Franklin Square (Philadelphia)

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Franklin Square

Franklin Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Originally called Northeast Square, Franklin Square was renamed in 1825, to honor Benjamin Franklin, one of the most prominent Founding Fathers of the United States and a leading printer, scientist, inventor, civic activist and diplomat. The myth persists that Franklin conducted his famous “kite and key” experiment on this spot, no doubt encouraged by the presence of Bolt of Lightning, Isamu Noguchi’s massive steel sculpture that faces the Square across 6th Street.

In its early years, the square was an open common used for grazing animals, storing gun powder (during the American Revolution) drilling soldiers (during the War of 1812). From 1741 to 1835, a portion of the Square was used as a cemetery by the German Reform Church; some of the graves still remain.

In the 1920s, a series of events corresponding with the rise of the automobile initiated the decline of the Square and its surrounding neighborhood. The construction of the Ben Franklin Bridge, from 1922-26, leveled blocks of buildings; the Bridge begins at the Square’s eastern boundary, 6th Street. The steady flow of cars over the bridge made the Square’s northern boundary, Vine Street, into one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, effectively cutting off pedestrian access on two of the Square's sides. The neighborhood’s residential character was further eroded by the federal government’s plans to establish Independence Mall: in the 1950s and 1960s, the government acquired the private land below Race Street. The construction of the Vine Street Expressway in the late 1980s exacerbated the problem. In 1961, architecture writer Jane Jacobs labeled Franklin Square a “skid row park,” a description that fit for over four decades. Franklin Square had become the least-used of Penn’s original five squares, mainly an encampment for the homeless.

In honor of Franklin’s tercentenary, Once Upon A Nation and Fairmount Park debuted the newly renovated Franklin Square in July 2006. Complete with the Philadelphia Park Liberty Carousel, Philly Miniature Golf, new playgrounds and a restored 19th-Century Fountain, Franklin Square is now toted as an entertainment destination in proximity to the Independence National Historical Park.

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Bolt of Lightning... A Memorial to Benjamin Franklin by Isamu Noguchi.	Philadelphia Police Department and Fire Department Memorial in Franklin Square	Philadelphia Police Department HQ at 8th Street and Race, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Franklin Square NRHP Plaque
Franklin Square burial plaque for the German Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ	Franklin Square mini golf