Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park (originally named League Island Park) is a park located along the Delaware River in the southernmost point of

South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.landscaped architecture, and a variety of picnic and recreation areas placed within about of natural lands including ponds and lagoons. FDR Park 1

Location

The park is bordered by the

South Philadelphia Sports Complex The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the home of most major Philadelphia professional sports teams. The complex is located in South Philadelphia and is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, home arena for the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia ...

on South Broad Street,

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

Philadelphia Naval Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

and Pattison Avenue/ Packer Park residential neighborhood. Many Philadelphians enjoy it as a green "oasis" for a variety of recreational activities, while sport and entertainment event patrons attending games and events at the nearby stadium may use it as an alternative place for offsite parking.

History

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park Plaque (1984) - Philadelphia PA

The park was built to the design of

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law ...

, the firm of

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (July 24, 1870 – December 25, 1957) was an American landscape architect and city planner known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, t ...

and

John Charles Olmsted John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920), was an American landscape architect. The nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, he worked with his father and his younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., in their father's firm. After their fat ...

in the early 20th century. The parkland was reclaimed mostly from marshlands of Greenwich Island, one of several islands in the area created by river channels present in the 18th and 19th centuries. The use of the park for the

Sesquicentennial Exposition The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary o ...

in 1926 and subsequent improvements have moderately changed the original design, keeping the main character of the park west of Broad Street. The original plan of the Olmsted Brothers still remains highly visible and significant west of Broad Street. The official name was changed from League Island Park to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in 1955. The park's boathouse (1916), gazebo (1914) and

American Swedish Historical Museum The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen C ...

(1926) are reminders of the 1926 Exposition. In 2000, the park was added to the

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (PRHP) is a register of historic places by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts can be added to the list. Criteria According to the Phila ...

Environment

FDR Park is located on the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

, a hydrographic province which includes extreme southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. The Coastal Plain supports different plants and animals from the adjacent

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

of Pennsylvania. Because of the extreme development of the Coastal Plain in Pennsylvania, many of these distinctive plants and animals are rare in the state. The ponds and lagoons are remnants of the

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

and channel system which originally occupied the area between the Schuylkill and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

rivers. Diking, draining and filling of these marshes probably started with the first settlement of the area by the Swedes in the early 17th century, culminating in the installation of a tide gate designed to permit drainage from the park while minimizing inflow from the Delaware River. Lake Erie Canada Geese

The Pennsylvania

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

has designated the park as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds that have natural habitats to watch for in the park are

shovelers The shovelers or shovellers are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks: * Red shoveler, ''Anas platalea'' * Cape shoveler, ''Anas smithii'' * Australasian shoveler, ''Anas rhynchotis'' * Northern shoveler, ''Anas cl ...

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...

wigeon The wigeons or widgeons are a group of birds, dabbling ducks currently classified in the genus ''Mareca'' along with two other species. There are three extant species of wigeon, in addition to one recently extinct species. Biology There are t ...

, ring-necks,

bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Anas albeola''. The genus na ...

redhead Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and ...

scaup Scaup is the common name for three species of diving duck: * Greater scaup, or just "scaup", ''Aythya marila'' * Lesser scaup, ''Aythya affinis'' * New Zealand scaup, ''Aythya novaeseelandiae'' External links

{{Animal common name Birds by co ...

, ruddys, pintail, pied-billed grebes,

snow geese The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, and

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

Important Bird Area (IBA)

The National Audubon Society of Pennsylvania has noted that FDR Park is one of the best places in Philadelphia to observe birds. This is because it contains a variety of habitats, including wetlands and waterways. Among bird categories, the park is best known as a place to observe waterfowl, as many various species can be seen there during their migrations. In addition to mallards and Canada geese, the park attracts large numbers of northern shovelers, gadwall, and American and Eurasian wigeon; redhead, lesser and greater scaup; bufflehead; ruddy ducks; northern pintail; green-winged teal; hooded mergansers; ring-necked ducks, American black ducks, and other rarer duck species. Also seen at the park are pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorants, American coots and other kinds of non-duck waterfowl. Many other birds may also be seen, from warblers to raptors.

Points of interest

*Boat House at Meadow Lake *Gazebo overlooking Meadow Lake (favorite photo spot for brides and grooms) *Bellaire Manor built 1750 by Samuel Preston Provincial Treasurer and trustee of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

's estate *Six single-span bridges, built in 1914, with random-coursed schist walls, soldiercourse segmental arches, and soldiercourse coping.

Recreation

*Golf course (Closed Oct 31, 2019) *Tennis courts *Soccer field *

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

baseball field * Skateboard park under I-95 *Children's playgrounds with a child scaled baseball field *Lakeside fishing *Bird watching *Model boat regatta racing at Meadow Lake Boat House

Events

*Music Festival: August 1, 1994 the

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

music festival was held in Philadelphia. *Baseball: Carpenter's Cup Classic annual playoffs between local High School teams with the final game at

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...

. *

Philadelphia Flower Show The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and traditionally held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March. It is the oldest and largest indoo ...

, held at FDR Park in 2021 and 2022.

References

External links

Friends of FDR ParkYear 2000 Historic District Inventory of FDR ParkThe Olmsted Brothers' League Island ParkFairmount Park -FDR Park history highlightBellaire Manor Building details for one of the earliest houses found in park system constructed between 1735 and 1750 (Thesis (M.S. in Historic Preservation) -- University of Pennsylvania, 1997)American Swedish Museum and Cultural Center
* ttp://www.acf.org/pdfs/news/2008/OctNov/RetiredJudge.pdf Retired Judge Reflects on Park Historybr>Video of Park Friends Board Member at Park with Overview of ParkFDR Golf CourseModel Boat Regatta
{{Coord, 39.902, -75.184, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title Municipal parks in Philadelphia World's fair sites in Pennsylvania Birdwatching sites in the United States Philadelphia Register of Historic Places South Philadelphia Monuments and memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States