Fitler Square is a 0.5 acre (0.20 ha) public park in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States and a surrounding

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

of the same name. The square is bounded on the east by 23rd Street, on the west by 24th Street, on the north by Panama Street, and on the south by Pine Street. The neighborhood encompasses much of southwest Center City to the west of

Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...

and east of the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

. Fitler Square was named for late 19th century Philadelphia mayor

Edwin Henry Fitler Edwin Henry Fitler (December 2, 1825 – May 31, 1896) was an American businessman and politician from Pennsylvania. He founded Edwin H. Fitler & Company, the largest cordage manufacturer in the United States at the time, and served as a Rep ...

shortly after his death in 1896. The square lies on land owned by the City of Philadelphia, via the Department of Parks and Recreation, and is cared for through a public private partnership between the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Fitler Square Improvement Association.

Neighborhood

The name ''Fitler Square'' is also used to describe the

surrounding the square, bounded roughly by 21st Street on the east, the

on the west, Locust Street on the north, and South Street on the south. To the east of this neighborhood is the

neighborhood; to the west is the University City neighborhood, home to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

; to the south is Southwest Center City (also known as "South of South" or the "Graduate Hospital Area"). The portion of Center City surrounding Fitler Square and nearby

is sometimes referred to as "Rit-Fit" after the two parks. Before the 1950s the neighborhood was a prime example of the

urban blight Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...

that had overcome much of the city. The park itself was described as a "mudhole inhabited by drunks and empty bottles". In the mid-1950s, The Center City Residents' Association successfully petitioned Mayor Clark to do something about the decline of the neighborhood. Working together, they freed up

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

money for the construction of new homes and rehabilitation of the neighborhood. Also threatening the neighborhood was the proposed Crosstown Expressway. The threat of its construction, which would demolish much of the neighborhood, was enough to reduce property values and add to the neighborhood's blight. The Residents' Association was successful in changing these plans and in the following years the neighborhood drastically improved largely due to efforts of the Center City Residents' Association and the Fitler Square Improvement Association. Today the neighborhood is mostly residential, composed of single-family homes, and within a short walk of the commercial areas of Center City. On the television show ''

Philly Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

'',

Kim Delaney Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series ''NYPD Blue'', for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Je ...

's character "Kathleen" was portrayed as living in a small apartment overlooking the park. Hojun Li, co-editor of the film ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released by ...

'', claims to have been inspired by children in Fitler Square.

Sculptures

A sculpture of three turtles adorn the park made by well-known Philadelphia artist Eric Berg, as well as sculptures of a Grizzly Bear and a Ram. The center of the park is dominated by a Victorian-era fountain which flows most of the year. Prior to 2010 this fountain, like many in the City, flowed fresh water from the main directly into the sewer system. In 2010 th
Fitler Square Improvement Association
engaged a large project (approximately $40,000) funded by neighborhood donations and a $7,000 grant from th
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
to change the fountain into one that recirculates all of its water with a pumping system saving huge amounts of water each year.

Educational institutions

The Philadelphia School, a private institution, is located in the Fitler Square Neighborhood at 2501 Lombard St. The school, which originally opened in 1972, offers preschool through 8th grade classes. The

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gove ...

operates the Philadelphia City Institute on the first floor and lower level of an apartment complex at 1905 Locust Street.Philadelphia City Institute
" ''

''. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.

Notable people

* Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, subjects of '' 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus ''

References

External links

Fitler Square Improvement Association

Historic Photographs of Fitler Square
''Philly''History.org {{authority control Center City, Philadelphia Municipal parks in Philadelphia Neighborhoods in Philadelphia