Logan Circle (Philadelphia)

Infobox_nrhp | name =Logan Square
nrhp_type =


caption = Swann Fountain in Logan Circle
location= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 57
lat_seconds = 28.16
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 75
long_minutes = 10
long_seconds = 15.35
long_direction = W
locmapin = Pennsylvania
area =
built =1683
architect= Thomas Holme; Jacques Greber
architecture= No Style Listed
added = September 14, 1981
governing_body = Local
mpsub=Four Public Squares of Philadelphia TR
refnum=81000555cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Logan Circle, also known as Logan Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's northwest quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid. The circle itself exists within the original bounds of the square; the names Logan Square and Logan Circle are used interchangeably when referring to the park. The park is the focal point of the eponymous neighborhood.

History

Originally called "Northwest Square," the park had a somewhat gruesome history as a site of public executions and burial plots until the early Nineteenth Century. In 1825, it was renamed Logan Square after Philadelphia statesman James Logan.

Although the bounds of the square—18th Street to the east, 20th Street to the west, Race Street to the south and Vine Street to the north—are still intact, the park today is distinguished by its circle, constructed in the 1930s as a segment of Benjamin Franklin Parkway and centered around picturesque Swann Fountain. Among the sites in its immediate vicinity are the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Franklin Institute and the Roman Catholic Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Recent redevelopment

In early 2005 efforts were begun to clean up and redevelop the park to make it more accessible to pedestrians. Most noticeably the large paulownia trees that featured prominently around the fountain were removed. City planners had determined that they had reached the end of their life span and had become an eyesore. They will be replaced with similar trees as part of a larger plan to improve the space. [ [http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-09-15/cityspace2.shtml Squaring the Circle ] ]

Traditions

To commemorate the end of every school year since the 1960's, the newly appointed Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors of J. W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School jump into the fountain. The event is the subject of much local media coverage throughout Philadelphia.

ee also

*Cradle of Liberty Council

External links

* [http://www.phila.gov/fairpark/squares/logan.html Logan Square: City of Philadelphia official site (Fairmount Park Commission)]

References