Third Place

Being new to Temple, I feel like I have not yet found my third place. I spend most of my time in classes or in my dorm, with the almost daily dinner with a few of my new friends. Though I don’t have one of my own, I have observed a few others’ spaces. Living at The Edge, I have to walk through quite a bit of the campus to get to my classes. On my way back from class, I see the popular social spots throughout the campus. I see fellow students sitting in the grass around the bell tower, enjoying the last days of a slightly summer sun. Next I pass though Liacouras walk and see people sitting at tables or on ‘the wall’, or a few people taking part in a game of four-square. Towards the south end of Liacouras, I pass by the square that is usually taken over by a large group of skate boarders. I usually slow down so I can admire some of their moves and reminisce of the lax summer days between the simplistic years of grade school that I would spend playing the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” games. As I make my way back up the stairs to my room, I think for a moment that maybe I will one day have a third place that I can visit as often as the people that I have just seen do, a place where it is neither home nor workspace, but community activity. For now, I will admire them from afar until I find my own, and continue to wander between one and two.

THIRD PLACES IN PHILADELPHIA

In “The Problem of Place in America,” Ray Oldenburg defines third places as “public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work” (104). Unlike the private space of the home, third places are public. However, unlike the public place of work, third places are not defined by production. Also, Oldenburg seems to argue that these third places are not defined by consumption, although some of his examples of third places could be defined as consumer spaces (cafes, bars).

Based on Oldenburg's definition, what is a third place you go to on the Temple campus or in Philadelphia-at-large? What makes this place a “third place”? Why do you go to this place? How do you feel when you're in this third place?