Franklin Square - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.298 W 075° 08.990
18S E 487201 N 4422769
This marker is a gilded edge plaque attached to a square piece of marble resting on the left side of the southeastern entrance to this park, in the mulchy area. The marker tells of the origins of this park and its storied history.
Waymark Code: WM7YYM
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 12/25/2009
Views: 6
Franklin Square is one of the original five squares laid out by William Penn & his surveyor Thomas Holme in the plan for the city of Phila. in 1682. Today, it has been refurbished and is a wonderful place to play, relax and learn. Perfect for kids!
First designated as northeast square, it was renamed Franklin Square in 1825 in honor of Benjamin Franklin, a foremost American public servant, inventor and patron of the arts. During the American Revolution, Franklin Square served as a burial ground, a horse and cattle market and an ammunition storage site. It has remained as open space public parkland since 1815 as have three of the other original squares - Logan, Rittenhouse & Washington. Center Square, at Broad and Market Streets is now the site of Philadelphia Landmark City Hall.
The park was refurbished and rededicated in July 2006, Franklin’s tercentenary year, by Once Upon A Nation and Fairmount Park. Complete with the Philadelphia Park Liberty Carousel, Philly Miniature Golf, new playgrounds and a restored 19th-century fountain, Franklin Square is now touted as an entertainment destination near Independence National Historical Park.
We played on the playground and rode the carousel. We did not have time for miniature golf. As you first enter (at the posted coordinates), look forward and to the right and there will be a sculpture made from sand. It changes from time to time but there is usually something there in the summer months. We also ate lunch here under a miniature pavilion with picnic tables and everything else you could need. Outstanding restrooms are here as well.
The tour passes Franklin Square, which occupies the block between Rose and Vine, Sixth and Franklin Streets, and faces on wide approach to the Delaware River Bridge.
The park, one of five originally outlined by William Penn in his city plan, was at one time the center of the fashionable residential section. With the expansion of the city, however, the wealthier citizens moved out to leave the neighborhood to decay and disrepute. Some of the brown stone houses along Franklin Street still retain traces of the austere respectability that once permeated the area.
--- Philadelphia: A Guide to the Nation's Birthplace, 1937; page 387.