{"id":204386,"date":"2026-05-28T10:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T10:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/204386\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T10:54:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T10:54:14","slug":"columbus-square-park-a-south-philly-community-gathering-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/204386\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbus Square Park, a South Philly community gathering spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/a> beer gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The lawn at Columbus Square Park in South Philadelphia\u2019s Passyunk Square neighborhood. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

Columbus Square is a few blocks away from the famous rival cheesesteak shops, Pat\u2019s and Geno\u2019s, and from the lively East Passyunk Avenue commercial corridor<\/a>, one of the city\u2019s best-known restaurant and shopping areas.<\/p>\n

A nearby section of 13th Street draws thousands of visitors every year for the Miracle on South 13th Street<\/a> holiday light display before Christmas, as well as hordes of trick-or-treaters on Halloween.<\/p>\n

The park is also steps away from other local landmarks \u2014 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<\/a> is just up the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An early playground, and political turmoil<\/p>\n

Named Passyunk Square when it opened, the park was known for its 250 trees and raised grass plots \u201cwhich gave its walks a bold and beautiful appearance,\u201d according to a history by Andrew Stober of the Friends of Columbus Square<\/a> community group.<\/p>\n

The square has often hosted shows: summer concerts by the city\u2019s Municipal Band in 1898, opera and ballet in the 1960s and 1970s, and Shakespeare plays in recent years. It\u2019s been home to baseball and football teams, once had a bocci court, and was known for its championship marble players in the \u201940s and \u201950s, per the Friends.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s first public memorial to Columbus, Stober wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"Columbus Square Park in South Philadelphia\u2019s Passyunk Square neighborhood. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

In 1960, a stone-walled pavilion with a distinctive crown-like roof, designed by architect Elizabeth Hirsh Fleisher, was built in the park\u2019s 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<\/a> over objections from historic preservationists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

During a 2019 groundbreaking ceremony for the park\u2019s 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\u2019s fences.<\/p>\n

Nearby businesses<\/p>\n

Burrata<\/p>\n

Across the street, Burrata<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

1247 South 13th St.<\/p>\n

ReAnimator Coffee<\/p>\n

The small, sunlit shop is a half-block from the park. It\u2019s part of a small Philly-based roaster and caf\u00e9 chain<\/a>, and is said to represent a coffee \u201cThird Wave\u201d centered around connoisseurship<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

1248 S. Clarion St., at Wharton Street<\/p>\n

The Tasty<\/p>\n

Sitting catty-corner from the park in a former pizza restaurant, The Tasty<\/a> is a snug all-vegan diner serving breakfast and lunch dishes, including donuts and other house-baked goods, waffles, tofu scrambles, tempeh BLTs, \u201cchicken\u201d cheesesteaks and wraps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1401 S. 12th St.<\/p>\n

Mighty Bread<\/p>\n

Nestled on a cute tree-filled side street just south of Columbus Square, Mighty Bread<\/a> 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

1211 Gerritt St.<\/p>\n

\"\"Theatre Exile is located on 13th Street, across from Columbus Square Park in South Philadelphia\u2019s Passyunk Square neighborhood. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

Theatre Exile<\/p>\n

The nonprofit theatre company<\/a> across 13th Street from the park is known for producing challenging new plays and innovative reinterpretations of established works. It\u2019s 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\u2019s past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1340-48 S 13th St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today. In the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[90108,79593,90109,12290,90110,90111,90112,69,71,70,64976],"class_list":["post-204386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-acme","tag-city-guide","tag-columbus-square","tag-east-passyunk","tag-mighty-bread","tag-passyunk-avenue","tag-passyunk-square-civic-association","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-theatre-exile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}