Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Throughout the summer of 2009 the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program engaged dozens of city youth in creating a streetscape mural along the 2100 block of Norris Street.  Students used glass, ceramic, and paint to create a  collection of vignettes that guide pedestrians from Front Street to Frankford Avenue. This Mural Corps  educational art project focuses on telling the story of the water cycle and the Delaware Estuary, tying in the neighborhood’s riverfront history as well as its commitment to sustainability.|









The Norris Street Passage streetscape mural is part of the Big Green Block program of Sustainable 19125, a broad and innovative partnership among community residents, businesses, and numerous other partners to make 19125 the greenest zip code in Philadelphia. The Big Green Block focuses on green infrastructure projects in the block bounded by Front Street to Frankford Avenue from Norris Street south to Palmer, creating a green block which can viewed as a national model in regards to sustainability.

 In 2008 Norris Street neighbors partnered with NKCDC and Interface Studios to help create a master plan for their block. In addition to this streetscape mural, other elements within the plan which have already become a reality include new trees with water retention boxes, solar lighting, and a LEED-certified high school which is    currently under construction.









Photos by NKCDC and the Mural Arts Program. For more great images of the students working on the project please visit the Mural Corps Blog. For more information on Sustainable 19125 and the Big Green Block, please visit www.sustainable19125.org.