History of Sacks Playground

While the area surrounding Sacks Playground is currently called Dickinson Square West, the neighborhood has gone by a number of names throughout the past 150 years, including Southwark and Dickinson Narrows. The block that Sacks Playground currently occupies was once home to Southwark Foundry and Machine Works, founded by Samuel Vaughan Merrick in 1836.

The foundry produced machine tools, sugar-refinery equipment, steam engines, pumps, marine boilers, and later, heavy shells for the U.S. War Department during World War I.

The Southwark Foundry was eventually acquired by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930. The site continued operation for another 15 before the slowing of the railroad industry led to its closure. After years of neglect, the site was clear for construction of a playground in 1963 for use by the neighborhood, and also as a playground for nearby historic George Washington School (now The Vare-Washington School). The park actually gets its name from Solomon Sacks, a principal of George Washington School who died in 1958. Below is an image from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin dated June 22, 1966. The caption reads: "Recreation commissioner Robert W. Crawford points to a new geodesic climber at the Solomon Sacks Playground, 4th St. and Washington Ave., to Mrs. Sacks, the widow of Mr. Sacks, and City Council President Paul D'Ortona, at the dedication ceremonies." (courtesy Temple University)

Over the years the park has expanded its facilities to include a swimming pool and bathrooms, but as the condition of Philadelphia declined during the 1970s and 1980s, so did the park, resulting in its upkeep falling drastically behind. Fortunately, improvements and repairs were undertaken over the years through hard work and effort by local volunteer community groups making the best they could with limited donations and city funding. Despite hard times, the playground persevered to witness the rise of college basketball legend Lionel Simmons, a graduate of George Washington who cut his teeth and broke many ankles on the basketball court of Sacks Playground on his way to becoming the 3rd leading scorer in NCAA basketball history while at La Salle.

Sacks Playground had another brush with greatness in 1993 when Bruce Springsteen came to Philadelphia to film the video for his Oscar-winning song "Street of Philadelphia" for the film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. In one scene of the video Springsteen's is shown walking south down 4th Street on the edge of Sacks Playground while children gather along the fence with George Washington School in the distance.