In May of 2015, Princeton’s first “parklet," was installed on Witherspoon Street in front of Small World Coffee. Throughout the summer, locals and visitors alike have enjoyed the front porch feel of this new community gathering spot, especially the two hand-carved elm couches. But now the parklet is coming down for the season and the art pieces, including the couches, are being sold.

We believe that Marquand Park in Princeton NJ offer the best alternative location for these couches, and would allow the public to continue to enjoy them. The park, a beautiful 17-acre tract of woodlands, forest glades, and open park land, is easily accessible using different transportation modes (walking, biking, car). Most of the park's walks are paved and are all suitable for wheelchair use. The arboretum, playground, picnic area, and ball field make Marquand Park a rewarding destination for visitors of all ages and interests.

The Marquand Park Foundation would love to have these couches in the park, but they have no resources to purchase the items from the artist or to keep a regular maintenance schedule.

Thus, the goal of this project is to raise quickly the funds necessary to purchase one or both couches and have them installed in a pre-set location in the park. Also the funds would cover some of the maintenance  expenses.

The funds need to be raised before October 7, the date when the parklet is taken down and the couches are returned to the artist. Each couch  made of a single, hand carved elm tree costs $2,000. Thus we estimate we would need to raise $2,500 to have one of the benches, and $5,000 for both of them.