Contact:   
JoAnn Loviglio
T 215.440.5546
jloviglio@centercityphila.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Signs, lighting and planters create a more welcoming, pedestrian friendly corridor

PHILADELPHIA (November 20, 2023) – Center City District (CCD) has completed a series of streetscape enhancements to create a more welcoming and pedestrian friendly shopping experience on Jewelers’ Row, improve the connection to nearby attractions and highlight the area as a destination for tourists and visitors from across the region and around the world.

These improvements, developed in partnership with the Jewelers’ Row District, include installation of lighting and banner poles on the 600 and 700 blocks of Sansom Street to draw visitors from Independence Hall; lighting, new sidewalk planters and overhead gateway signage on the 700 block of Sansom; and in-street planters on the northern side of the 700 block.

In addition to enhancing the appearance of historic Jewelers’ Row, the nation’s oldest diamond district, the beautification project will help to create better pedestrian connections not only to Independence National Historical Park, but also to Market East and Walnut Street. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded a $500,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant for the project to the CCD, which is contributing up to $1.5 million in its reserves for the improvements.

“This comprehensive plan will create an attractive look befitting this historic shopping corridor,” CCD President Paul R. Levy said. “These enhancements are one part of our comprehensive plan of improvements and activities in Center City, where the number of visitors are back at over 86% and all workers are back at 78% of 2019 levels.”

The improvements on Jewelers’ Row are among several recent CCD projects to enhance greening and safety on Center City sidewalks and streets.

CCD has also completed the second phase of a multiyear capital project to install 14 in-street barrier planters on Market Street and JFK Boulevard from 15th to 20th streets, making the office district’s busiest roadways safer for bicyclists and its sidewalks more attractive for workers, shoppers and visitors.

The low-level planters are surrounded by flexible traffic delineators and feature reflective graphics to ensure safe transit at night. The plantings are selected for hardiness and to not impede visibility for drivers, cyclists or pedestrians. They are complemented by sidewalk planters funded by adjacent property owners at several locations.

                                                                                                        ***

Center City District, a private-sector organization dedicated to making Center City Philadelphia clean, safe and attractive, is committed to maintaining Center City’s competitive edge as a regional employment center, a quality place to live, and a premier regional destination for dining, shopping and cultural attractions. Find us at www.centercityphila.org.