There’s an old saying… one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
I didn’t say it was a particularly good saying, but sometimes it’s absolutely true. You see, in Philadelphia’s South Street neighborhood you’ll find the Magic Gardens, known more affectionately as Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens or just PMG for short. It’s a magical place, and the focus of my second “exploring Philadelphia” article. If you haven’t read my first one, you can do so right here.
Exploring Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
I spent only 3 days in Philadelphia, but I think I’ve got the city pretty much figured out. Philly is many things: creative, lively, and full of weird shit. If you happen to be from Philly, I’m sorry, but it’s true. But hey, that’s a good thing.
So let’s think about this for a moment… a husband and wife duo – Isaiah and Julia Zagar – woke up one morning and decided, hey… we want to clean up Philadelphia’s South Street area. You’re probably saying “great, what’s wrong with that?”, and to that I’m going to pose a question: do you not find it ironic that their way of cleaning things up was to make a giant garden of garbage?
Here’s the front wall of the garden, and yes… those are indeed glass bottles, bricks, and rusted out bicycles lumped together to make that there wall. Tell me something, have you ever seen a garden like this before?
Here’s a peek through one of the front gates into the garden. I would tell you what my favorite part is, but I have a feeling you’ll have figured it out by now. Hint: it’s not the recycled glass bottles.
It’s a little tough to see, but there’s actually a bit of a basement going on here. The Zagars didn’t mess around with this stuff, they went the whole way. I mean, they did mess around, but you know what I mean.
It’s fun to just focus on one area while trying to make out all the stuff that went into it. There are a ton of glass bottles and bricks, for sure, but there are also tons of other little knick-knacks and ornaments strewn about, ie: my nightmare. Beautiful from a distance, but I’m glad I don’t live in the gardens themselves. You have no idea how much of a neat freak I am.
Right, so this is the mandatory “prison simulator” photo of the collection. But instead of thick iron bars, we’ve got, well… a bicycle wheel. It’s not quite the same thing, but I guarantee, this place would be absolutely terrifying at night if I were trapped inside. I can just imagine what rituals the crazy Philadelphia’s take part in here.
Anyway, like I said, Philly is full of weird things, and this is just but a small example. Is that a good thing? I sure think so. Should you go check it out? Absolutely.
You’ll find Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens at 1020 South Street. Ask any cabby to take you there and they’ll know exactly what you mean.
Related: If you’re interested in purchasing a home in Philadelphia, now would be a great time considering the local housing market still hasn’t caught to up to its pre-recession highs. Read the full report on Philly’s housing market trends here.
