Chestnut Street is a major historic street in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sin ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It was originally named Wynne Street because
Thomas Wynne's home was there.
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
renamed it Chestnut Street in 1684. It runs east–west from the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before e ...
waterfront in downtown Philadelphia through
Center City and
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
. The road crosses the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...
on the
Chestnut Street Bridge. It serves as eastbound
Pennsylvania Route 3
Pennsylvania Route 3 (PA 3) is a state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route runs from U.S. Route 322 Business (US 322 Bus.) in West Chester east to PA 611 in Philadelphia. The route begins in downtown West C ...
between 63rd and 33rd Streets.
Stratton's Tavern was located on Chestnut Street near Sixth Street. When the citizens of Philadelphia were afraid that the British might attack the essentially unmanned
Fort Mifflin
Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International A ...
, the secretary of the Young Men's Democratic Society called a meeting held at Stratton's Tavern at Chestnut and Sixth Streets on March 20, 1813. The young men agreed to volunteer their services to defend the fort.
Points of interest
From east to west:
*
United States Custom House
*
National Liberty Museum
*
Carpenters' Hall
Carpenters' Hall is the official birthplace of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a key meeting place in the early history of the United States. Carpenters' Hall is located in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
*
First National Bank (today, part of the
Science History Institute
The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center.
It was f ...
)
*
Old City Hall
*
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...
*
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerp ...
*
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independenc ...
*
Ben Franklin House, formerly the Benjamin Franklin Hotel
*
Belgravia Hotel
*
The Coronado Building
*
Historic Main Post Office (now the IRS 30th Street Campus)
*
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of ...
*
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
Major intersections
The entire street is in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sin ...
,
Philadelphia County
Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsy ...
.
See also
*
History of Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn in the English Crown Province of Pennsylvania between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Before then, the area was inhabited by the Lenape people. Philadelphia quickly grew into an i ...
References
Streets in Philadelphia
Economy of Philadelphia
External links
{{Spoken Wikipedia, Wikipedia Audio - Chestnut Street (Philadelphia).wav, date=2018-11-1