FDR Park launches information desk at new Welcome Center
The Welcome Center will eventually feature a handful of food vendors, but the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has no timeline for that yet.
South Philadelphia’s FDR Park now has its Welcome Center partially open to the public, with a public bathroom available for use and volunteers working an information desk seven days a week.
“Do you need help finding anything?” a chipper volunteer asked, sticking her head out of the information center entrance during the blistering heat wave in July.
The information desk is inside the Welcome Center and has been staffed since around late June, according to Philadelphia Parks and Recreation spokesperson Ra’Chelle Rogers. The restroom and information desk are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, with closing extended to 5 p.m. on weekends.
The air-conditioned respite from the heat showcases FDR’s programming, not limited to jazz in the park, community boating, and birding — all for free.
Friends of FDR Park, the nonprofit that advocates for the 348-acre space, is also selling houseplants, seeds native to the park, and crocheted flowers as fundraisers.
“FDR Park has always been a place that brings people together, and it’s rewarding to see the Welcome Center now offering the everyday amenities this community has long deserved — from public restrooms to visitor resources,” said Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson, adding she was “grateful to everyone who stuck with us throughout this process.”
The former guardhouse and horse stables that now make up the Welcome Center and abutting offices for park staff underwent a $12 million renovation in 2022 that was completed last summer. The renovated space integrated the original guardhouse and stables’ design and restored some of the windows, doors, glazed brickwork, and original hardware, according to the conservancy.
The Welcome Center will eventually feature a handful of food vendors, but Philadelphia Parks and Recreation has no timeline for that yet, as the city would have to seek requests for proposals, according to Rogers.
When fully operational, the Welcome Center will have 3,800 square feet of event space available that should be able to accommodate up to 200 guests for community meetings, according to the Fairmount Park Conservancy, which raised half the funds associated with the center’s renovation and is managing FDR’s larger once-in-a-generation overhaul. Additional bathrooms will eventually be available inside.
For now, park visitors can grab a seat outside the Welcome Center, where several bright orange tables overlook a field of wildflowers.
Park lovers willing to guide visitors can volunteer to help at the information desk through the Friends of FDR Park.
