Smith Playhouse to Re-Open Fall 2021

With over a decade of renovation and rehabilitation projects at Fairmount Park’s Smith Memorial Playhouse, MBTA has dedicated much of the past 2 years overseeing construction on this 120 year old Philadelphia Gem, and we are existing to announce it’s reopening.

Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse has been a treasured destination for more than a century. Designed solely as a play space for children, this landmark is home to a four-story, 16,000-square-foot “play mansion,” an iconic 44-foot wooden slide, and state-of-the-art Play Pod with a giant see-saw and spinning “jungle gyms.”

The Playhouse, designed for children ten and under, offers toys, games and activities including a tumbling room, a book nook, a climb-on train and an indoor tricycle room for exploring “Smithville,” a mini-town made just for kids.

Smith has hosted more than nine million children since its opening, and is an ideal attraction for families. It's free for all to enjoy, and donations are welcomed.

Smith Memorial Playhouse "Urban Nature Pre-School Opens this Fall

With the recent completion of renovations to our historic Playhouse, Smith is excited to announce the opening of Smith Urban Nature Preschool!

Smith’s new Urban Nature Preschool on the lower level of the Playhouse will:

• serve children age 3-5 and operate full-day (including before and after care)

• have a curriculum centered around exploration of the natural environment

• include two naturally lit classrooms, emphasizing physical connections to the outdoors, as well as outdoor play-and-learn spaces

• be committed to serving a diverse range of families, including those who live in the neighborhoods closest to Smith

• be operated by Smith Memorial Playground staff

For more information and to learn about the pre-school, click here

Frederic V. Malek West Point Visitors Center Opens it's Doors

On Friday, October 27, 2017, the Frederic V. Malek West Point Visitors Center was unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony. The West Point Association of Graduates is honored to dedicate the newest top-flight, gift-funded building with state-of-the-art exhibits highlighting West Point’s innovative programs for developing leaders of character to serve the nation.

For the full article from the West Point Association of Graduates, click here.

NJ.com recognizes MBTA's Davis Center at Villanova University

NJ.com has listed Villanova University's Davis Center one of the top 10 college basketball practice facilities that will blow Rutgers fans away. Ranking among Oklahoma State, University of Kentucky, Duke, Texas A&M and others, Villanova University's Davis Center is noted as a "classy, state-of-the-art building, with a nod to Villanova history that's not too excessive." 

Take a tour of the Villanova men's and women's basketball practice facilities at the Davis Center. Junior guard James Bell takes you behind the scenes.

Read the article here: 10 college basketball practice facilities that will blow Rutgers fans away

Villanova University Grotto Dedication Ceremony

The Design Team at the Grotto Dedication Cermony

Following their Friday evening service at Corr Hall on December 7, members of the design team gathered with students, faculty and clergy at the newly constructed Grotto. University President, Father Peter Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., led a short dedication ceremony, blessing the space for those who seek quiet contemplation.

Previously, the Grotto sat on the eastern side of the Alumni Quad. Due to the current construction on campus that included taking out the former Grotto to make way for new walkways and landscaping, the Grotto and the statue depicting Our Lady of Good Counsel were to be given a new home west of Austin Hall. The altar and statuary of the previous Grotto were relocated and used in the new design, however the enclosure and Gothic gateway are new. 

MBTA hopes that much like the previous space did, the new Grotto will provide a peaceful outdoor sanctuary for students to gather for years to come.

Surveying at Woodlands

Mark and Beth creating a photographic survey of the cryptoporticus ceiling.

For MBTA’s assessment of the Cryptoporticus and North Terrace, important features of William Hamilton’s 1789 Federal style expansion of his estate at the Woodlands, MBTA created a rectified photographic reflected ceiling plan of the 90-foot long vault.  The plan has provided the team with a baseline document to map and record masonry conditions, sample locations, and deficiencies in the structure.

To create the continuous photograph (image at top), Mark designed and fabricated a track with camera mount that he and Beth incrementally moved along the length of the vault, positioning the camera relative to known points temporarily marked on the structure.  High-resolution photographs were taken using a 17mm wide angle lens.  Distortion was removed with computer software, and then assembled in AutoCAD using a measured grid of points rectified to the known points in the photographs.

Villanova Named 2012 Brick in Architecture Award Winner

​The Brick Industry Association recently named Villanova University's Transforming the Campus Landscape a 2012 Brick in Architecture Gold Winner.

Visit the Brick Industry Association website for more photos.

Arch Street Preschool Opening

After many months of planning  construction, The Arch Street Preschool is scheduled to open on May 1st, 2012. MBTA designed the new Arch Street Preschool, which took advantage of an unused space on the second floor, including 18-foot high ceilings, tall windows, skylights and existing millwork, salvaging and re-working historical fabric to provide a welcoming and well-lit space dedicated to early education for a diverse group of children and their families.

Historically, the second floor space was used as a Sunday School classroom. In an effort to give the space new life, and with a desire to do preschool differently, members of Arch Street Presbyterian Church along with a wide-reaching group of supporters created a school by redesigning the unused space and initiating a preschool project to provide educational access to a diverse group of children and their families.

Over 30 families have already enrolled their children in the preschool's toddler and pre-k programs. Working hand in hand with Rev. Becky White Newgren, Minister for Community Life at Arch Street Presbyterian Church, MBTA was able to revitalized a space that had been unused for almost a century and create new spaces in which the preschool and its students may thrive.

For the full article, visit the Arch Street Presbyterian Church website. Also visit the Arch Street Preschool website.

Signing Ceremony at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center (FWWIC)

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Philadelphia selected the future site of the “Blue/Green Commons” to sign an innovative agreement to partner together on a 25-year plan to protect and enhance our watersheds by managing stormwater with green infrastructure. Read more about the event in PWD’s Watershed Blog.

The Blue/Green Commons is the centerpiece concept of the Expansion Project for the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center – currently on the boards at MBTA – to create a public forum and central hub for environmental education, information, and activities happening in the City of Philadelphia and the region.  The Commons will provide a venue for City agencies to publicize current green programs and sustainable messages to the public and will recognize the FWWIC as the “go-to” place for the City to provide the public with access to information and to allow residents to track the progress of exciting programs and initiatives, such as the Philadelphia Water Department’s Green City, Clean Waters plan.

The Association of Graduates answers "Why West Point?"

In this month's newsletter to West Point Alumni, the Association of Graduates announced their intentions to construct a new Visitors Center on campus. Along with an image depicting a preliminary scheme for the new building, the article reaches out to alumni, and explains the importance of creating a central hub and starting point for visitors to campus.

The article states, "Envisioned as a 21st-century “Experience Hub,” the new West Point Visitors Center will feature a striking entry pavilion, high-tech exhibits, state-of-the-art theaters, and new artifacts for its more than 250,000 annual guests to enjoy.  The center will also employ the latest architectural innovations to capitalize on natural light and existing terrain, it will be re-oriented to take advantage of the scenic power of the Hudson River, and it will allow for a possible future connection to the nearby West Point Museum (the center’s exterior massing will harmonize with that of this existing facility)."

For the Full Article, visit the West Point Association of Graduates website.