Dear CPDC Members,

The City Beautiful Movement was America's first internationally important contribution to city planning, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is one of its most prominent examples. To mark the centennial of the Parkway in 2017-2018 and CPDC and CCD’s role in activating and animating many portions of this 1.1 mile boulevard, we are pleased to send you David Brownlee’s new edition of Building the City Beautiful: The Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The books should arrive in the coming days.

The first edition of this book was published on the occasion of an exhibition on the Parkway shown at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1989. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Parkway and at the invitation of the Parkway Council, Brownlee has now republished his book and included new research and new developments since 1989. Notable in this new work is additional information on the role played by Julian Abele, the groundbreaking African American architect, in the design of the Free Library and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as new sections on the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and CPDC/CCD’s contribution with Café Cret and Sister Cities Park.

We hope you enjoy the book and look forward to seeing you at CPDC’s membership meeting on Tuesday where the discussion will focus on prompting a new vision and plan of action for the Parkway’s second century.

Wishing you and your families a happy holidays and all the best in 2018.

Best wishes,

The CPDC Team