Open Streets return to Rittenhouse Square for two Sundays in December

Holiday shoppers, consider it an early Christmas gift: Streets near Rittenhouse Square will be closed to traffic for two Sundays in December, the Center City District announced Tuesday.

The seven vehicle-free blocks are a continuation of Open Streets: Walnut West, a program the Center City District ran for four Sundays in September as part of an effort to “transform Walnut Street into public space open to all.”

During that go-round, a stretch of Walnut Street extending from Rittenhouse Square Park to 15th Street swapped cars for street performers, pop-up workout classes, and extra al fresco dining. Eagles games were streamed on projectors in the middle of every block, with revelers pulling up lawn chairs to watch them. The program was considered a success, with the majority of retailers along the strip reporting a significant uptick in sales and foot traffic compared with a normal Sunday.

This go-round, the streets will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 and will encompass Walnut Street from 19th to 15th Streets and 18th Street between Locust and Chestnut Streets. Traffic will be allowed to pass at select intersections.

» READ MORE: Car-free Sundays on Walnut Street boosted foot traffic, sales for restaurants and retailers, survey says

During this stretch of Open Streets, the vibe is Hallmark Christmas movie: Holiday films will be projected started at 11 a.m. both Sundays, and Santa Claus will host two free story times along the 1800 block of Walnut Street. Carolers and acoustic musicians will also be in the mix. And, yes — before you ask — Eagles games will again be streamed on giant projectors.

Several shops and restaurants along the business corridor plan to lean into the holiday spirit with exclusive-to-Open Streets specials. Parkside bistro Rouge will put out a hot chocolate bar, while cosmetics brand Glossier and Doc Martens will host free fragrance bottle engravings and shoe painting events, respectively. Over at jewelry store Lagos, you might even catch Santa passing out samples of caviar.

This initiative is not the first time Philly has flirted with car-free streets. Both Martin Luther King Drive and Sansom Street were closed to traffic during the pandemic, while the Philly Free Streets program — which ran from 2016 to 2019 — shut down South Street and North Broad Street for one Saturday each year. USA Today recently voted Philadelphia the most walkable city to visit, though safe-streets advocates have long called for more permanent car-free spaces — both for vibes and for pedestrian safety.

The majority of Rittenhouse Row retailers surveyed — 92% — want Open Streets to continue, Center City District CEO and president Prema Katari Gupta told Billy Penn in October, though the business improvement organization is pumping the brakes on imagining an entirely car-free future.

September’s iteration of Open Streets had a “collective effervescence,” Gupta previously told The Inquirer. “I don’t know there’s a car-free agenda on any of this but we do need to think critically about our default usage of these places.”