Pop-Up Beer Garden Coming to Rail Park

Finally, Philadelphians will get a taste of the much-ballyhooed park planned along the Reading Viaduct.

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This summer, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society plans to open two pop-up beer gardens, a return to 15th and South streets plus a new park at the foot of the Philadelphia Rail Park.

Thanks to a $360,000 grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphians will get their first extended interaction with the planned Rail Park. A pop-up garden is set for 10th and Hamilton streets, at the base of the Reading Viaduct. Today, the area is a tangle of crumbling concrete, overgrown lots and decay, but with the help of PHS and noted landscape architect Walter Hood, the project aims to merge the post-industrial structure with urban green space. The pop-up will raise awareness for the creation of the Rail Park as it blends art, history and horticulture. The location is convenient to live music venues Union Transfer and Underground Arts, as well as the Chinatown and Callowhill neighborhoods. Perhaps even more so than the other PHS pop-ups, this location will challenge the way Philadelphians interact with and envision their urban spaces.

15th and South streets will be a PHS pop-up garden for the third year in a row. PHS returns to the same location as last year’s South Street garden, on the west side of Jamaican Jerk Hut.

Last year, more than 75,000 guests visited the PHS pop-up gardens between early June and mid-October. Proceeds from the pop-ups support PHS programs, including City Harvest, a network of community gardeners who raise fresh food for more than 1,200 families in need each week during growing seasons.

More details, including opening dates, should be made available by the end of the month.