Front 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. Sinc ...

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, Ma ...

is a north–south street running parallel to and near the Delaware River. In 1682, when the city was laid out by

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 an ...

, it was the first street surveyed and built in the new colony of Pennsylvania. As part of the King's Highway, which extended from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to Charleston, South Carolina, and as the waterfront of Philadelphia's port, it was the most important street in the city from its founding into the nineteenth century. Front Street is the origin street of Philadelphia's numbered streets. There is no First Street, Front Street exists in its place, and numbered streets begin at the next major block with Second Street, about one-tenth mile west. At least three stations of

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

Market–Frankford Line The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...

are built above Front Street. They include Girard Station, Berks Station, and York–Dauphin Station. SEPTA gives the address of also Spring Garden Station as Front Street, by which pedestrians have access, but its platform lies in the median of

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

over Spring Garden Street, just west of Front Street.

Historic sites

The South Front Street Historic District, which includes numbers 700–712 on the west side of South Front, is a historic district listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. The district includes three buildings individually listed on the NRHP as well, Widow Maloby's Tavern (700), Capt. Thomas Moore House (702), and the Nathaniel Irish House. ''Note:'' This includes ''Note:'' This includes ''Note:'' This includes 758 S Front Philly.JPG, 758 South Front Street 704-700 S Front St Philly.JPG, South Front Street Historic District Phila FrontStreet05.jpg, North Front Street, looking north towards Arch Street Four sites listed on the National Register adjoin North Front Street: Elfreth's Alley, the Quaker City Dye Works, and two schools, the

Thomas K. Finletter School The Thomas K. Finletter Academics Plus School is an historic, American school that is located in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia. It was added to the National Register of Hi ...

and Olney High School. File:Olney HS Philly.JPG, Olney High School File:Finletter School Philly.JPG, Finletter School File:Quaker City Dye Works Philly.JPG, Quaker City Dye Works (view from Oxford Street)

References

{{coord, 39.914, -75.149, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Streets in Philadelphia