If you take a drive towards the east side of Philadelphia near the Delaware River, you’ll come to an abandoned coal loading dock. After decades of abandonment near an urban environment, the result is a beautiful collage of urban art and eerie emptiness.

There’s something about abandoned areas and graffiti art that’s stunning. I absolutely love seeing all the fun, creative, and sometimes naughty graffiti art work on display. Unlike some other places, Graffiti Pier is frequently visited by others. When my friend and I went, we encountered a few others walking around and exploring the area.

To give credit where credit is due, my nail technician suggested this area to me. She explored it before, and gave my some extra information and pointers for exploring here. So, shout out to you girl! This place blew my mind!

Now, I must mention that Graffiti Pier is private property and if you explore here you’re trespassing. In addition, the area the pier is located in is not the safest locations in Philly. It’s next to the Fishtown/Kensington area of Philadelphia. Please be careful if you choose to explore here. Definitely DO NOT explore this, or any abandoned area at night.

With that being said, if you don’t know what you’re looking for you’ll miss the entrance to the area. Your GPS willtell you to take Richmond St. and it’ll kinda say you’re “here” in the middle of the street. What you want to do is look for E Cumberland St. It’ll be at a light, once you see the sign, make a right turn into the big parking lot area. The lot is for a business ( I don’t remember the name).

In my video I show you a little bit of what the lot area looks like. Once you park there, walk towards a fence. You’ll see graffiti covered rocks. Walk through the fence and keep walking along the path near the river. Eventually, you’ll come to the abandoned pier and all its glory.

Take your time and marvel at the awesome graffiti art. There are so many symbols, pictures, sayings, and all the works! It’s so cool! Keep walking towards the river front. There, you’ll get a beautiful view of the river and the Philadelphia skyline!

When you get to the structures closer to the water, be on the lookout for a little chill area. If you look up, there’s a couple of chairs, some water bottles, food, and other things a person would have to relax a chill. There are planks up there for people to walk across. My nail technician told me how to get up there, but my friend and I couldn’t find the ladder which lead to the rope you’d use to get up there. Other people at the pier tried to look for ways to get up to that little hideout, but alas their efforts failed.

When we went to the pier, there was a group of people singing. It was quite lovely but for their privacy I didn’t record it. You’ll find other people staring at the river and all the views.

Have you been to Graffiti Pier? Would you want to go? Let me know!

Check out my other blog posts! – 10 Activities To Do In New Orleans, My 2021 Travel Bucket List, Tips for Traveling to New Orleans