Trophies for Columbus Square?

We were treated to a "walk through" of the new Rec Center last week - a sign, clearly, that the Center will be finished soon. There was even some talk that it would be a "Christmas present" to the community.

I think we should be taking bets as to whether it's actually finished in 2007. What are the odds, at this point, that it will be finished when planned? Not at all good, based on past experience.

In this photo, Frank Abbott from the Philadelphia Capital Programs Office is explaining what needs to be done to complete the trophy case. The existence of this trophy case begs the question of the future use of the park - presumably, there will be organized sports. I think this was news to some people, given that the community around the park is engaged in discussions about its future use. But are there plans to organize these sports, whatever they are, and will there be adequate, competent staff to supervise activities in the park? Who will decide what sports and what teams will play here? Will there be staff and funding adequate to maintain the park for this use (not to mention restoring it in any way)?

The View From Up There (Back Then)

Here's the view of Columbus Square from Google .... click on the image for a larger size.

As you can see, this photo was taken before work on the "new" recreation center began - in the upper right corner of the park, you can see the basketball court, the reddish-colored mats under the three groups of play equipment, and the old rec building. Although you can see the bald spot in the center of the field, there's still quite a bit of green around it. Compare the green of the park grass with the much greener lawn in front of the fire station at the lower right corner. My guess is that this photo was taken in early spring 2005 or earlier.

For more satellite images, checked out Google Earth.

The Sod is Down

They've just put down sod outside the front of the unfinished rec center. Did the neighbors want something that looks like a little piece of suburbia? Oh, does what the neighbors want even matter? The flower garden etc. can come later I suppose.

You can see that the building exterior above the entrance is still not finished - the notorious tarp spot. Apparently they're fabricating steel "Columbus Square" signage that will go there. I guess they didn't have time to figure out what the sign should say or when they'd need it - after all the project has only been going on for more than two years.