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Franklin Square of Philadelphia


Location 

The city of Philadelphia can rightly boast of being, perhaps after Boston, the greatest center of the movement for independence of U.S.A. One of the five original squares built during the late seventeenth century in central Philadelphia, Franklin Square is known all over the world as a hot spot for every kind of fun and recreation. Its main features include the Philadelphia,, a tiny golf course, playgrounds, and the delicious Square Burger, all surrounding the attractive Franklin Square Fountain. It is, moreover, one of the sites most popular among the citizens for picnics and especially for birthday parties.

You can have an enjoyable ride in the liberty carousal on famous racehorse heroes, or can hear tales concerning Franklin Square’s past at the story telling bench, or savor the scrumptious burgers with Cake Shake.

A Brief History of Franklin Square

The history of the square dates back to the last decades of the seventeenth century when William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, a province of the British colony of North America and later to become a state of the U.S.A. in 1862, planned for the establishment of five open public squares in Philadelphia. The squares were situated in such a way that one of them lay in the middle and was named Center Square while the other four were located to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest of it. The Center Square is at present the site of the City Hall.

The area where the Northeast Public Square was situated was used in the past for grazing cattle, trading of horses and cattle, military training and parade, storing arms, and also a burial ground. The Northeast Public Square was named Franklin Square in 1825 Benjamin Franklin---- one of the founding fathers of the nation. It is believed that it was here that he had conducted his remarkable experiment with a kite and key revealing the nature of electricity carried by clouds. Isamu Nagochi, the notable Japanese American sculptor, has made a sculpture to commemorate this great discovery. The stainless steel sculpture named “Bolt of Light” was installed in 1984, facing the square at 6th street.

In 1837, the city government built the Franklin Square Fountain, an exemplary work of marble and the only fountain of William Penn’s five squares that has survived up till now. Four herringbone brick pathways that are lighted after the sunset lead to fountain from all the four corners of the park. 

Key Words: Squares,  Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia


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