Bike-In Movie: Transforming A Car Space Into A Community Space

We held a Bike-In Movie last night on top of the Whole Foods parking garage on South Street.  Temperatures reached near 100 degrees that afternoon, and the nervous finger-tappers among us worried the heat would dissuade folks from stretching out under the stars and taking in a movie.  Our fears were groundless.

Over 130 men, women, and one dog came out to watch Breaking Away, eat Little Babies Ice Cream and Whole Foods wood-fired pizza, and take in the dusky Philadelphia skyline.  A majority of the attendees came via bike, locking up downstairs on Neighborhood Bike Works-provided racks.

The relaxed, convivial atmosphere was best reflected by the ease with which at least thirty riders left their bicycles unlocked against a nearby wall.  The necessity to lock up one's bike is the most regrettable requirement of bike ownership in Philly, and we were happy to facilitate a temporarily reprieve from that need.  Attendees reclined on blankets, chairs, and flattened cardboard boxes.  With Whole Foods below us, the food consumed was pretty high-end for fare typically scarfed in a parking lot.

Alex Doty spoke about the Bicycle Coalition and bicycling in the city, and introduced three short films (one from WHYY, one from us, and one from Streetsblog), then the feature film.  The greatest spontaneous applause of the night came when Alex mentioned the 10th and 13th Street bike lanes, and when (*SPOILER ALERT*) Dave Stoller passed the college rider on the inside to win the Little 500 race.

Thank you to everyone who came out, and to Whole Foods, Little Babies Ice Cream, and Neighborhood Bike Works for helping with the event.  Together, we repurposed an asphalt car storage space into a bicycle-friendly meeting area infused with a sense of community.  For more images from the night, check out our Flickr page.