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In the South Philadelphia neighborhood called East Passyunk or Passyunk Square, a few blocks west of the Italian Market, one of the main community gathering places is Columbus Square Park, located between 12th and 13th streets and Wharton and Reed streets.
A popular park since it opened in 1874, it underwent extensive renovations in 2019 and is a big draw for young children and families who use the playground and summer sprayground.
Other attractions that fit into the one-square-block park are baseball and soccer fields, two dog park areas, a recreation center that hosts afterschool and summer programs, and a picnicking lawn that occasionally hosts Parks on Tap beer gardens.
Columbus Square is a few blocks away from the famous rival cheesesteak shops, Pat’s and Geno’s, and from the lively East Passyunk Avenue commercial corridor, one of the city’s best-known restaurant and shopping areas.
A nearby section of 13th Street draws thousands of visitors every year for the Miracle on South 13th Street holiday light display before Christmas, as well as hordes of trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
The park is also steps away from other local landmarks — a fire station across the street, and an ACME supermarket built on the site of the former Moyamensing Prison. Christopher Columbus Charter School is on an adjoining corner and Fanny Jackson Coppin School is just up the street.
An early playground, and political turmoil
Named Passyunk Square when it opened, the park was known for its 250 trees and raised grass plots “which gave its walks a bold and beautiful appearance,” according to a history by Andrew Stober of the Friends of Columbus Square community group.
The square has often hosted shows: summer concerts by the city’s Municipal Band in 1898, opera and ballet in the 1960s and 1970s, and Shakespeare plays in recent years. It’s been home to baseball and football teams, once had a bocci court, and was known for its championship marble players in the ’40s and ’50s, per the Friends.
In the 1940s, as part of a movement to build more playgrounds in Philadelphia, the park was reconfigured with a new softball field, recreation building and wading pool to attract more children. It was renamed Columbus Square in 1954, likely making it the city’s first public memorial to Columbus, Stober wrote.
In 1960, a stone-walled pavilion with a distinctive crown-like roof, designed by architect Elizabeth Hirsh Fleisher, was built in the park’s southwest corner. Originally meant to be a senior center, the small circular building briefly served as a weightlifting gym and then went unused for decades. It was demolished in 2019 over objections from historic preservationists.
The park has also been the site of political protests. In 1933, a Communist and anti-fascist rally attracted 2,500 people to hear speeches, until it was disrupted by khaki-shirted fascist sympathizers. A man was killed during the riot and a material witness was later arrested at a nearby Communist headquarters.
During a 2019 groundbreaking ceremony for the park’s renovation, Native American rights activists held a protest and called for its name to be changed. In 2020, a Black Lives Matter march concluded at the square and marchers posted hundreds of signs in support of racial justice on the park’s fences.
Nearby businesses
Burrata
Across the street, Burrata is a cozy Italian BYOB serving a salad with its namesake cheese along with stufata seafood stew, pasta dishes, and entrees like chicken milanese and branzino with cannellini beans.
1247 South 13th St.
ReAnimator Coffee
The small, sunlit shop is a half-block from the park. It’s part of a small Philly-based roaster and café chain, and is said to represent a coffee “Third Wave” centered around connoisseurship.
1248 S. Clarion St., at Wharton Street
The Tasty
Sitting catty-corner from the park in a former pizza restaurant, The Tasty is a snug all-vegan diner serving breakfast and lunch dishes, including donuts and other house-baked goods, waffles, tofu scrambles, tempeh BLTs, “chicken” cheesesteaks and wraps.
1401 S. 12th St.
Mighty Bread
Nestled on a cute tree-filled side street just south of Columbus Square, Mighty Bread attracts a long line of customers on weekends for its housemade sourdough bread, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, pastries and coffee. Its weekday afternoon aperitivo offers cocktails and fancy snacks.
1211 Gerritt St.
Theatre Exile
The nonprofit theatre company across 13th Street from the park is known for producing challenging new plays and innovative reinterpretations of established works. It’s in the basement of a 2019 apartment building admired for its attractive rose-colored bricks and arched window frames that recall the old-school warehouses of the neighborhood’s past.
1340-48 S 13th St.
