False panic at Suburban Station. Hefner dies. Reconceptualizing Independence Park | Morning Newsletter
Is Independence Park a public jewel, or a barely tolerated mediocrity? And what was all the commotion last night at Suburban Station?
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In case you heard about (or got caught in) a yell-fire-and-flee incident last night at Suburban Station, don't worry. It was all unfounded panic, no people or systems were hurt, and there should be no impact on your morning commute. If you like what you're reading, it's free to sign up to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback, so please email me, tweet me @JS_Parks, or reach our social team on Facebook.
— Jessica Parks
» READ MORE: Is Independence Park a public jewel? Or a barely tolerated mediocrity?
Independence National Historic Park is showing its age. The grass is patchy. Deferred maintenance is taking a toll. There are few patches of color. Metal security barriers lend an unwelcoming vibe. Of the 33 historic buildings, only 20 are open during the summer, and fewer in winter. Vast empty space makes it feel … well, empty. Still, the park keeps hitting new visitor records: 5.1 million last year.
To locals, the park is like "the front parlor no one goes into. We may occasionally drag out-of-town relatives, but the rest of the time, residents avoid it," our Editorial Board writes, arguing that the city and the nation deserve something better.
We surveyed dozens of stakeholders from around the region — officials, artists, tourists, even some children — to see what they think of the park, what it has become, and what it could be.
Philly tourists review the park: A disturbingly empty space in the very center of the city.
What the future could look like: From Ed Rendell to "Betsy Ross," Philly luminaries reimagine the space.
Isabella Zepeda: We asked a 7th grader to document her visit.
A look back at history: How Independence Park brought drama from the start.
From the archives: Inga Saffron reviews the 2010 revamp of Independence Mall.
What changes would you recommend for the park? Email us at indy@philly.com.
Please include your email address and phone number. (We won't publish those.) Some answers may appear in the Inquirer and on Philly.com.
What you need to know today
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner died Wednesday night at his home in Los Angeles.
House Speaker Paul Ryan will visit a Delco pipe-fitting factory today to talk about taxes.
Pennsylvania released its school test scores Wednesday. Here's a searchable database to find out how your local schools fared.
Philly is trying to cut energy use in city-owned buildings, starting with its biggest power hog: the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Small-business columnist Diane Mastrull shows the power of a little public shaming. The angel investment conference she called out this spring for being almost exclusively men is now trying to be more inclusive of female entrepreneurs and investors.
Renovating the Divine Lorraine Hotel is a risky venture — the developer says he has already spent seven times what he budgeted on the lobby. He's forging ahead anyway.
"It's been very blatant, clear, and direct, quite frankly, racism." Tania Turner was among dozens of parents and students complaining of racial incidents getting worse on Bucks County campuses over the last year.
» READ MORE: #OurPhilly
We want to see what our community looks like through your eyes. Show us the park that your family walks through every weekend with the dog, the block party in your neighborhood or the historic stretch you see every morning on your commute to work.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we'll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out to build those followers!
That’s Interesting
Love Yards beer? You'll find it in a dessert at Sweet Box Cupcakes. This kind of cross-pollination between the city's artisan foodsmiths and its innovative restaurants is on the rise. Win+Win.
"The perfect city frankly doesn't exist." That may be true, but with this cool interactive, you can pull the levers of Philadelphia's tax rates, education level, employment pool, traffic and transit, labor costs, diversity, cost of living, and other factors to see where we actually stack up against other major metros vying for Amazon's next headquarters. In fact, maybe we should forget Amazon and see if this tool sheds light on any other big fish we could lure.
After a 7-5 win over the Nationals last night, the Phillies will finish off the season this weekend with three games against the Mets.
30 Rock isn't totally disappearing from streaming — it'll be available on Hulu starting Sunday.
What's a nice French-Canadian boy like Yannick Nézet-Séguin doing with an American repertoire of semi-pops Gershwin and Bernstein? Opening the season at Carnegie Hall. (And don't worry, the conductor has recovered from the recurring arm tendinitis that sidelined him earlier — a common ailment among maestros.)
It's important to stay hydrated after a tough workout. Or you could go the other direction and start drinking with your workout buddies.
Opinions
The first of CHOP's four towers is up and aiming to project big-city modernity. But architecture critic Inga Saffron says the effect is something closer to a suburban office park.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a sober voice as head of the Foreign Relations Committee, is not seeking re-election. There goes Trump's Middle East policy, Trudy Rubin writes.
What we’re reading
A former North Philly resident is trying to bring his love of rowing to Wilmington — with the hope of making the violence-plagued city safer in the process, DelawareOnline writes.
Wired profiles Anthony Levandowski, a millionaire engineer who helped develop autonomous cars for Google and created a religious organization that has artificial intelligence as its godlike figure.
The school year is underway, and the Philadelphia Citizen has a helpful list of 24 things you can do to lend a hand to schools in your neighborhood.
The Marshall Project writes about a woman who became a published historical scholar while serving a 20-year prison sentence for murdering her son. Harvard accepted her into their doctoral history program — and then rescinded the offer.
Your Daily Dose of | Sweet
Bubble tea and fruity snow ice and mousse and soft-serve and nitrogen-zapped cotton candy are just a few of the treats you'll find on the 1000 block of Cherry Street in Chinatown. The addition of several new shops has turned the block into a dessert-alley destination.
Corrected: This post has been updated to say that the Divine Lorraine's developer is over budget on the lobby portion of the project, not the entire thing.