Pergola park restoration begins
by DENISE MAHER and JAMES STURDIVANT
Freshly cut logs sit on the grass island next to the orange detour sign at Cresheim Valley Drive and Germantown Avenue -- the first visible signs of change for the pergola park located at this busy intersection.
The restoration is one part of a three-part community "gift" the Chestnut Hill Rotary Club has been working on for their centennial celebration. Along with the pergola, built in 1909, the group has been working in conjunction with Mt. Airy USA and others on the adjacent Cresheim Valley trail and gateway bridge projects. The Rotary Club hopes that this park, located at one of the entrances to Fairmount Park, will serve as a resting place for those biking, walking or jogging the trails.
The closing of Cresheim Valley Drive resulting from the Aug. 1 storm has left the pergola park isolated from traffic congestion, creating a safer, more efficient work area for those working on the restoration. The Pergola Restoration Committee will use the temporary detour to its advantage over the coming weeks.
Carl Shaifer, of the Pergola Restoration Committee, said "unlike everyone else in this area ... we are glad Cresheim Valley Road is [temporarily] closed."
The morning after Jeanne dumped more rain on the area saw workers from the Hedgerow Tree Service weeding around the large stone pillars that form a gateway to Cresheim Valley Drive and removing trees that have long hidden the full structure from view. Charles Brenton, of Brenton Associates, a landscape architectural firm, was on hand trimming back a large azalea on the traffic island that separates Germantown Avenue from the right turn lane onto Cresheim Valley.
"It's a shame to see something so beautifully detailed falling into disrepair," Brenton said. "It's a legacy of a time when the city was more economically vibrant."
Walking around the site, Brenton and Shaifer pointed out some of its finer details: the heavy ornamental chain around the old water trough, a mosaic picturing an old mill inside a keystone symbol, and a plaque on one of the pillars referring to a now-vanished planting honoring Samuel Newman Baxter, Fairmount Park's arborist from 1915-1945.
The plaque inspired a plan to replace two unwieldy Japanese hollies growing behind the gateway with four native Sweet Bay magnolias. A smaller plaque celebrating the International Rotary Club's centennial anniversary will also be installed in this area.
Other landscape plans include installing plantings in the traffic island and in the old water trough at the foot of the pergola, subtle lighting, replacement of rotted/weathered wooden components of the resting area and refurbishing of tile flooring.
Calla lilies, ferns and other perennial plants will be added to the traffic island, and in the planter trough, plants will be added seasonally -- from winterberry hollies in the fall to tropical flowers in the summer. Daisies, day lilies and ground covers are among the other types of plants that will be added to the area.
The pergola restoration will also make crossing the intersection easier for pedestrians. New crosswalks will direct walkers onto a brick path on the traffic island and across Cresheim Valley where it meets Germantown Avenue. The traffic island will be extended and right hand turns onto Cresheim Valley will no longer be allowed at the stoplight. Curb extensions and new plantings also will serve to calm traffic.
The hope is also to use the park as a unifying element between Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy.
"It's an extraordinary vision," Brenton said, "and quite an ambitious project for a service organization to take on. The Fairmount Park Commission has been very supportive of the plans."
The commission formally approved the pergola project Sept. 8.
An architect since 1986, Brenton was chosen to work on the project because of his past work with historical landmarks.
A community cleanup at the park is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves and rakes to help with the effort.