#pprhistory

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Why Does Philly Have So Many Squares?

While many know Philadelphia as the “City of Brotherly Love,” it was first most commonly known as a “greene countrie towne,” referring to William Penn’s hope to create an idyllic settlement in the New World. Granted a large tract of land from King Charles II, William Penn arrived in North America in 1682 and set about designing his new settlement with the help of surveyor Thomas Holmes. It was through this collaboration in which the simplistic grid pattern of the city emerged, allowing for ease of travel, prevention of the spread of fire, and separation of houses through the use of green spaces, including five public squares: one for each quadrant of the city and one marking the center. These spaces became Logan Square/Circle, Franklin Square, Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square and Center Square (City Hall).

(Franklin Square - June 6, 2002; Fairmount Park Archives)

 In the early nineteenth century, Philadelphia County was comprised of twenty-nine separate municipal entities, including towns, boroughs, and the City of Philadelphia. Conflicts in management and the county’s ability to govern led to the Act of Consolidation in 1854, which merged Philadelphia County and the City of Philadelphia, creating one Philadelphia government. As a result, mayoral leadership, law enforcement, budget control and city planning became more manageable and effective. Additionally, the city’s border eventually expanded past “city proper” to encompass over 140 square miles. Along with the priority of restructuring municipal authority, residents began to recognize the health and societal benefits of green space and pushed for the development of more public parks to fall under the city government’s purview. Some requested one large city park resembling New York City’s Central Park and others advocated for multiple smaller neighborhood parks throughout the newly defined city limits.

Following the consolidation, large watershed parks, like Fairmount Park and Wissahickon Valley Park, and small squares, such as Fairhill and Norris, were developed. Although this was a step in the right direction, many residents found these parks very inaccessible and proposed a wider network of smaller neighborhood parks. While the former Fairmount Park Commission (FPC), which was created in 1867 to expand the park system, acquired land along the east and west banks of the Schuylkill River, the City of Philadelphia partnered with City Parks Association (CPA) to develop parks throughout more neighborhoods.

(Rittenhouse Square Flower Market - 1917; Fairmount Park Archives)

Oftentimes, these new neighborhood parks were constructed using the original five squares’ plans. Jefferson Square Park, once an encampment site during the Civil War, was modeled after the Rittenhouse Square Park plans, down to the granite walls and pillars. In 1859, Norris Square Park was designed to imitate Franklin Square (constructed in 1824), from the patterns of lawn and paths to the green space in the center. Throughout the 1900s, squares were popping up in neighborhoods all over the city. As the park network grew, concerns about maintenance and management required a simplification of these plans. Original square plans went through many permutations, resulting in the different designs we see today. The basic layouts followed the model of the original squares, but simpler substitutions were introduced to alleviate burdensome upkeep and costs. Instead of expensive planting beds, these new squares featured simpler collections of lawn, shrubbery, and trees. Rather than fountains and elaborate centerpieces, these squares consisted of small water features or flagpoles at the center. Furthermore, most of these squares have since been revitalized or redesigned, no longer resembling the original layout.

Now, these squares continue to grow and develop as active hubs in each neighborhood. Explore our list of featured squares (including Jefferson Square, Mifflin Square and Campbell Square) to learn about these small parks and how and why you should visit!

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Parks & Playgrounds Named After Black Leaders

In honor of Black History Month, we compiled a list of important African Americans that achieved great feats in their Philadelphia neighborhoods and abroad. As a result, they became namesakes of parks, recreation centers, and playgrounds throughout Philadelphia. Explore our city’s history and learn the background behind the name of several PPR sites. 

Cecil B. Moore

Cecil Bassett Moore was a prominent figure in Philadelphia’s 1960’s civil rights movement. He studied law at Temple University and was admitted to the bar in 1953. Being at the forefront of the integration movement in the 60’s, his greatest achievements include; encouraging African Americans to picket and protest for the right to join labor unions, desegregating businesses, reinforcing the need for better public education, and encouraging political participation amongst African Americans. In 1963, Cecil B. Moore became the President of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Beginning in 1964, he led protests against Stephen Girard College and was the main attorney on the case. In 1968, the Supreme Court ruled that Girard College had practiced discriminatory admittance procedures, which violated the Fourteenth Amendment. This successfully ended the legal segregation of Girard College. In 1975, Cecil B. Moore was elected to City Council, serving citizens of the North Philadelphia-area until his death. To celebrate Cecil B. Moore’s lasting legacy in Philadelphia, the former “Connie Mack Recreation Center” was renamed “Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center” in September of 1980.

