Joan Wagner

The Burholme Park Story Joan Wagner

Historic Burholme Park in northeast Philadelphia was recently the subject of a suit brought by the hospital next door to acquire one-third of the Park property for their expansion. A neighborhood organization, Save Burholme Park, and many others fought the suit over a five-year period. It was finally settled in the Park's favor on January 16, 2010, when the hospital decided to build elsewhere.

The Burholme Park Story tells how the Park came to be, and the family responsible for it. It also answers many visitors' questions about the museum collection and what it represents. The Ryerss/Waln family becomes real people, not just old paintings on a wall.

The author was Head Librarian and Facility Supervisor of Ryerss Library and Museum from 1973 to 1977. It was her dream to write the history of the place she loved and where she had spent so many happy hours. To her knowledge, no complete history of the Park, or the Ryerss/Waln family, was previously available. She lives with her husband in a retirement community in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.