Front Street 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, ...

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 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 ...

, 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 Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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 The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

Market–Frankford Line The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...

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 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. 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 The Nathaniel Irish House is an historic, American home that is located in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Part of Philadelphia's South Front Street Historic District, it was added to the National Register of Histo ...

. ''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 Olney Charter High School, formerly Aspira Charter School at Olney, and Olney High School, is a public high school located in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously directly controlled by the School District of Philade ...

. File:Olney HS Philly.JPG,

File:Finletter School Philly.JPG, Finletter School File:Quaker City Dye Works Philly.JPG, Quaker City Dye Works (view from Oxford Street)

References

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