User:Bridgette Mellon/sandbox

History
Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in the Philadelphia area, as well as Philadelphia's first park. It runs parallel to the banks of the Schuylkill River. There are several subsections of the park, such as the popular Valley Green area, where the infamous Valley Green Inn is located along the banks of the Wissahickon Creek. The Inn is built on land that was part of a several hundred acres of land purchased from William Penn in 1685. Edward Rinker built The Valley Green Hotel in 1851 at the same time as the Wissahickon Turnpike- now called Lincoln Drive- was being completed. The turnpike brought recreational visitors into the Valley by carriage and horseback to view the lovely scenery.In 1899, the Fairmount Park committee was considering demolishing the building that was now getting rundown and less popular with more businesses being established in Philadelphia. However, a local committee raised enough money to have the building restored. According to the sites official website,''"In 1901, a committee of women, arranged by Lydia T. Morris, was given permission by the Park to manage the newly restored Valley Green Hotel. They served light refreshments and afternoon tea to riders, pedestrians, and wintertime skaters. These women managed the popular Valley Green Hotel in this manner for many years. At this time, the restaurant became officially known as the Valley Green Inn." ''

Devils Pool
Devils Pool is a local attraction hidden deep in Fairmount Park, just outside of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The location of Devils Pool can be difficult to find if you are not from around the area, but a good place to start at is Fairmont Park's infamous Valley Green Inn, a restaurant scenically-located on historic Forbidden Drive, right on the bank of the Green Valley Creek. From there, you can park your car in the dirt lot and prepare yourself for a long hike off the beaten path. The path starts at the stone bridge which carries Forbidden Drive across the creek. Starting at the Inn, cross the bridge to the other side of the creek and make a direct right turn, where a path marker can be found. Following the bottom path closest to the creek, the hike is about a half mile long. Once you've hit giant boulders - which many people use to jump off of into the river itself - keep walking until you come to a swimming hole at the base of a smaller creek which flows into the watering hole from a waterfall. You've reached devils pool. Above the swimming hole- which many have jumped off of and some even lost their lives - there is a huge stone bridge.

Deaths
As is the case with many extreme outdoor activities, there have been terrible accidents over the years. Most recently, the death of a father and his son. The story of the tragic drowning of father Pete Luciano and his son Jordon was covered by NBC Washington News September 9th, 2013. . These deaths, along with other accidents and suicides that happened at devils pool, are the main reason why the Philadelphia Law enforcement have been cracking down on citations, as jumping at devils pool is illegal.