Circle Get's the 5 Squares

Many people are always interested in historical cities througout the world. For instance Rome, Athens, London, etc all come to mind when I think about historical cities, but many people do not realize the history in there own hometown. This topic came to me during a recent family day trip to Independence Hall in Old City. The City of Philadelphia, even though not nearly as old as the aforementioned, has it's own historical significance to world history. It is my intention to write many and varied historical examples in the blogs to follow, but for this particular one I would like to start with the 5 public parks/squares inside the downtown city limits.

Upon brainstorming you probably came up with Rittenhouse, Logan, Franklin, and Washington Squares. The fifth and final one you probably left out is or should I say was called Center Square. Each and every square has its on historical significance, which most people don't know or even care about. I will elaborate briefly based on research I have completed while my wife was watching the conclusion of Bravo's Project Runway (Kenley's a bi**h).


In 1681, William Penn acquired the land, which later became Pennsylvania, in a charter from the King of England Charles II. During the planning stages of laying out his city he decided a grid plan, which is when streets meet at rights angles, would be the most advantageous design. When the city was laid out on paper he created 5 public parks/squares into the design, which would be meeting places for the townspeople. The 5 parks/squares thus came to fruition, but did not hold the current names obviously. They were named by the location within the city limits such as Center Square (center of city), Northeast Square (Franklin), Northwest Square (Logan), Southwest Square (Rittenhouse), and Southeast Square (Washington).

These squares have been a historical part of Philadelphia since its inception by William Penn. Today they still function as meeting places, a place to walk your dogs, and even a desitnation for children to urinate in the fountains during the warm summer months (Logan Square). What the average person does not know for example is that Logan Square was once a place where guilty convicts were executed by lynching. Also by popular belief Franklin Square was supposely where Ben first discovered electricity while flying a kite. Washington Square was and currently is a a permanent graveyard for some Revolutionary War Soldiers. Lastly, City Hall now resides on a once popular Square named Center Square.

It is amazing to me to walk around these areas and to realize what once took place there. The appreciation I have for the City of Philadelphia grows each time I see one of those historical signs and appreciate all the significant happenings Philadelphia was a host to. I mean how much more prouder can you be of a city whose inhabitants and guests told the English to go f**k themselves. So the next time you are in Old City or the surrounding areas please stop to understand the historical relevance of what's in front of you. And please forget about Rome, Athens, Barcelona, etc. the exchange rate makes it much easier to tour the city in which you reside.