Princeton’s first “parklet,” a public seating platform built to transform curbside parking spaces into spaces for the community to enjoy, was installed last week.
Also known as “street seats,” parklets provide a means for the community, artists, art organizations, schools, residents and business owners to participate in designing and repurposing a parking space into a public art-based space. Located in front of small world coffee on Witherspoon Street in downtown Princeton, the parklet is the first of its kind in Princeton.
“A ‘village’ of collaborators had a hand in creating the Princeton Parklet,” said Maria Evans, Arts Council of Princeton’s artistic director.
Mayor Liz Lempert and the Town of Princeton approached the Arts Council of Princeton to assemble a team to facilitate the creation of a parklet in Princeton, similar to those found in major cities such as New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Ms. Evans, also an art teacher at Stuart Country Day School in Princeton, recognized that the parklet project could provide a wonderful teaching opportunity for Stuart art students.
Ms. Evans and her class collaborated with a team comprising Princeton government’s Lee Solow, the Princeton Public Works crew, George Akers of Material Design Build, architect Kirsten Thoft, Mike Hathaway of Revival Construction Co, landscape artist Peter Soderman, and small world coffee owner Jessica Durrie, to make Mayor Lempert’s vision a reality and build a beautiful parklet for the town to enjoy.
The parklet will be in place for two to four months. An official opening ceremony and dedication of the parklet will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at the site on Witherspoon Street.
