NOTICE: PhillyWatersheds.org has been archived.

The archive will be available at http://archive.phillywatersheds.org for approximately one year (through September 2020). If you use or are responsible for content here that is not yet available elsewhere, please contact the PWD Digital Team.

Shissler Spray Park Welcomes Its First Guests

Giggles and screams filled the Shissler Recreation Center playground last Thursday. Soaking wet children ran up and down the pavement between beds of ornamental grasses and repurposed mill stones; some, still in their graduation gowns. Thursday May 23rd was a day of celebration for the parents and children of Shissler’s 2013 pre-school graduation. After a long ceremony of singing, dancing and pictures, the students raced out to the playground for the ribbon cutting of Shissler Spray Park. Tentative at first, the children eventually ran in and out of the ground sprinklers, splashing and playing together on the hot May day. 

The spray park, a joint initiative between Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and the Mural Arts program, became an official part of ‘The Big Green Block’ in Kensington. The Big Green Block, located just off the Berks El station, is named for all of the environmental features of the area – including the LEED certified Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) and PWD green stormwater infrastructure tools (stormwatertree trenches, rain gardens and more). The New Kensington Community Development Corporation (CDC) has further plans to re-do the basketball courts at the neighboring Shissler Recreation Center.Learn more about the creation of Kensington’s big green block here.