Tenleytown Main Street will celebrate PARK(ing) Day on Friday, September 15, joining communities across Washington, D.C. in reimaging public spaces. Begun in 2005 in San Francisco, PARK(ing) Day is a global event in which citizens turn metered parking spaces into public spaces for one day. The annual event seeks to show how streets can be designed as places for people to congregate and form community connections.
Tenleytown Main Street will transform two parking spaces on Brandywine Street, near Wisconsin Avenue, into a mini-park where those who work and live in Tenleytown can introduce themselves to one another.
The park, which is organized by TMS Design Committee member Neil Flanagan, will be a place for locals to drop in and discover the diversity of Tenleytown. Under the theme “I’m Tenleytown!,” visitors will be able to leave greetings for one another on a public board or take photographs with iconic neighborhood images.
“The Wisconsin Avenue corridor is the heart of the community, but as a large thoroughfare it’s not always inviting,” Flanagan said. “There are not many places to sit and not a lot of useable green space. PARK(ing) Day is a great way to show how little improvements could make Wisconsin Avenue a better place to get to know your neighbors.”
In 2016, Tenleytown became the first neighborhood in Ward 3 to participate in PARK(ing) Day. The temporary park kicked off TMS’ campaign to better maintain and activate green space within the Main Street area. TMS currently tends more than 100 street trees along Wisconsin Avenue through the Wisconsin Avenue Clean Team, and has launched an initiative to improve the triangle park at Wisconsin Avenue and Fessenden Street.
The Tenleytown PARK(ing) Day park will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at 4024 Brandywine Street. All are invited to stop by, enjoy the park, and introduce themselves.
