New bronze gates unveiled in Rittenhouse Square

The Friends of Rittenhouse Square on Tuesday unveiled new bronze gates adorning the Gardener's Cottage as the first art piece specifically commissioned for the park.

The gates, a whimsical design of winding vines with animals that might be found living in the square, were dedicated to Patty Hogan, who worked in Philadelphia real estate and was a longtime board member of the Friends of Rittenhouse Square. Hogan died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm in 2008, when she was in her early 50s.

Eric Berg, who is known for his bronze animal sculptures, created the gates with inspiration from trumpet vines that he watched grow on a building across the street from his studio in Powelton Village. Berg's works include the Drexel University dragon and the warthog and giant tortoise at the Philadelphia Zoo.

The gates were Berg's first relief sculpture. All of his previous designs have been free-standing and lifelike replicas of creatures ranging from gorillas to sea horses.

Berg, 65, said reviving the gates with the new bronze reliefs was an extra hurdle. "This was a challenge, being that the gates existed and they weren't in the best condition," he said.

The new addition to the square's art collection complements the Gardener's Cottage, which received a makeover in 2009 from architect Kiki Bolender. Bolender also introduced Berg to the Friends of Rittenhouse Square when members of the organization decided to commission the piece in memory of their friend and late member.

Tony DiSalvo, who was engaged to Hogan when she died, formed the Friends of Patty Hogan and began raising money for the project on the square's southwest corner. The gates cost $55,000, of which approximately $10,000 still must be raised.

Berg, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1968 and received a master's degree in fine arts from Penn in 1974, said he imagines parkgoers enjoying the gates.

"I think it would be great fun for a mother to bring her child here and say, 'How many animals can you find?' " he said. (The answer is 14.)

"It was funny how he would add more animals," said Wendy Rosen, who was president of Friends of Rittenhouse when the project began. "He would call me and say, 'How about a robin?' "