In the last Phasinating Philly Phacts we learned all about William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He designed the city of Phil-Adelphia, meaning “Brotherly Love”, in a very specific way.
- Philadelphia was designed in a grid pattern so that our streets would be wide, open, and easy to navigate partly due to the fact that Penn experienced the disaster that was the Great Fire of London in 1666, which was difficult to control due to the small, narrow streets and alleys that make up the city of London.
- The streets in Center City that go north to south are numbered with the exception of Front Street taking the place of First Street. This is said to be because the Quakers believed that the number one should only be used for God.
- Broad Street, which could also be considered 14th Street, is the longest straight street in the country. At over 13 miles long Philly hosts the Broad Street Run every May going from North to South and stretching 10 miles long.
- Market Street was originally called High Street to match the main street names used in Europe at the time. It was eventually changed to Market Street since that is where things were typically bought and sold.
- Many of the streets that go east to west in downtown Philly are named after trees because William Penn, a Quaker, believed it was inappropriate to name streets after people.
- Race Street was originally called Sassafras Street but the street was often used for horse races so the name was changed since most people would be known to say “I’ll meet you on the street where the race is”.
- One of the rare winding streets in Center City is Dock Street which, in colonial times, was known as Dock creek. The creek got so polluted, however the city paved it over with Belgium Blocks making it one of the most bumpy streets in Philly.
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