Calder Gardens opens. A new vision for the Parkway takes shape!

Calder Gardens opens. A new vision for the Parkway takes shape.

Philadelphia just added a one-of-a-kind cultural space to the Ben Franklin Parkway. Calder Gardens is now open at 2100 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a 1.8-acre landscape and museum dedicated to Alexander Calder. The building is by Herzog & de Meuron and the gardens are by famed plantsman Piet Oudolf, known for the High Line. Expect a mix of indoor and sunken outdoor galleries, rotating selections of Calder’s mobiles and stabiles, and a landscape planted with more than 250 varieties that will evolve through the seasons. Hours are Wednesday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. During gallery hours, anyone can wander the garden paths without an admission ticket, which quietly turns part of the site into new public open space on the Parkway. 

The experience is deliberately intimate. Galleries are carved into the site, daylight is carefully controlled, and the emphasis is on being with the art rather than reading about it. It is unlike a conventional museum and it completes a uniquely “Philadelphia” Calder story along the Parkway, where work by three generations of the family already lives. 

What’s next on the Parkway

In parallel, the City and partners have been advancing a multi-phase plan to “Reimagine the Benjamin Franklin Parkway” from Logan Circle to the Art Museum. The goal is to make the boulevard safer and far more people-friendly with more green space, better crossings, protected bike connections, and places to linger, not just pass through. Expect design refinements that build on earlier concepts such as lane reductions, calmer traffic, improved plazas, and year-round programming. A formal master plan update is expected to guide the next wave of projects. 

Recent coverage has framed this as finally realizing the century-old “Philadelphia Champs-Élysées” idea by shifting the balance from cars to people. That includes redesigning the dangerous segments and stitching together the cultural mile with parks, art, and everyday amenities. 

Why this matters

• Daily life gets better. More shade, seating, and safe crossings create a place to meet, stroll, bike, and bring kids, not only a festival venue. 

• Culture draws closer. Calder Gardens joins the Barnes, Rodin, and the Art Museum, strengthening the Parkway as a true “museum district.” 

• Momentum for the neighborhood. Well-designed public space tends to lift nearby streets and small businesses with more foot traffic and events. (That is the explicit aim of the plan.) 

Plan a first visit

• Where: 2100 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

• When: Wed–Mon, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Tickets: Timed entry for galleries. Garden paths are open to the public during gallery hours