PAFA Lenfest Plaza

Designed by internationally renowned landscape architecture firm OLIN, Lenfest Plaza offers an inviting civic space for visitors to Philadelphia, city residents, students, museum goers and art lovers. Located between PAFA's Historic Landmark and Samuel M.V. Hamilton buildings, the plaza was constructed in 2011 and is open year-round. It features a three-part serpentine bench, mosaic pavers, plantings, and rotating works of emerging and established artists in an urban setting.
Lenfest Plaza is located directly across from the entrance of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. More than a destination and gathering place, the plaza also connects convention-goers and the public on North Broad Street with the museums on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway: the Barnes Foundation, the Academy of Natural Sciences, The Franklin Institute, the Rodin Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Lenfest Plaza is made possible by a generous gift from Marguerite and H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest with additional financial support from the City of Philadelphia and many other generous patrons. The project holds special significance to Marguerite Lenfest, a PAFA board member. Marguerite’s grandfather was a student at PAFA, and her great-great-grandfather, a painter, exhibited here.

Project Team:
OLIN, David A. Rubin – Design partner Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
Claes Oldenburg – Artist, Paint Torch
Jordan Griska – Artist, Grumman Greenhouse
Kreysler & Associates – Paint Torch fabricator
Jen Lewin – Consultant for LED lighting inside Paint Torch
INTECH – General Contractor
Becker & Frondorf – Project Manager
Saylor Gregg Architects – Architect
CVM Facilities Renewal – Structural Consultant
Marvin Waxman Consulting Engineers, Inc. – Mechanical/Electrical Consultant
Hunt Engineering Company – Civil Engineer
The Lighting Practice – Lighting Design Consultant