A unique monument is to be built in Philadelphia. Labor in the Park: Philadelphia's Monument to American Labor by artist John Kindness was developed for Elmwood Park at 71st Street and Buist Avenue in Philadelphia by the Friends of Elmwood Park in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia's Department of Recreation. It has been commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association as part of the New•Land•Marks: public art, community, and the meaning of place program with initial support from the William Penn Foundation.

Labor in the Park will be a monument to labor nationwide and to Philadelphia's working class history. Two central seating areas will transform the park into a community gathering space and an "outdoor history lesson." One seating area will have seven circular bronze Work Button Tables inspired by the metal buttons on the denim clothing once worn by workers. In the Gallery of Labor, benches will display seven large-scale historic photographs of Philadelphia workers. Blue and orange paving will suggest the denim and stitching of typical workers' uniforms.

Work Button Tables

Workers of earlier generations often wore denim clothing, a common denominator regardless of trade or skill, with metal work buttons that bore a variety of symbolic images and slogans. These small icons inspired the artist to create a series of seven, large-scale Work Button Tables. The top of each table will be a bronze relief sculpture commemorating an important event in labor history. The Work Button Tables will be installed in a circle with benches around them in the center of Elmwood Park.

Gallery of Labor

The Gallery of Labor will consist of seven benches displaying large-scale historic photographs of Philadelphia workers. These will be fired in porcelain enamel and mountes on the backs of the benches. Thus, the inside of the circle will form a small photo gallery. These images were selected because they capture the dignity and humanity of workers relative to their massive undertakings and emphasize labor history in Philadelphia.

About Elmwood Park

From the late nineteenth century through much of the twentieth, Southwest Philadelphia prided itself on its thriving working class neighborhoods. Many thousands of Philadelphians raised their families there. They worked for major industries such as the Hog Island Shipyard, Fels Naptha, General Electric, and Westinghouse. The seven-acre Elmwood Park was developed as a centerpiece of the community, a gathering place where workers and their families could relax, socialize, and enjoy the park's natural resources. Today, the park has been revitalized and is fitting site for this monument to American labor.

About the Artist

Irish artist John Kindness, whose father worked in the shipyards of Belfast, has working class roots in common with the Friends of Elmwood Park. Kindness, who now lives and works in London, responds to a site by reflecting on the special identity of the place. He has exhibited internationally and has completed a number of public art projects in his native Ireland.