A disgrace on the Delaware

When William Penn first came to America in 1682, what he saw was little more than a barren expanse. Some 320 years later, visitors to the site where Penn first set foot in the colony that would be called "Pennsylvania" will also see a barren expanse.

At one time, trees and farmland extended to the banks of the Delaware River. Today that has been replaced by concrete structures and I-95. What was once pristine and untouched could now be described as desolate and unkempt. What ought to be one of Philadelphia's landmark attractions is nothing more than an eyesore.

Penn's Landing is a 13-acre site along the Delaware that embodies enough history to rival Independence Hall and enough charm to make an industrial complex look inviting. Tourists may have heard of it; some may have even ventured down there. They are probably just as disappointed with the space as I was when I first visited three years ago.

Back then, however, the city was boasting grand plans to revamp the site. A private developer was going to transform Penn's Landing into a waterfront shopping destination. People would flock from far and wide. Three years later? Nothing. That contract was axed in 2002, and it is just one episode in City Hall's on-again-off-again relationship with Penn's Landing, which has been going on for several decades.

The Penn's Landing Corporation, a quasi-public organization established in 1970, is essentially in charge of the property. So how is it doing on its mission "to promote the use and development of Philadelphia's central waterfront" so far? Where exactly is all of this development?

There is certainly a great deal of potential for the waterfront property that so far is going untapped. It's awfully strange that in a city that sits between two rivers, there is no real waterfront community.

Other cities have leveraged their waterfront assets and created destinations for tourists and locals alike.

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf is bustling even on the grayest of days. There are shops and restaurants in all of the piers, an aquarium, museums and nightlife. The scene is similar in Seattle, where the waterfront is literally steps away from downtown and is a place where anyone and everyone goes to eat seafood or enjoy one of the dozens of concerts held there every summer. Baltimore's Inner Harbor is that city's main attraction, having been revamped by a private developer a few years ago.

These are all cities with fewer people and less convenient public transportation than Philadelphia. Yet Philadelphia's waterfront remains underdeveloped and underused. Even the sunniest days in May yield only small numbers of visitors.

The biggest roadblock is, well, a road. I-95 slices between the city's edge and Penn's Landing, making it difficult to access. Out of sight, out of mind. But there are solutions to this problem. A cap can be build over the roadway that would create essentially a tunnel under what could become a public park or retail development. This is not a new idea by any means -- the plans have already been drawn.

Penn Praxis, an arm of the School of Design, was one of several groups participating in a series of forums last year on the future of Penn's Landing. A handful of proposed designs were evaluated, and two made the final cut. While anything at this point would be an improvement, both plans wisely incorporated plenty of public green space. For redevelopment to be successful, Penn's Landing must fit seamlessly into the fabric of the city, says Harris Steinberg, executive director of Penn Praxis, who believes the city is not looking at the "big picture."

And it is imperative that development take place. Public amenities such as this "are the stock and trade of any creative environment," Steinberg said about Philadelphia's attempt to woo young professionals and retain college students.

But last fall, Mayor John Street pulled the plug on the latest Penn's Landing project. While this is not surprising coming from an administration where pay-to-play is more than just a slogan and getting things done is secondary, the city deserves better.

Philadelphia does an admirable job in promoting its historical landmarks -- probably due in large part to the National Park Service. The Philadelphia Historical Commission oversees all of these sites. But when it comes to the waterfront, there is no such oversight body with any real power. The city needs to organize a panel with some teeth to give Penn's Landing the attention it deserves. And the first phone call ought to be to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, whose city is currently working on a new $85 million waterfront park.

William Penn had the soundness of minds to design Philadelphia in an organized fashion -- gee, who would have thought of streets that run on a grid? How logical. It's too bad today's city officials cannot scrape together what it takes to build a few acres of public park along the river.

Jeff Shafer is a junior marketing and management concentrator from Columbia Falls, Mont., and Editorial Page Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Par for the Course appears on alternate Thursdays.

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