Penn's Landing | |
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.jpg) Theneon Penn's Landing sign in May 2024 | |
  Penn's Landing | |
| Coordinates:39°56′44″N75°08′27″W / 39.94564°N 75.14072°W /39.94564; -75.14072 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia |
| City | Philadelphia |
| Area code(s) | 215, 267, and 445 |
Penn's Landing is a waterfront area ofCenter CityPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, situated along theDelaware River. Its name commemorates the landing ofWilliam Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, in 1682. The actuallanding site is farther south, inChester. The city of Philadelphia purchased the right to use the name. Penn's Landing is bounded byFront Street to the west, the Delaware River to the east, Spring Garden Street to the north, and Washington Avenue to the south, and is primarily focused on the Christopher Columbus Boulevard (Delaware Avenue) corridor.
Development of the area is handled by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. The corporation is anon-profit that was established in 2009 to manage the publicly owned land on the central waterfront on behalf of the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Penn's Landing serves as the site for several summertime events in the city. The main public space at Penn's Landing is The Great Plaza, a mostly concretelabyrinth located along theDelaware River at Christopher Columbus Boulevard andChestnut Street.[1]
Several historic ships are moored at Penn's Landing. ThebarqueMoshulu is a floatingrestaurant; theWorld War II-erasubmarineUSSBecuna and theSpanish–American War-eracruiserUSSOlympia (C-6) are part of theIndependence Seaport Museum; and thebarquentineGazela andtugboatJupiter are moored there by the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild.[1]
TheRiverLink Ferry links Penn's Landing with theCamden Waterfront across the river inCamden, New Jersey.[2]
The Blue Cross RiverRink is a skating rink and outdoor event facility located at Penn's Landing. During the winter months it operates as an ice skating rink and hosts theBlue Cross RiverRink WinterFest, featuring winter-themed decorations, fire pits, and an outdoor beer garden. The first Winterfest was held in 2013,[3] concepted by Avram Hornik of FCM Hospitality, who also owns the neighboring outdoor waterfront restaurant, Morgan's Pier. During the summer months, the ice rink is converted into a roller skating rink under the nameSummerFest.[4][non-primary source needed]
Spruce Street Harbor Park is one of the main attractions at Penn's Landing. The park has a boardwalk along the Delaware River with a waterfront atmosphere with chairs, tables andhammocks. The park is open onlyseasonally in the summer or warm months, and closed during thewinter.
There are many statues and monuments located in Penn's Landing:
From 1982 until 1995, aheritage trolley line (tramway) operated in Penn's Landing, on weekends and holidays from about April to October each year. Intended to attract tourists and help spurredevelopment of the area,[10] the trolley line was established along a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) section of disused ex-Philadelphia Belt Line Railroadfreight railroad track, owned byConrail,[11] from theBenjamin Franklin Bridge to Pier 51.[10]
Grants from the city and Fidelity Bank funded the installation of overheadtrolley wire and supporting poles, along with an electrical substation to provide power.[10] Operation began on September 5, 1982, and was run by volunteers from the Buckingham Valley Trolley Association. The service used historic trolley cars on loan from museums. When not in use, the cars were stored in a building on city-owned Pier 51.[10] The service ran for the last time on December 17, 1995, and the trolley wire and poles were removed by March 1996.[12]
TheDelaware River Port Authority is in the process of re-opening theFranklin SquarePATCO station. It is being fully re-built to be bought in-line with the rest of the system, including a new headhouse, and accessible concourses and platforms. Construction has not yet commenced, but it is expected to open before 2024.[13][14] Previously, discussion included re-opening the station and building out a PATCO-operated connection to a re-built trolley route on Delaware Avenue/Christopher Columbus Boulevard. No public discussion has commenced regarding the trolley route and no date has been set.[15]
Samuel Carpenter (1649–1714) bought a lot extending from King Street (now Water Street) to Front Street and on to Second Street in 1683. This lot extends to Ton (now Tun) Alley. On the east side of this lot (Delaware front) he built a wharf, or "a fair key" as mentioned byWilliam Penn, which was the first wharf built in Philadelphia. It became known as "Carpenter's Wharf" and could handle ships of 500 tons or more.[16] Over the years it was expanded, modernized and would now be under Interstate-95 where the highway passes Penn's Landing.[16]
Places adjacent to Penn's Landing | |
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