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History

Originally called Northeast Publick 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 the massive steel sculpture that faces the Square across 6th Street and erected in 1984.

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.

The park was refurbished and rededicated in July 2006, Franklin’s tercentenary year, by Historic Philadelphia., Inc.and in conjunction with  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 and has been named “Best Play Space For Kids in 2007 by Philadelphia Magazine and has been the recipient of numerous design awards.

The park was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1982.