Great weather and a rare opportunity to stroll car-free streets near Rittenhouse Square drew thousands of people to the neighborhood Sunday.
They took yoga classes on Walnut Street in the square, played ping pong, dined outside, took advantage of business promotions and walked along seven blocks of open road.
The event was sponsored by the Center City District, the city’s downtown business organization, with the goal of promoting the area’s shops and restaurants, president and CEO Prema Katari Gupta said.
The events was inspired by similar street-closure events in Boston and other cities, and by the much larger Philly Free Streets events held by the city from 2016 to 2019.
The seven blocks of Walnut and 18th streets will go car-free again for the next three Sundays. CCD will collect data on the number of visitors and benefits to area businesses as it considers whether to hold more such events in the future, Gupta said.
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