Marian Anderson 

Marian Anderson was one of the most famous contralto singers of her time. Not only was she known for her musical talent, but she was remembered for the Lincoln Memorial Concert in 1939, which was a significant moment in the Civil Rights movement. Racism halted much of her growth in the beginning of her career, yet she was able to eventually overcome those struggles and become a role model to many people, including many families from her small South Philly neighborhood.

Marian was born in 1897 and grew up less than a block away from the facility now known as “Marian Anderson Recreation Center.” The Union Baptist church, where she began singing at the age of six, was also less than a block away from the center. In 1954, a recreation center was built on the land and rededicated to Marian. Marian returned to South Philly to speak at the rededication ceremony and sign autographs for the families in the community where she grew up. After a long and fruitful life, Marian passed away at the age of 91 in 1993.

Joseph E. Mander Sr. 

Mander Playground located at 33rd Street and Diamond Street is named after Mr. Joseph E. Mander, Sr. In 1952, Joseph E. Mander, Sr., an African-American male, jumped into the Schuylkill River to rescue a 7-year-old boy named Paul Waxman, who accidentally fell in the river while playing with a toy boat nearby. Mander reached the boy, but could not make the return trip to land with him. Unfortunately, both Mander and the boy drowned. Mander left behind a wife and four children. Because Mander was a black man who died attempting to save a white boy, his heroic efforts shined bright during a time of racial divide in Philadelphia. Today, Mander Playground serves as a gateway into East Fairmount Park and is treasured by the Strawberry Mansion community.  Check out, the East Fairmount Park Spotlight on Joseph E. Mander.

Bill Gambrel

In 2007, Whitehall Commons Playground was renamed “Bill Gambrel Recreation Center,” after a man that devoted 47 years of coaching and mentoring to at-risk youth in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. He was the first living African American to have a recreation center named in his honor.

In 1967, “Mr. Bill” co-founded the Frankford Chargers, which has grown from a few local kids playing football on a dirt and rock field to eight football teams of over 300 young athletes, cheerleading squads, and a dance team. Over the years, thousands of youth have had the opportunity to play football, and be a part of the community involvement and mentoring provided by Frankford Chargers, due to Mr. Bill’s dedication to the young people in his community.

Mr. Bill passed away on March 4, 2016, leaving behind a better community and many people whose lives he touched. Many of his former athletes have gone on to play football for the NFL, colleges, and high school teams.  

Learn more about Mr. Bill in the memorial written by Art McQuoid, Recreation Leader II at Gambrel Recreation Center

Laura Sims

In 1998, the former “Cobbs Creek Skate House” was renamed “Laura Sims Skate House,” after the woman who fought for years to build an ice rink in West Philly. After 12 years of petitioning and campaigning, Laura’s persistence was rewarded. In February 1985, the rink opened and was eventually ranked the finest rink in the region by the Philadelphia Flyers. After the opening, Laura formed the “Friends of Cobbs Creek Skate House,” a community group that managed the programs and activities of the rink, including ice skating, ice hockey, sled hockey for the disabled, arts and crafts, after-school tutoring, family gatherings, skating lessons, and more. Laura supervised every activity, cleaned the building, organized the participants, and planted flowers in the outdoor areas. She also organized additional youth classes and senior citizen arts and crafts activities.

Laura was especially proud of the children in her community being able to skate together and form friendships, regardless of racial differences, which broke down stereotypes that existed at that time. Throughout the rest of her life, Laura continued to win the respect and love of her cohorts and earned community awards for her work. After Laura passed away in 1998, the community thought it would be appropriate to rename the ice rink in honor of the remarkable woman.

Julian Abele

Born in Philadelphia in 1881, Julian Abele attained great acclaim as a talented architectural designer in the United States. Abele was the first African-American student to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Architecture (known today as the Graduate School of Fine Arts) in 1902. He was noted for his contributions to more than 400 buildings, including the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Land Title Building, multiple mansions in and out of Philadelphia, Widener Memorial Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and many of the English Gothic and Georgian buildings on the campus of Duke University in North Carolina. 

