Representatives from Riverfront North, along with City Councilmember Bobby Henon and state Rep. Joe Hohenstein, gathered at the Bridesburg Recreation Center Saturday afternoon to celebrate the unveiling of UnOrthodox, a new children’s playful learning installation that has made its way to the rec center’s front lawn.
The installation includes colored log hops for children to sit and play on, as well as signs placed around the lawn that offer factoids about the local environment and other interesting facts about the neighborhood. It also includes a Wheel of Fortune-inspired board, according to Riverfront North Executive Director Stephanie Phillips, which includes pictographs of nature and the river on two of the four sides of the rotating blocks. The other two sides of the blocks spell out “take us to the river” in English and in Spanish.
“This is really what a tight community is about,” said Henon at the event, “when you work with great partners with great leadership like Riverfront North.”
Much of the material used to create the installation came from recycled materials.
“This wood is repurposed from trees we have taken down from at Pennypack on the Delaware as part of our forest restoration project,” said Phillips, referring to the log hops.
Hohenstein congratulated the designers, whom he said did a fantastic job with the recycled material. He also complimented Riverfront North’s ability to connect the neighborhood.
In July, Riverfront North is expected to move the installation to the new Bridesburg Park, which, according to Phillips, the organization has achieved phase one construction funding for. Phillips said her organization is expected to break ground on the new park in early 2022 and have it opened to the public in early 2023.
Check out more photos from the unveiling below:
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- City Councilmember Bobby Henon chats with residents at the unveiling of the UnOrthodox playful learning installation at the Bridesburg Recreation Center.
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- Children play on UnOrthodox’s log hops station.
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- From left: Gina Craigo, community engagement manager for Riverfront North; state Rep. Joe Hohenstein; Stephanie Phillips, executive director of Riverfront North; City Councilman Bobby Henon.
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- The Wheel of Fortune inspired board spells out “take us to the river” in both English and Spanish.
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- Animals are hidden in the trees and on the lawn around the Bridesburg Recreation Center for children to identify.
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- The UnOrthodox playful learning installation sits mostly on the front lawn of the Bridesburg Recreation Center.
