The Past and Future of a Camden Green Space

As work on the Camden Greenway moves forward, a renewed appreciation for Camden City's historic Cooper River - the centerpiece of the Greenway - is sure to follow. Here is a brief history of the Cooper and the long-planned park along its eastern edge.

Originally designated as a creek due to its narrow width and tributary nature, the Cooper River meanders northwest to its confluence with the Delaware River where it forms the border between Cramer Hill and North Camden. Like many of Camden's landmarks and institutions the Cooper River was named after the prolific Cooper family, pioneers of many of Camden's early business establishments. The Cooper's Ferry port was at the foot of what is now Cooper Street, and along with another 4 ferry companies dotting the Delaware waterfront, made early Camden into a transit destination for those traveling to Philadelphia from points north, south and east.

While commerce and industry developed along the Cooper's western banks as early as the mid-19th century, the east remained relatively pastoral until well into the 20th century. Following construction of the Ben Franklin Bridge, however, a new road was built connecting that engineering marvel with the airport circle just to the east of the river.

When the Admiral Wilson Boulevard (then known as Bridge Boulevard) first opened in the 1920's it was a two lane street with no development along its edges. Early conceptual plans, in fact, called for the south side of the Blvd. to be set aside for a linear park between road's edge and the river, creating a green riparian preserve within the city limits. Art Deco lampposts and lush trees protrude from a grassy embankment in an artists rendering, with a pedestrian path laid out through the middle.

Those plans were shelved soon after conception, as local politicians re-envisioned the space to be a commercial corridor for the ever-increasing driving public. In 1927 Sears-Roebuck built a state-of-the-art department store at the Blvd. and Mt. Ephraim Ave. which kicked off a series of auto-centric developments that eventually filled in much of the street's perimeter.

By the 1960s the portion of the Cooper River along Admiral Wilson Blvd. was completely obscured by a wall of commercial and light industrial developments. For all intents and purposes, the river had become invisible. Thousands of drivers a day cruised down Admiral Wilson with little or no knowledge of the river that flowed just beyond the building line. It wasn't until the year 2000 that the structures along Admiral Wilson Blvd. were replaced with parkland along the Cooper River's east bank.

Sadly, Gateway Park - as this stretch is known - has yet to be opened to the general public.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. As part of the larger Camden Greenway, Gateway Park is once again on the planning agenda and numerous organizations are working on it. The people of Camden and the Greater Philadelphia region are a little bit closer to having a great public resource in their backyard, with the Cooper River at its heart.