Franklintown, or Franklin Town, is an area in the Logan Square neighborhood of Philadelphia which was the subject of an urban planning effort in the 1970s and early 1980s.[1]
Finkel[2] (who calls the neighborhood "Franklin Town") gives its location as "Vine to Callowhill Streets, vic. 17th Street". The same source defines the boundaries of the Spring Garden and Logan Square neighborhoods in such a way that each completely contains Franklin Town.
The Logan Square Neighborhood Association and the Spring Garden Civic Association, which represent their respective neighborhoods, both consider Spring Garden Street to be the boundary between the two neighborhoods. Franklin Town is therefore in the area represented by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. It has no separate civic association.
Historyedit
The Franklin Town Development Corporation was created by Smith, Kline & French, Philadelphia Electric Company, electrical equipment manufacturer ITE International (now part of Siemens[3] ), the real-estate concern Korman Corporation, and brokerage house Butcher & Sherred (later Butcher & Singer[4] ).[5] All except Butcher & Sherred were large landowners in the area. The FTDC, led by former HUD administrator Jason Nathan, hired noted architect Philip Johnson to create a master plan for development.[6]
Johnson began work on his design in 1970, and it was released the following year. The plan included the rerouting of parts of 17th Street and 18th Street to create the diagonal Franklin Town Boulevard. This was to lead, at its southeastern terminus, to a central "town square".[7] This part of the design was never realized.
In 1991 a park at the northwest terminus of Franklin Town Boulevard was dedicated as Franklin Town Park. Many of the residents of the neighborhood to be made into Franklin Town had been threatened with home and business loss by eminent domain, and some avoided this by accepting relocation in new or renovated houses within their neighborhood. They still resented the taking by a private corporation, and also resented the fact that buildings were leveled and replaced by surface parking lots instead of new construction as planned. In fact, empty lots still persist fifty years after the 1971 proposal. Due to these negative feelings and in response to neighborhood petitions to Philadelphia City Hall, the name of the park was officially changed from Franklin Town Park to Matthias Baldwin Park in 2011. For the same reasons, the name of the neighborhood was changed in 2019 from Franklintown (sic) to Baldwin Park on the neighborhood community bulletin board Nextdoor.
Franklintown, now the Baldwin Park neighborhood, consists of newer highrise and midrise structures. This contrasts with the neighborhoods north of Spring Garden Street, which are mostly densely packed historic rowhouses. [8]
^GroJLart (28 July 2011). "Empty Lot of the Week-- July 28th". Retrieved 2 December 2013.
^Finkel, Kenneth (1994). Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual for 1995. Philadelphia: The Library Company of Philadelphia. pp. 156–163. ISBN9780914076896.
^Price, Bill (22 September 193). "Obituaries: Albert A. Kaval". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
^Narvaez, Alfonso (21 June 1991). "Howard Butcher 3d, 89, Broker; Guided Pennsylvania's Top Firm". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
^Warner, Susan (28 September 1988). "Firm Aiming To Keep Role In Franklintown". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
^Carroll, Patrice (1985). Franklin Town: A Neighborhood Study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. pp. 2–3.
^Barton, Lisa (1982). Franklin Town: Urban Design Capstone, Summer 1982. University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts Urban Design Program. p. 13.
franklintown, philadelphia, franklintown, franklin, town, area, logan, square, neighborhood, philadelphia, which, subject, urban, planning, effort, 1970s, early, 1980s, franklintownneighborhood, philadelphiathe, third, philadelphia, mint, part, community, coll. Franklintown or Franklin Town is an area in the Logan Square neighborhood of Philadelphia which was the subject of an urban planning effort in the 1970s and early 1980s 1 FranklintownNeighborhood of PhiladelphiaThe Third Philadelphia Mint now part of the Community College of Philadelphia is in FranklintownCountry United StatesStatePennsylvaniaCountyPhiladelphia CountyCityPhiladelphiaArea code s 215 267 and 445 Contents 1 Boundaries 2 History 3 References 4 External linksBoundaries editFinkel 2 who calls the neighborhood Franklin Town gives its location as Vine to Callowhill Streets vic 17th Street The same source defines the boundaries of the Spring Garden and Logan Square neighborhoods in such a way that each completely contains Franklin Town The Logan Square Neighborhood Association and the Spring Garden Civic Association which represent their respective neighborhoods both consider Spring Garden Street to be the boundary between the two neighborhoods Franklin Town is therefore in the area represented by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association It has no separate civic association History editThe Franklin Town Development Corporation was created by Smith Kline amp French Philadelphia Electric Company electrical equipment manufacturer ITE International now part of Siemens 3 the real estate concern Korman Corporation and brokerage house Butcher amp Sherred later Butcher amp Singer 4 5 All except Butcher amp Sherred were large landowners in the area The FTDC led by former HUD administrator Jason Nathan hired noted architect Philip Johnson to create a master plan for development 6 Johnson began work on his design in 1970 and it was released the following year The plan included the rerouting of parts of 17th Street and 18th Street to create the diagonal Franklin Town Boulevard This was to lead at its southeastern terminus to a central town square 7 This part of the design was never realized In 1991 a park at the northwest terminus of Franklin Town Boulevard was dedicated as Franklin Town Park Many of the residents of the neighborhood to be made into Franklin Town had been threatened with home and business loss by eminent domain and some avoided this by accepting relocation in new or renovated houses within their neighborhood They still resented the taking by a private corporation and also resented the fact that buildings were leveled and replaced by surface parking lots instead of new construction as planned In fact empty lots still persist fifty years after the 1971 proposal Due to these negative feelings and in response to neighborhood petitions to Philadelphia City Hall the name of the park was officially changed from Franklin Town Park to Matthias Baldwin Park in 2011 For the same reasons the name of the neighborhood was changed in 2019 from Franklintown sic to Baldwin Park on the neighborhood community bulletin board Nextdoor Franklintown now the Baldwin Park neighborhood consists of newer highrise and midrise structures This contrasts with the neighborhoods north of Spring Garden Street which are mostly densely packed historic rowhouses 8 Community College of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints are in Franklin Town References edit GroJLart 28 July 2011 Empty Lot of the Week July 28th Retrieved 2 December 2013 Finkel Kenneth 1994 Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens Manual for 1995 Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia pp 156 163 ISBN 9780914076896 Price Bill 22 September 193 Obituaries Albert A Kaval The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved 7 December 2013 Narvaez Alfonso 21 June 1991 Howard Butcher 3d 89 Broker Guided Pennsylvania s Top Firm The New York Times Retrieved 7 December 2013 Warner Susan 28 September 1988 Firm Aiming To Keep Role In Franklintown The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved 7 December 2013 Carroll Patrice 1985 Franklin Town A Neighborhood Study Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania pp 2 3 Barton Lisa 1982 Franklin Town Urban Design Capstone Summer 1982 University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts Urban Design Program p 13 City DataExternal links editLogan Square Neighborhood Association Spring Garden Civic Association neighborhood map 39 57 43 N 75 10 08 W 39 962 N 75 169 W 39 962 75 169 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Franklintown Philadelphia amp oldid 1151124400, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
