Plans To Refurbish Doylestown Pocket Park Approved By Council

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Plans by the Doylestown Historical Society to refurbish a pocket park located behind its headquarters on South Main Street won the unanimous approval of the Doylestown Borough Council this week.

“We believe the revitalization of the park will greatly enhance a beautiful asset of downtown Doylestown and hopefully increase awareness and use of the park,” said Jeff Toner, the president of the DHS board of directors following the approval.

The project, said Toner, also “shows the commitment of the society to its mission as well as the society's commitment as custodians of the buildings and park in the center of Doylestown."

The project will include the reconfiguration of the park to make it easier for visitors to enjoy and to better accommodate those with physical challenges. It is also designed to create a more usable space for gatherings and events, said Toner.

The pocket park in Doylestown Borough. (photo by Jeff Werner)

As part of the project, a sunken area of the park has now been filled in and leveled off by the borough and will be repurposed as part of the larger park.

“It’s going to be a nice green space with grass," Toner said of the space, which had once been a water feature. "The park was sort of chopped up before so you couldn’t really have a big event there. It will now be much easier to have events where the public is invited. It will be much more open and much easier to use.”

Landscaping plans for the park, created and donated by Carter Van Dyke Associates, Inc., include the removal of invasive plants and the introduction of native plantings.

The chess tables and benches will remain. “We’ll be adding other benches and places for people to sit and enjoy the park,” said Toner.

Another major component of the project includes renovations to the society’s exhibition gallery located at the rear of the park. It will be renovated and opened it up into the outside patio garden for programs and public events.

The society's exhibition gallery. (photo by Jeff Werner)

“We’re going to take a wall out and put in an open glass wall where the doors can open to the outside,” said Toner. “That will give us a space inside that opens up to a patio area outside. So we can have a gathering that spills out into the patio.”

According to Toner, it’s been 15 to 20 years since any significant work has been done to improve the park. “It’s time for a little bit of revitalization,” he said.

“Now that we have Doylestown Borough Council’s approval, we will now focus on the community fundraising required to make our plans a reality," he said.

Construction is expected to continue through 2023.

“We’re hopeful to have most of the work completed by the end of this year, but it’s possible that it goes a little past that into 2024,” said Toner.

Doylestown Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the incredible creative and historical significance of Doylestown and surrounding communities. To that end, both research and programming continues to grow.