Tank G.
Yelp
This is a nice, be it small plaza located in the heart of Philly across from love park. The plaza has many features that you may miss. The most prominent feature is the sculpture in the middle of it. The sculpture is the work of Nathan Rapoport and holds the distinction of being the first public monument in North America to memorialize Holocaust victims. If was gifted to the city in 1964 by a group of holocaust survivors and local Jewish leaders.
The sculpture depicts a mixture of body parts in the shape of a large flame. It is very nice and in great shape, especially considering its age.
The park also features Six Pillars, which are 6 black granite slabs that are intended to honor the 6 million Jews murdered during the holocaust. The panels has writing on both sides. One side chronicles a Holocaust atrocity and the reverse side has a contrasting American constitutional protections/values.
Other features the plaza has are an eternal flame that you will find in a sloping black granite wall, known as the wall of remembrance and represents hope and light. There are also a grove of trees on the parks perimeter that represents the woods that sheltered those that resisted the Nazis.
I missed this during my visit, but there is train tracks in the plaza, but not just any train tracks. They are original tracks from the railroad near Polish Death Camp of Treblinka. They are embedded in the plaza's cement. That is awesome.
I also did not notice the Theresienstadt tree that was planted there. This is the type of tree that were natured by Jewish children while they were awaiting their fate in death camps. The tree is meant to symbolize life and hope for future generations.
The innovative plaza allows visitors to use an app called IWalk to guide them through the plaza. It is available on most major phone platforms. It is pretty cool. As visitors approach specific features of the Plaza, the app presents tailored content for that respective feature. Which is even cooler, the app customizes the content based on the visitor's age, language preference, and learning objectives.
As this plaza is located downtown, parking is a bit tricky. You will have to pay for metered street parking, but it is reasonably priced and you may have to walk a bit.
I have been to many holocaust memorials and plaza across the country and this is one of the better ones. This is a very nice plaza that has a lot of symbolism/meaning and does a great job honoring and remembering those that lost their life during the Holocaust. It has a calming peacefulness about it, which is hard to do in the busy downtown Philly area. It is well put together and is very well maintained. I recommend putting this spot on your itinerary while you are touring Philly.
