let's visit tampa's busch...no wait, i mean philly's magic gardens

[mrnyc]

philadelphia magic gardens




all about it:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philad..._Magic_Gardens
https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/about-us/




music -- since the magic gardens are way down on south street


https://youtu.be/OukloC-ecAY
https://youtu.be/y8aFcR9IrCw





you can’t sit down here, so two tips:


-- now i don’t usually advocate this behavior, but umm, if anybody partakes of the herb, u might want to do that before you visit -- or even look at this thread for that matter


-- also, do not plan on visiting when it’s wet & rainy like we did, the tile is hella slippery!








so this is philadelphia’s quirky magic gardens from the street -- enjoy!
















yes it’s basically tile, tile everywhere -- and & then even more tile!
















basement area (usually off limits, but they let us in as it was rainy)






















































gallery -- certainly this place overwhelms other people’s stuff, so your work better be up for it




















outside garden
















































































other bldgs -- there is much more tilework all around the neighborhood area


















eyes gallery -- this was tilemeister isaiah zagar’s original art gallery, next to jim’s steaks


















and that’s all for the magic gardens --


in this world of constant corporate whitewashing it’s great to still have local, well supported, interesting (semi-)outsider art oddities like this place --


i hope you can get a chance to visit sometime!

[dc_denizen]

reminds me of Barcelona and Gaudi's parks/apartments. very cool!

[xzmattzx]

Never even heard of this place until now!

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Never even heard of this place until now!

That surprises me, as every Hipster (especially the women) within a 30 mile radius has taken pics in this thing and I have seen the pics popping up everywhere on FB and what not over the years.

[mrnyc]

^ ha, yeah no doubt this place is a selfie paradise & so is the tilework in the surroundng neighborhood.

which reminds me, i would highly recommend the magic gardens for anybody who has children of all ages, but particularly tweens and teens.

also for teens i would rec both the philadelphia mummers museum and especially the mutter museum of medical oddities:

http://mummersmuseum.com/
http://muttermuseum.org/

[Austinlee]

Cool tour. I somehow just heard of this place like 2 days ago on some other website. I happen to live on a street where there are a few houses with mosaics on the front. It's pretty cool.
There's also a place called Randyland here in Pittsburgh that is about the same size and scope of the Magic Gardens but it's more colorful and tropical looking than the mosaics. Similar setup: A couple of 3 story buildings with a courtyard in between that was a vacant lot. Now I'm wondering if this is where Randy got his inspiration.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Austinlee

Cool tour. I somehow just heard of this place like 2 days ago on some other website. I happen to live on a street where there are a few houses with mosaics on the front. It's pretty cool.
There's also a place called Randyland here in Pittsburgh that is about the same size and scope of the Magic Gardens but it's more colorful and tropical looking than the mosaics. Similar setup: A couple of 3 story buildings with a courtyard in between that was a vacant lot. Now I'm wondering if this is where Randy got his inspiration.

^ most definitely try to do a thread on that sometime!

[Nightsky]

Looks wonderful, didn't know about this!