Visions of Vibrancy: Center City Philadelphia
The vibrancy of cities comes in all shapes and sizes. Many believe that what works in internationally known comsopolitan settings may not be applicable for cities that have struggled with embracing walkability, such as Jacksonville. If we look hard enough, we may realize that this type of view should be challenged. Despite the diversity around the globe, all lively cities, downtowns, and urban cores have something in common: being pedestrian-friendly.
Center City Philadelphia covers Philadelphia's city limits prior to consolidation with Philadelphia County in 1854.
Downtown Jacksonville with the boundaries of Center City Philadelphia included.
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In June 2014, The Street ranked Philadelphia as the 6th most bike-friendly city in the country. "According to a study from the University of California at Berkeley, 37% of Philadelphia workers commute without a car, compared to 33% for Chicago and 45% for San Francisco. Overall, 13% of Philadelphia households do not own a car. In Philly that leaves you with only a few options: the much-maligned trains and buses of the city's SEPTA system, bikes, or a really good pair of walking shoes."
source: https://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2014/06/09/philly-ranked-6-bike-friendly-city-street/
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Logan Circle is one of the five original planned squares laid out on the Philadelphia city grid. The park was used for public executions and burial plots until the early nineteenth century. Originally called "Northwest Square," in 1825 it was renamed Logan Square after Philadelphia statesman James Logan.
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With 19.8 miles of track still in operation, with a average weekday ridership of 84,829 (FY 2014), Philadelphia's streetcar network is the largest and busiest in the mid-Atlantic. Shown above, SEPTA's Route 23 trolley route was the longest streetcar line in the United States and disputed to be the longest line in the world. Viewed as not being cost-effective, SEPTA completely replaced this route with bus service in 2003.
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Lit Brothers was a moderately-priced department store opened by Samuel and Jacob Lit at North 8th and Market Streets in 1891. The store's slogan was "A Great Store in A Great City," and it was noted for its millinery department. Also known for "Hats Trimmed Free of Charge," the Lit Brothers department store chain closed in 1977.
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Independence National Historic Park is a 55-acre national park that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Designated as a U.S. National Landmark District on October 15, 1966, the park is known as "America's most historic square mile," and is Philadelphia's most-visited historic district. Iconic elements of the park include the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution was adopted.
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The Reading Terminal was a train depot built in 1891-93 by the Reading Railroad. Due to the site being the location of an open-air market established in 1853, the railroad agreed to purchase the market and include it as a part of its new railroad terminal. With the market on the ground level of the trainshed, all tracks were constructed on story above street level. During World War II, 45,000 daily passengers used the terminal. Replaced by Market East Station (now called Jefferson Station), train service at this terminal ended on November 6, 1984.
In the early 1990s, the terminal was renovated into the Pennsylvania Convention Center and retail space. The Reading Railroad's former offices contain over 200 rooms for an adjacent Marriott Hotel, which is connected by a skywalk.
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Above: The Grand Court of Wanamaker's. Wanamaker's was the first department store in Philadelphia and one of the earliest in the country. The chain was absorbed into Hecht's in 1995. All Hecht stores were rebranded as Macy's in 2006.
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A pedestrian-oriented system, Walk!Philadelphia was developed by the Center City District and Joel Katz design associates in the mid-1990s. The wayfaring signage program has been very successful in helping pedestrians find their way quickly and easily around Center City.
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Broad Street is known as the Avenue of the Arts district, between Washington Avenue on the south to Glenwood Avenue on the north. It is home to several performing arts venues, including the Kimmel Center, the Clef Club and Freedom Theatre.
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Tale of the Tape:
Philadelphia City Population 2013: 1,553,165 (City); 6,034,678 (Metro 2013) - (incorporated in 1701)
Jacksonville City Population 2013: 842,583 (City); 1,394,624 (Metro 2013) - (incorporated in 1832)
City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Philadelphia (2,071,605)
City Land Area
Philadelphia: 134.1 square miles
Jacksonville: 757.7 square miles
Metropolitan Area Growth rate (2010-2013)
Philadelphia: +1.16%
Jacksonville: +3.64%
Urban Area Population (2010 census)
Philadelphia: 5,441,567 (ranked 5 nationwide)
Jacksonville: 1,065,219 (ranked 40 nationwide)
Urban Area Population Density (2010 census)
Philadelphia: 2,746.4 people per square mile
Jacksonville: 2,008.5 people per square mile
City Population Growth from 2010 to 2013
Philadelphia: +27,159
Jacksonville: +20,799
Convention Center Exhibition Space:
Philadelphia: Philadelphia Convention Center (1993) - 679,000 square feet
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1985) - 78,500 square feet
Connected to or across the street from Convention Center:
Philadelphia: Philadelphia Marriott Downtown - 1,408 rooms, Hilton Garden Inn Philadelphia City Center - 279 rooms
Jacksonville: N/A
Tallest Building:
Philadelphia: Comcast Center - 974 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet
Fortune 500 companies 2013 (City limits only):
Philadelphia: Comcast (44), Aramark Holdings Corp. (209), Crown Holdings Inc. (313)
Jacksonville: CSX (231), Fidelity National Financial (353), Fidelity National Information Services (434)
Urban infill obstacles:
Philadelphia: I-95 cuts off Center City from the Delaware River.
Jacksonville: State & Union Streets cut off downtown Jacksonville from Springfield.
Downtown Nightlife:
Philadelphia: Rittenhouse Square District, Washington Square District, Old City District
Jacksonville: East Bay Street
Common Downtown Albatross:
Abundance of homeless.
Who's Downtown is more walkable?
