Penn's Landing is a waterfront area of
Center City 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 ...
along 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 ...
. Its name commemorates the landing 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 ...
, the founder of
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, ...
in 1682. The actual
landing site is farther south in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...
. The city of Philadelphia purchased the right to use the name. Penn's Landing is bounded by
Front 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 a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
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.
Features and uses
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 concrete
labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...
located along the Delaware River at Christopher Columbus Boulevard and
Chestnut Street. During the summer months, Festival Pier at Spring Garden Street serves as a venue for outdoor concerts and has a capacity of approx. 6,500 people.
Several historic ships are moored at Penn's Landing. The
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
''
Moshulu
''Moshulu'' is a four-masted steel barque, built as ''Kurt'' by William Hamilton and Company at Port Glasgow in Scotland in 1904. The largest remaining original windjammer, she is currently a floating restaurant docked in Penn's Landing, Phila ...
'' is a floating
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
; the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
-era
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
USS ''Becuna'' and the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
-era
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
USS ''Olympia'' (C-6) are part of the
Independence Seaport Museum
The Independence Seaport Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Maritime Museum) was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Muse ...
; and the
barquentine
A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.
Modern barquentine sailing ...
''
Gazela
''Gazela'' is a wooden tall ship, built in 1901, whose home port is Philadelphia. She was built as a commercial fishing vessel, and used in that capacity for more than sixty years. She now serves as the maritime goodwill ambassador for the Cit ...
'' and
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
''
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
'' are moored there by the
Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild.
The
RiverLink Ferry
The RiverLink Ferry is a passenger ferry service in the United States. The ferry crosses the Delaware River, connecting the Camden Waterfront, in Camden, New Jersey, with Penn's Landing, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ferry operates daily f ...
links Penn's Landing with the
Camden Waterfront
The Camden Waterfront, also known as the Central Waterfront, is a commercial and entertainment district in Camden, New Jersey, on the Delaware River south of the Ben Franklin Bridge and north of Port of Camden.
The district is characterized by it ...
across the river in
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...
.
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 the ''Blue Cross RiverRink WinterFest'', featuring winter-themed decorations, fire pits, and an outdoor beer garden. The first Winterfest was held in 2013, 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 name ''SummerFest''.
Spruce Street Harbor Park
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 and
hammocks
A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wove ...
. The park is open only
seasonally
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
in the summer or warm months, and closed during the
winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
.
Monuments and memorials
There are many statues and monuments located in Penn's Landing:
*
The Irish Memorial
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, history of the
Great Famine (''An Gorta Mor'') and subsequent Irish immigration to America, dedicated in 2003, sculpted by
Glenna Goodacre
Glenna Maxey Goodacre (August 28, 1939 – April 13, 2020) was an American sculptor, best known for having designed the obverse of the Sacagawea dollar that entered circulation in the US in 2000, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, ...
* Monument to Scottish Immigrants, dedicated in 2011, honors the contributions of Scottish immigrants to the United States
*
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those s ...
, dedicated in 1987 and designed by Perry M. Morgan
*
Korean War Memorial, initially dedicated in 2002
*
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
Memorial, dedicated in 1992, an obelisk designed by
Venturi Scott Brown
Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century.
Together with h ...
to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's landing in the Americas
* A bronze plaque monument marking the 250th anniversary of the 1747 creation of the "Associators", the predecessor of the
Pennsylvania National Guard
The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia.
With more than 18,000 per ...
.
Former trolley
![PennsLanding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/PennsLanding.jpg)
From 1982 until 1995 a
heritage trolley
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
Trains
It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...
line (
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
way) operated in Penn's Landing, on weekends and holidays from about April to October each year. Intended to attract tourists and help spur
redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space.
Description
Variations on redevelopment include: ...
of the area,
[Price, J.H. (February 1983). "Museum News". '']Modern Tramway and Light Rail Transit
''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...
'' magazine, pp. 38–40. Ian Allan Publishing
Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan.
In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern Railway at Waterloo st ...
/Light Rail Transit Association
The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...
(UK). ISSN 0144-1655. the trolley line was established along a section of disused ex-
Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad
The Philadelphia Belt Line Railroad owns a long railroad line running along the Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1889 to allow any Philadelphia railroad to access the waterfront. The railroad, which does ...
freight railroad
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons ( International Union of Railways) haule ...
track (owned by
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
), from the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...
to Pier 51.
Grants from the city and Fidelity Bank funded the installation of overhead
trolley wire
The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
History
Construction of th ...
and supporting poles, along with an electrical substation to provide power.
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.
The service ran for the last time on December 17, 1995, and the trolley wire and poles were removed by March 1996.
["Museum News" section. '']Light Rail & Modern Tramway
''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...
'' magazine, June 1996, p. 235. Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. ISSN 0964-9255.
The
Delaware River Port Authority
The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), officially the Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a bi-state agency instrumentality created by a congressionally approved interstate compact between the governments of Penn ...
is in the process of re-opening the
Franklin Square PATCO 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. 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.
Old Carpenter's Wharf
Samuel Carpenter
Samuel Carpenter (4 November 1649 – 10 April 1714) was a Deputy Governor of colonial Pennsylvania. He signed the historic document "The Declaration of Fealty, Christian Belief and Test" dated 10 September 1695; the original is in the Histor ...
(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 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 ...
, which was the first wharf built in Philadelphia. It became known as "Carpenter's Wharf" and could handle ships of 500 tons or more.
[ Holme, Thomas, "Portraiture of Philadelphia 1683-1684", which is an early city chart or map, shows the location of building lots of over 1,000 acres.] Over the years it was expanded, modernized and would now be under Interstate-95 where the highway passes Penn's Landing.
References
External links
Penn's Landing Corporation
Events
Blue Cross RiverRinkSippin By The RiverJam on the River
{{Authority control
Neighborhoods in Philadelphia
Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States
Delaware River Port Authority
Old City, Philadelphia