Forty minutes from MCCC’s Trenton campus, on private property owned by Conrail at the edge of the Delaware River lies “graffiti pier.”
Every part of concrete is covered in paint or art. Often when you go you can find an artist, cans sprawled on the floor, working on a new piece. Fishermen crowd the edge, teens climb trees to the roof, and lovers set up tents and watch the stars.
The exact location of the pier was long kept secret. Visitors passed on how to get there by word of mouth. But despite occasional efforts by police to crack down on trespassers for safety’s sake, most of the time no one has enforced security for years. The gate is cut open, and a clear path surrounded by parked cars leads inside.
The tag #graffitipier has more than 14 thousand hits on Instagram. Tik Tok has 206.6 thousand hits for the same hashtag with one minute videos showing the area and how to get there.
Hamilton resident Jaymin Patel said she found the pier after “My cousin and I were just talking and the place came up in one of his stories about a friend.”
Months of covid-19 lockdown has lead to quarantine fatigue and young people have been busted for holding parties on the beaches and now on college campuses as some schools open. For those who are trying to stay safe and “low risk” the key to live outdoors.
A growing number of young people have taken up a hobby called “Urbex” or Urban Exploration and graffiti pier has provided a perfect outlet. As the title says, it’s all about exploring urban areas. Most of the places found are abandoned or hidden. With its combination of cement structures and arches, Graffiti park feels urban bud it also has lots of green space.
This unofficial park is so popular and accepted that the city of Philadelphia has formed plans to make it the first of it’s a kind: A legal, publicly funded, graffiti park.
The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has signed a deal to with Conrail, which locked up the space back in 1980, to turn it into a legal, greenspace and officially sanctioned art park.
DRWC has commissioned Studio-Zewde to develop the complete concept design.
The person in charge of redoing it is Sara Zewde, an urbanist, landscaper, and public artist who also co-founded Studio Zewde.
According to Studio Zewde, “The next evolution of the site will ensure the continuation of the stories, meanings, and cultural production embedded in the site today.”
Other than adding extra safety precautions like making the rooftops more accessible, the park is to remain pretty much the same, a great option for young people to get out, explore, see art, and still stay safely distanced.