Philadelphia: 98 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 73 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
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At 548' tall, the Philadelphia City Hall is the world's second-tallest masonry building. Complted in 1901, it was the tallest habitable building in the world from 1901 to 1908 and the tallest in Pennsylvania until 1932 when surpassed by the Gulf Tower. It remained the tallest building in Philadelphia until the construction of One Liberty Place (1984–1987) broke the informal "gentlemen's agreement" that limited the height of tall buildings in the city.
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Washington Square was known as Southeast Square, when originally designated in 1682. During the 18th century, it was used to graze animals and as an African-American burial ground.
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In 1991, within the boundaries of the Center City District (CCD), there was just one major condominium building. But the passage of the 10-year tax abatement in 1997 tapped into a growing demand for downtown living. According to tabulations by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, between 2001 and 2011, 28 commercial office buildings with a total of 2.76 million square feet were converted to residential use. Within what used to be almost entirely an office district, there are now 49 condominium buildings containing 3,871 units and another 165 apartment buildings with 15,630 units.
Source: https://www.centercityphila.org/docs/CCR12_housing.pdf
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One of Center City Philadelphia's largest tourist attractions, South Street is known for its "bohemian" and "punk" atmosphere and its diverse and urban mix of shops, bars, and eateries. Named Cedar Street in William Penn's original plan of Philadelphia, it was the traditional southern boundary of the city before the annexation of townships to the south.
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Of the total of 80,257 occupied housing units in Greater Center City, the 5-year Estimates from the ACS for the period 2006-2010 indicate that 42.6% are owner-occupied, and 57.4% are renter-occupied. Substantial variation in housing tenure across all downtown residential communities exists, however, with the highest rates of homeownership found in the condominiums on the Delaware Waterfront and in Society Hill. The highest percentages of renters are found in Callowhill/Poplar, Washington Square West, and Logan Square.
Source: https://www.centercityphila.org/docs/CCR12_housing.pdf
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The Italian Market on South 9th Street, between Christian Street and Washington Avenue is the social and commercial heart of Philadelphia's Italian community. The market's origins date back to the late 1800s, when immigrants settled in the area outside of the original city of Philadelphia.
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Artist Isiah Zagar's Magic Garden on South Street. According to Wikipedia, "Magic Gardens, Zagar's largest South Street mosaic work, is both a three dimensional, immersive piece of installation art and a museum gallery space. The mosaics are inlaid with poetry, quotes, names of artists who have inspired Zagar, as well as portraits and forms of people and animals. The gardens utilize a variety of materials, including bottles, bike wheels and folk art."
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Keeping young families in the city is important to any vibrant urban environment. Accessible interactive parks and playscapes are an important element in attracting and retaining families in dense urban settings.
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Center City Philadelphia's context sensitive network of streets successfully balance multimodal transportation connectivity.
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Dating back to 1986, the Mural Arts Program is a successful anti-graffiti mural program. Today, the program is one of the city's largest employers of artists According to wikipedia,
"The Mural Arts Program is responsible for the largest mural painted in Philadelphia at 600 feet (180 m) in length. Titled History of Immigration, the mural displays settlers of different ethnicities who have settled in Philadelphia over time. The average mural painted by the program is approximately the height of a three-story row house and 35 feet wide. The average cost of each mural is $10,000–$15,000, which includes artist commission and supplies.
The program is currently one of Philadelphia's largest employers of artists, employing over 300 artists a year. The Mural Arts Program also hires prosecuted graffiti vandals at a rate of over 100 per year and involves them with the creation of murals around Philadelphia. Currently, the program employs 36 former graffiti artists as staff members on permanent payroll and serves more than 300 children a year with arts programs. During the 2001–2004 Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, the Mural Arts Program had painted over 600 murals around Philadelphia.[9] In February 2006, the city of Watertown, New York asked Jane Golden to speak in hopes of creating a similar program in their community."
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural_Arts_Program
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The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is home to Verizon Hall (2,500-seat concert hall), Perelman Theater (650-seat recital theater), and SEI Innovation Studio – a 2,688 sq. foot black box theater.
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Officially opening on September 1, 1928, the 12 mile Broad Street Subway has an average weekday ridership of 124,945 (FY 2014).
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Designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern, who also designed Jacksonville's Main Public Library, the 58-story, 975' Comcast Centeris the tallest building in Philadelphia. In Comcast Center's lobby is the Comcast Experience, which is a 2,000 square feet (190 m2) high-definition LED screen that has become a tourist attraction. Designed to be environmentally friendly, the skyscraper is the tallest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in the United States.
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Originally called Southwest Square, Rittenhouse Square was renamed in 1825 after David Rittenhouse, a descendant of the first paper-maker in Philadelphia, the German immigrant William Rittenhouse. With over 20,000 residents today, the neighborhood is considered by many to be Philadelphia's continuously signature fashionable residential district.
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The Schuylkill River is very popular with watersports enthusiasts. In Center City, the Schuylkill River Trail, is a multi-use trail for walking, jogging, bicycling, rollerblading, and other outdoor activities.
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Old City is the area of Center City near the Delaware River where William Penn and the Quakers first settled. It is home to Independence Hall and its encompassing Independence National Historical Park, Elfreth's Alley, Carpenters' Hall, the Betsy Ross House, and many of Philadelphia's other historic sites. It is also one of the city's popular nightlife destinations, with lounges, dive bars, and quality restaurants, mostly along the three blocks from 3rd and Market streets to Front and Chestnut streets.
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Philadelphia's Chinatown dates back to the 1870s. Significant portions of it were razed for the construction of the Vine Street Expressway and the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the 1960s.
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Over 100 merchants offer fresh produce, meats, fish, groceries, ice cream, flowers, baked goods, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty and ethnic foods in the enclosed Reading Terminal Market.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com