Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park (originally named League Island Park) is a park located along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

in the southernmost point of

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, comprising some , about of buildings, roadways, pathways for walking, landscaped architecture, and a variety of picnic and recreation areas placed within about of natural lands including ponds and lagoons.

Location

The park is bordered by the

South Philadelphia Sports Complex The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the home of four prominent Philadelphia professional sports teams. The complex is located in South Philadelphia and is the site of Wells Fargo Center, home arena for the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelp ...

on South Broad Street,

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

Philadelphia Naval Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front S ...

and Pattison Avenue/

Packer Park Packer Park is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States that originally included 1,000 homes built in two unique builder developments, of Packer Park in the 1950s and Brinton Estates during th ...

residential neighborhood. Many Philadelphians enjoy it as a green oasis for a variety of recreational activities, while sport and entertainment event patrons attending games and events at the nearby stadium may use it as an alternative place for offsite parking.

History

The park was built to the design of

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

, the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and

John Charles Olmsted John Charles Olmsted (September 14, 1852 – February 24, 1920) was an American landscape architect. The nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, he worked with his father and his younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., in their fath ...

in the early 20th century. The parkland was reclaimed mostly from marshlands of Greenwich Island, one of several islands in the area created by river channels present in the 18th and 19th centuries. The use of the park for the

Sesquicentennial Exposition The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversar ...

in 1926 and subsequent improvements have moderately changed the original design, keeping the main character of the park west of Broad Street. The original plan of the Olmsted Brothers still remains highly visible and significant west of Broad Street. The official name was changed from League Island Park to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in 1955. The park's boathouse (1916), gazebo (1914) and

American Swedish Historical Museum The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Q ...

(1926) are reminders of the 1926 Exposition. In 2000, the park was added to the

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (PRHP) is a register of historic places by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts can be added to the list. Criteria According to the Phil ...

. In 2019 the FDR golf course, which was open for almost 80 years of operations, was closed with plans to convert the space to recreation space. The Anna C. Verna Playground was opened in October 2023. The 2-acre all-ages playground features the largest swing set in North America, and custom-designed “birdhouse” structures with slides and climbing areas that acknowledge FDR Park’s role as a premier bird habitat.

Environment

FDR Park is located on the

Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, a hydrographic province which includes extreme southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. The Coastal Plain supports different plants and animals from the adjacent

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

of Pennsylvania. Because of the extreme development of the Coastal Plain in Pennsylvania, many of these distinctive plants and animals are rare in the state. The ponds and lagoons are remnants of the

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean.

and channel system which originally occupied the area between the Schuylkill and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

rivers. Diking, draining and filling of these marshes probably started with the first settlement of the area by the Swedes in the early 17th century, culminating in the installation of a tide gate designed to permit drainage from the park while minimizing inflow from the Delaware River. The Pennsylvania

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

has designated the park as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds that have natural habitats to watch for in the park are shovelers,

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown th ...

wigeon The wigeons or widgeons are a group of birds, dabbling ducks currently classified in the genus ''Mareca'' along with two other species. There are three extant species of wigeon, in addition to one recently extinct species. Biology There are ...

, ring-necks,

bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his lan ...

redhead Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive alle ...

, scaup, ruddys, pintail, pied-billed grebes,

snow geese The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

, and

herons Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus '' Botaurus'' are referred to as ...

Important Bird Area (IBA)

The National Audubon Society of Pennsylvania has noted that FDR Park is one of the best places in Philadelphia to observe birds because it contains a variety of habitats, including wetlands, and waterways. Among bird categories, the park is best known as a place to observe waterfowl, as many various species can be seen there during their migrations. In addition to mallards and Canada geese, the park attracts large numbers of northern shovelers, gadwall, and American and Eurasian wigeon; redhead, lesser and greater scaup; bufflehead; ruddy ducks; northern pintail; green-winged teal; hooded mergansers; ring-necked ducks, American black ducks, and other rarer duck species. Also seen at the park are pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorants, American coots and other kinds of non-duck waterfowl. Many other birds may also be seen, from warblers to raptors.

Points of interest

*Boat House at Meadow Lake *Gazebo overlooking Meadow Lake *Bellaire Manor built 1750 by Samuel Preston Provincial Treasurer and trustee of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

's estate *Six single-span bridges, built in 1914, with random-coursed schist walls, soldiercourse segmental arches, and soldiercourse coping.

Recreation

*Golf course (Closed Oct 31, 2019) *Tennis courts *Soccer field *

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames "Putt-Putt", "the Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He pl ...

baseball field * Skateboard park under I-95 *Children's playgrounds with a child scaled baseball field *Lakeside fishing *Bird watching *Model boat regatta racing at Meadow Lake Boat House

Events

*Music Festival: August 1, 1994 the

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

music festival was held in Philadelphia. *Baseball: Carpenter's Cup Classic annual playoffs between local High School teams with the final game at

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Home to Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, the stadium opened April 3, 2004. It is named after Citizens Financi ...

. *

Philadelphia Flower Show The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and traditionally held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March. It is the oldest and largest indo ...

, held at FDR Park in 2021 and 2022. *Southeast Asian Food Market, weekends spring through fall

References

External links

Friends of FDR Park

Year 2000 Historic District Inventory of FDR ParkThe Olmsted Brothers' League Island Park
*
Bellaire Manor Building details for one of the earliest houses found in park system constructed between 1735 and 1750 (Thesis (M.S. in Historic Preservation) -- University of Pennsylvania, 1997)American Swedish Museum and Cultural Center
* ttp://www.acf.org/pdfs/news/2008/OctNov/RetiredJudge.pdf Retired Judge Reflects on Park Historybr>Video of Park Friends Board Member at Park with Overview of ParkFDR Golf Course

Model Boat Regatta
* {{Authority control Birdwatching sites in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Monuments and memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States Municipal parks in Philadelphia Philadelphia Register of Historic Places South Philadelphia World's fair sites in Pennsylvania