Franklintown, Philadelphia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Franklintown
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The Third Philadelphia Mint, now part of the Community College of Philadelphia is in Franklintown
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| Country |  United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia County |
| City | Philadelphia |
| Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
Franklintown, also known as Franklin Town, is a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's part of the larger Logan Square area. In the 1970s and early 1980s, this neighborhood was part of a big plan to develop and rebuild parts of the city.
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Where is Franklintown Located?
Franklintown is located in Philadelphia, near Vine and Callowhill Streets and 17th Street. It sits between the Logan Square and Spring Garden neighborhoods.
The Spring Garden Street is often seen as the border between Logan Square and Spring Garden. This means Franklintown is usually considered part of the Logan Square area. It doesn't have its own separate neighborhood group.
The Story of Franklintown
How the Development Started
The idea for Franklintown began with a group called the Franklin Town Development Corporation (FTDC). This group was created by several large companies that owned land in the area. These companies included Smith, Kline & French, Philadelphia Electric Company, ITE International, Korman Corporation, and Butcher & Sherred.
The FTDC hired a famous architect named Philip Johnson. His job was to create a master plan for how the area would be developed. This plan would show where new buildings and streets would go.
The Original Plan
Philip Johnson started working on his design in 1970, and it was shared in 1971. His plan included changing the paths of 17th and 18th Streets. These streets would become a new diagonal road called Franklin Town Boulevard. This boulevard was supposed to lead to a central "town square" at its end. However, this part of the design was never built.
Changes and Challenges
Many people who lived in the area faced challenges because of the development plan. Their homes and businesses were at risk of being taken by the city for the project. This process is called eminent domain, where the government can take private land for public use, even if the owner doesn't want to sell. Some residents were able to stay by moving into new or fixed-up houses in the same neighborhood.
However, many people were upset because private companies were taking their land. They were also disappointed when old buildings were torn down and replaced by empty parking lots instead of new construction. Even today, many empty lots remain, more than 50 years after the plan was first suggested.
A New Name for the Park
Because of these strong feelings, residents asked Philadelphia City Hall to make changes. In 1991, a park at the end of Franklin Town Boulevard was opened and named Franklin Town Park. But in 2011, the park's name was officially changed to Matthias Baldwin Park. This change honored the wishes of the community.
For similar reasons, the name of the neighborhood itself was changed in 2019. On the neighborhood's online community board, it is now called Baldwin Park instead of Franklintown.
What Franklintown Looks Like Today
Today, Franklintown, or Baldwin Park, looks different from its neighboring areas. It has many newer, taller buildings and mid-sized structures. This is a contrast to the neighborhoods north of Spring Garden Street, which mostly have older, closely packed rowhouses.
You can find some important places in Franklintown. These include the Community College of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
