Title
Recognizing, honoring and celebrating John F. Collins for his enormous contributions to Philadelphia's urban design and for his creative vision and focus on improving and expanding green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy.
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WHEREAS, John Collins was born in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1936 to Florence and William Collins; and
WHEREAS, He was awarded a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the Pennsylvania State University in 1959. In 1961, Collins earned a Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Design; in 1965, he moved to the Mt. Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia, where he lived with his family for 34 years; and
WHEREAS, In 1963, Collins co-founded Adleman Collins & DuTot; in 1965, this firm became Collins & Dutot; and in 1971, Collins co-founded The Delta Group, all of which went on to revitalize Philadelphia's green space and urban environment through a series of award-winning projects; and
WHEREAS, Collins was active in a comprehensive revitalization plan for Society Hill, including "Greenways," which are landscaped walkways that are still in existence today; and
WHEREAS, In 1965, Collins created a master plan for the Fairmount Park Commission, centering around a 1.25 mile park along the Schuylkill River east bank from the Art Museum to South Street; and
WHEREAS, For the next 40 years, Collins continued to work, often on a volunteer basis to realize the vision of Schuylkill River Park, which was dedicated at a lighting ceremony in 2004; and
WHEREAS, In the 1970s, the Delta Group designed a Fine Arts Plan for the University of Pennsylvania and received numerous awards and honors for their planning and involvement in environmental projects; and
WHEREAS, In 1978, Collins designed the award-winning Chestnut Street Park in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 1982, Collins launched a program to train inmates in urban horticulture skills at the House of Corrections in Philadelphia. The program PLANT-Philadelphi...
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