Johnson Park in Camden, N.J.

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge connects Philadelphia, Pa. to Camden, N.J. Built in 1926, it was the world’s largest suspension bridge for a few years, until the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to Windsor took that title. Walking across it provides some nice views of the downtown Philadelphia skyline, and of the Camden, N.J. waterfront – the Rutgers and Camden Riversharks fields, the old brick warehouses on the waterfront that, decades ago, were probably full of goods and bustling with workers employed in Camden’s once-busier shipping industry. There’s a pedestrian entrance around Race and North 5^th streets in Philadelphia, and lets you off a few blocks from the Delaware River in Camden.

Wandering around Camden after crossing the bridge, we stumbled upon Johnson Park, in front of what turned out to be the Cooper Library, across the street from the Cooper Street/Rutgers North trolley stop. The classical-looking tiled pool, the centerpiece of the park, was dried up. Between it and the library, though, another fountain was working. A man in the center, whose sitting position, stomach and face make him look like an unholy parody of the Buddha, spits water out into the fountain, with two faces to his left and two to his right, with different emotional expressions but in the same Asian-influenced style. The ones on his right were also spitting water out; the ones on his left weren't. Then, the weirdest thing in the park is in front of this fountain – a metal sculpture of what looks like a turtle shoving its head up a goose’s rear end. The goose is in a cawing position, expressing his displeasure at what is going on. There are more statues on the edges of the park – a goose; a Pan statue; some other designs that appear to have some either medieval or classical inspiration. The place looks like someone’s slightly twisted vision of a fairy tale. Read Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” and eat a pound of crab salad before going to bed, and your dreams might look something like this place.

The library itself is a beautiful, columned old building, with a Greco-Roman looking mural on the front top, over the entrance. I went up the steps to go in, but being July 5, it was closed, the doors locked, and the sign said only Rutgers students or faculty with business being there were allowed in. That’s not me.

It was one of the stranger parks I’ve seen. So, if you ever find yourself in Camden, check it out. There is an ongoing effort to restore this cool little place, which you can read about here:

http://johnson-park.camden.rutgers.edu/