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Southwark Queen Village Community Garden

Southwark Queen Village. Image provided by Gayle Green

311-333 Christian St.

In 1976, the community garden committee of the Queen Village Neighbors Association began turning vacant lots at 311-33 Christian Street (formerly Henry Berk elementary school) into a garden as part of the neighborhood's bicentennial. The garden was preserved as green space in perpetuity, and provides more than just fruits and vegetables; it is the product of the labor of older African Americans and white ethnic residents who worked together with newly settled young professionals to create a space of "spiritual nourishment" for all who live in Queen Village. The park also bears one of the signature mosaic murals of Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar. This garden is a living symbol of the neighborhood's many ethnic and cultural transitions.

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