Covering an
indoor and outdoor space equivalent to half a city block, Philadelphia’s
Magic Gardens glistens with creativity, urban renaissance and a hint of
madness.
Isaiah
Zagar, a local artist who began tiling South Street in the 1960s and never
stopped, constructed the space out of cement, bicycle spokes, bottles, ceramic
shards and other artistic knick-knacks.
The tiled
passages of the Magic Gardens weave over- and underground — and, perhaps more
than anything, through the mind of a dedicated and inspired artist.
Zagar has
created more than 100 mosaics in Philadelphia, the majority of them along the
South Street corridor.
Heidi Johnson-Wright explores the wheelchair access, which rates a B.
A walk
around the neighborhood unveils not only the work of the artist, but also of a
geographic renaissance.
--visitphilly.com
