Front Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a north–south street running parallel to and near the Delaware River. In 1682, when the city was laid out by William Penn, it was the first street surveyed and built in during the colonial era Province of Pennsylvania. As part of the King's Highway, which extended from Boston to Charleston, South Carolina, and as the waterfront of Philadelphia's port, it was the most important street in the city from its founding into the 19th century.