Abele was truly a remarkable and sophisticated artist. He was versatile in the mediums he used, including watercolor, lithography, etching and pencil in wood, iron, gold, copper, brass and silver. When he was commissioned to design the Art Museum, he traveled to Greece to study classic Greek buildings to adapt the column styles and color of the stone. Using his studies of Greek architecture, he designed the museum’s exterior terrace and front steps, famously celebrated as the “Rocky Steps.”

As a Penn student, he resided in a house on 21st & Fitzwater Streets. Sixty-two years after his death, construction began on a park a few blocks away on 22nd & Carpenter Streets, appropriately named Julian Abele Park in his honor.

Curbed Philly put together this cool map of all the major building and structures designed by Abele while he was in Philly.

Other Playgrounds and Parks Named After African Americans

Lonnie Young Recreation Center (1100 E Chelten Ave., 19138)

Malcolm X Park (5100 Pine St., 19143)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center & Older Adult Center (2101-35 Cecil B. Moore Ave., 19121)

John A. Lee Cultural Center (4310 Haverford Ave., 19104)

Clara Muhammad Square (4700-30 Lancaster Ave., 19131)

Charles H. Chew, Sr. Playground (1800 Washington Ave., 19146)

Eric W. (Hank) Gathers, Jr. Recreation Center (2501-59 Diamond St., 19121)

William Jerome Brown III Playground (1927-41 W Ontario St., 19140)

Robert Wilson III Park (61st St & Baltimore Ave., 19143)

Miles Mack Playground (732-66 N 36th St., 19104) 

Marie Dendy Playground (1501-39 N 10th St., 19122)

Albert W. Christy, Sr. Recreation Center  (728 S 55th St.,19143)

Marshall L. Shepard Recreation Center (5700 Haverford Ave., 19131)

James L. Wright Recreation Center (3320-50 Haverford Ave., 19104)

Daniel E. Rumph II Recreation Center (100-70 E Johnson St., 19144)

John C. Anderson Cultural Center (5323 Overbrook Ave., 19131)

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Enjoy this #Throwback of an illuminated Boathouse Row from 1984.

This Friday, Boathouse Row will be lit in red, green, silver and gold in honor of the Christmas holiday. For one week, the lights will be programmed to display a 5-minute light show at the top of every hour.

Then, keep an eye on Boathouse Row from December 24-31 to catch one of the largest representations of a Menorah in the nation. On the first night, the middle house of the Row representing the shamash candle will be lit in white, and each successive evening at sundown one more house on Boathouse Row (representing that night's candle) will turn blue, working from right to left in the Jewish tradition.

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1965. WFIL Salutes the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. Courtesy of the Fairmount Park Historic Resource Archives.

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Thanks for a great pool season! Today's #Throwback is of kids taking a Swim-to-Live class at the Herron Playground And Spray Park in 1970. The Nelson M. Herron Playground was built in 1926 and named after a sergeant from Philadelphia who was a casualty of the first World War. The swimming pool photographed in the picture has been demolished, and the site has been restored as a public urban green space that includes a bioretention basin, permeable basketball court, and widely popular spray grounds.

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With the last week of The Oval upon us, this week's ‪#‎ThrowbackThursday‬ features a photo of Eakins Oval in 1957. Throughout the years, the traffic patterns around the oval have changed many times. By 1962, Eakins Oval was incorporated into the larger oval that we know and love today.

Learn about the history of Fairmount Park at The Oval today from 4:30-5:30pm with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation historians Rob and Alina, who will tell Fairmount tales and answer your questions about the park.

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Here's a #throwback of group of girls at the 1978 peanut catching contest at Piccoli Playground from the now defunct Philadelphia Journal. 

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Here's a photo from the first Philly Cup Skateboard Series competition at Whitehall Skatepark in 2012. The Philly Cup returns for its 5th year this Saturday, April 16. Check out Outdoor Experiences at Philadelphia Parks & Recreationfor more information. (Photo: Jake Krolick of Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund) #throwbackthursday #findyourpath