Front Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a north–south street running parallel to and near the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. In 1682, when the city was laid out by William Penn, it was the first street surveyed and built in the new colony of Pennsylvania. As part of the

King's Highway King's Highway or Kings Highway may refer to: Roads Australia * Kings Highway (Australia), connecting Queanbeyan to Batemans Bay Canada * King's Highways, an alternative designation for the primary provincial highway system in Ontario * King's ...

, which extended from Boston to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, and as the waterfront of Philadelphia's port, it was the most important street in the city from its founding into the nineteenth century. Front Street is the origin street of Philadelphia's numbered streets. There is no First Street, Front Street exists in its place, and numbered streets begin at the next major block with Second Street, about one-tenth mile west. At least three stations of SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line are built above Front Street. They include Girard Station,

Berks Station Berks station is an elevated rapid transit station on the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line, located at the corner of Front and Berks streets in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is also served by SEPTA bus ...

, and York–Dauphin Station. SEPTA gives the address of also Spring Garden Station as Front Street, by which pedestrians have access, but its platform lies in the median of

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 ...

over Spring Garden Street, just west of Front Street.

Historic sites

The

South Front Street Historic District South Front Street Historic District is a national historic district located in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses seven contributing buildings, including the Nathaniel Irish House, Widow Maloby's Tavern ...

, which includes numbers 700–712 on the west side of South Front, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district includes three buildings individually listed on the NRHP as well,

Widow Maloby's Tavern The Widow Maloby's Tavern is a historic tavern building located in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tavern was built in 1764, and is a 3 1/2-story, three bay by two bay, brick rowhouse. It was originally painted yel ...

(700),

Capt. Thomas Moore House Capt. Thomas Moore House is a historic home located in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in between the Nathaniel Irish House, to the south, and Widow Maloby's Tavern, to the north. It was built in 1767, ...

(702), and the Nathaniel Irish House. ''Note:'' This includes ''Note:'' This includes ''Note:'' This includes 758 S Front Philly.JPG, 758 South Front Street 704-700 S Front St Philly.JPG,

Phila FrontStreet05.jpg, North Front Street, looking north towards Arch Street Four sites listed on the National Register adjoin North Front Street:

Elfreth's Alley Elfreth's Alley is a historic street in Philadelphia, dating back to 1703. There are 32 houses on the street which were built between 1703 and 1836. The Elfreth's Alley Museum is located at #124 and 126.Historical marker on Elfreth's Alley The ...

, the Quaker City Dye Works, and two schools, the Thomas K. Finletter School and Olney High School. File:Olney HS Philly.JPG, Olney High School File:Finletter School Philly.JPG, Finletter School File:Quaker City Dye Works Philly.JPG, Quaker City Dye Works (view from Oxford Street)

References

{{coord, 39.914, -75.149, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Streets in Philadelphia