19th century Originally called
North East Publick Square, Franklin Square was renamed in 1825 in honor of
Benjamin Franklin, a
Founding Father who represented colonial-era
Province of Pennsylvania at the
Second Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. The square was founded by
William Penn, initially designed as a commercial center for settlers. Penn wanted settlers to have a space that was well-ordered to ensure they would set the proper example for fellow settlers. Penn wanted the space to set an example to promote social discipline. However, he did not have the proper warrant to have jurisdiction over the squares. When more settlers came to the land, the square was subject to neglect. In 1741, Governor Thomas Penn leased the square to German Reformed Church. The square initially was an open
common used for grazing animals, and later for storing
gunpowder during the
Revolutionary War and drilling soldiers during the
War of 1812. From 1741 to 1835, a portion of the square was used as a cemetery by the
German Reformed Church; some of the graves still remain, marked by a plaque. This plan was protested by Philadelphians who felt the cemetery was against William Penn's plan and wanted to ensure the square was used for nature purposes. Even though there were protests, the square was continually used for burial purposes. During the 1820s, William Rush and Thomas Birch redesigned the park to depict nature by designing the park to be symmetrical to walkway and plant locations. This was to ensure the park would be orderly for tourists while also preserving Penn's vision for the park.
20th century In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Franklin Square was at the center of a fashionable residential neighborhood; but beginning in the 1920s, a series of events corresponding with the rise of the automobile began the decline of the square and its surrounding neighborhood. The construction of the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, from 1922 to 1926, leveled blocks of row homes, shops, and other structures; the Bridge begins at the square's eastern boundary, 6th Street. The steady flow of cars over the bridge made Franklin 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. Franklin Square declined significantly in pedestrian use. The surrounding area declined in commercial use, furthering the accompanying decline of neighborhood or tourist use of Franklin Square. During the depression, the square became a place for homeless and unemployed. Although there were raids to prevent this, the park attracted people in the surrounding areas who lost everything when settlers migrated to other places. This led to the encampment of homeless and further eroding of Franklin Square as a public green space. Although Franklin Square had been a popular place for tourists and residents, the square began to decline due to neglect from city government. The neighborhood's residential character was further eroded when the Federal government established
Independence Mall. The government acquired private land around the square in the 1950s and 1960s and demolished blocks of homes and other buildings. The construction of the
Vine Street Expressway in the late 1980s exacerbated the problem. The park was effectively abandoned because of broken lights, trees in disarray, and the eroded historic fountain. The lack of pedestrians caused the square to be an encampment site for the homeless and a place for drug dealers. Teachers from surrounding areas had to clean up the playground so the kids could still play on the playground set. The park was severely neglected to the point where people could not recognize the park and no longer wanted to visit. In 1961, author
Jane Jacobs wrote in
The Death and Life of Great American Cities that Franklin Square had become "the city's Skid Row park," a description that fit for decades. Franklin Square was the least-used of Penn's original five squares and became encampment for the Philadelphia
homeless.
21st century From 2003 to 2006, Historic Philadelphia, Inc., a non-profit company responsible for the
Betsy Ross House and several other historical sites, refurbished the park in a $5.5 million project funded primarily by a grant from the state of Pennsylvania. Historic Philadelphia restored the fountain and cleaned up the park, aiming to bring the park back to that envisioned by William Penn. The square was reopened and rededicated on July 31, 2006, in Franklin's tercentenary year. The revitalized park contains a number of family-friendly
attractions such as a golf course, an improved playground, a carousel, and gardens. As a result of ongoing capital projects scheduled to continue through 2016, PATCO stated in 2014, "We do not presently have the capacity or capital resources to evaluate the feasibility of reopening the Franklin Square Station." However, the DRPA did rebuild the station. The $29.3 million renovation, which got underway in 2022, involved extensive upgrades to the station's mechanical, electrical, and structural systems. The new headhouse features transparent speckled smoked glass designed to prevent bird collisions, as well as a green roof to manage stormwater runoff. The underground platform and concourses were refurbished with energy-efficient LED lighting and modern communication systems, while preserving the station’s original 1930s green-and-white tiles. The project also made the station more accessible by adding elevators, escalators, and ramps to improve ease of access. The station ultimately reopened on April 3, 2025. The station is expected to serve around 1,500 riders daily. == Attractions ==