board of Overseers (1992-2003). Ms. Wallace is a member of the Advisory Board of Managers of the Morris Arboretum. They have been very generous to the University over the years, supporting a wide variety of areas including the Morris Arboretum, School of Arts & Sciences, Undergraduate Scholarship, Kelly Writers House and the Penn Libraries.
The $2.5 million project—initially called the Spruce Street Plaza when the Trustees approved the resolution last summer—has been supported by a $1 million gift from Mr. Kane. He is committed to creating and sustaining green space. The gift to name Edward W. Kane Park includes an endowed portion to maintain the park.
Photo by Marguerite F. Miller
His gift has turned the former asphalt parking lot that had been known as Lot 8 into a public green space—an oasis—for enjoyment by Penn community members and campus visitors. The Kane Park (above) features benches, lighting, seasonal plantings, street trees, decorative paving, and a lawn area.
Part of Phase 2 of Penn Connects, the University’s master plan—The half-acre triangle-shaped park, located in front of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) at 34th and Spruce Streets, opened to pedestrian traffic in early December 2012.
Across 33rd Street, to the east, is the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and beyond that the Penn Tower as well as the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.
Photograph by Scott Spitzer
This birdseye view (above) is from the Chemistry Building, across Spruce Street looking south.
Landscaping was added in the spring, preparing the park for visitors and commuters.
Sustainability stats for the new open space plantings include 21 total trees planted, over 300 shrubs throughout, more than 400 plugs of grass, 1,300 daffodils and nearly 8,000 perennials and ground cover.
The establishment of this space also transforms Lot 6, the parking spaces at the southwest corner of Franklin Field, into a new location for street vendors, complete with electrical infrastructure and landscaping.
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