The Ben Franklin Parkway, extending from JFK Plaza to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was designed in 1907 as a dense cultural boulevard in the style of great European thoroughfares. But after the Depression and post-war suburbanization settled in, the Parkway took on the feel of an intra-city highway.

This grant will help return the Parkway to its original intention by redeveloping fallow public spaces and reengineering traffic patterns to create a more walkable destination.

The effort, which comes as major cultural institutions along the Parkway have embarked on expansion plans, is part of a unique partnership between Knight Foundation, two other foundations and local government.