Fitler Square is a city park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, bounded on the east by 23rd Street, on the west by 24th Street, on the north by Panama Street, and on the south by Pine Street. It is in the southwestern part of Philadelphia's Center City

Center City, Philadelphia

Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...

 district.
Fitler Square was named for late 19th century Philadelphia mayor Edwin Henry Fitler

Edwin Henry Fitler

Edwin Henry Fitler was a Pennsylvania manufacturer of cordage and a politician...

.

Neighborhood

The name "Fitler Square" is also used to describe the neighborhood

Neighbourhood

A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...

 surrounding the square, bounded roughly by 21st Street on the east, the Schuylkill River

Schuylkill River

The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...

 on the west, Locust Street on the north, and South Street on the south. To the east of this neighborhood is the Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...

 neighborhood; to the west is the neighborhood of University City, home to the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 and Drexel University

Drexel University

Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...

; to the south is Southwest Center City (also known as "South of South" or the "Graduate Hospital area"). The portion of Center City surrounding Fitler Square and nearby Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...

 is sometimes referred to as "Rit-Fit" after the two parks. A second nickname, "Fittenhouse Square", was coined by local comedian Niraj Shanbhag during the 1990s.

Before the 1950s the neighborhood was a prime example of the urban blight that had overcome much of the city. The park itself was described as a "mudhole inhabited by drunks and empty bottles". In the mid 1950s, The Center City Residents' Association successfully petitioned Mayor Clark

Joseph S. Clark

Joseph Sill Clark, Jr. was a U.S. lawyer and Democratic Party politician in the mid-20th century. He served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 until 1956, and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1957 until 1969...

 to do something about the decline of the neighborhood. Working together, they freed up mortgage

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

 money for the construction of new homes and rehabilitation of the neighborhood.

Also threatening the neighborhood was the proposed Crosstown Expressway

Interstate 695 (Pennsylvania)

Interstate 695 was a proposed three-digit Interstate Highway that would have connected Interstate 95 in Southeast Philadelphia, at the Philadelphia International Airport, with I-95 near the Delaware River waterfront near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge...

. The threat of its construction, which would demolish much of the neighborhood, was enough to reduce property values and add to the neighborhoods blight. The Residents' Association was successful in changing the plans and following years saw drastic neighborhood improvements.

Today the neighborhood is mostly residential and composed of single-family homes, and it is within a short walk of the commercial areas of Center City. On the television show Philly

Philly (TV series)

Philly is a television series created by Steven Bochco that focused on criminal defense attorney Kathleen Maguire . It lasted a full season and was canceled due to low ratings...

, Kim Delaney

Kim Delaney

Kim Delaney is an American actress best known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series, NYPD Blue. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenny Gardner in the hugely popular ABC daytime television drama, All My Children...

's character "Kathleen" was portrayed as living in a small apartment building overlooking the park. Hojun Li, co-editor of the film The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...

, claims to have been inspired by children in Fitler Square.

In the movie Rocky Balboa, Jason Wojcechowskyj is shown training by the Fitler Square turtle.

Sculptures

A sculpture of three turtles adorns the park, as well as sculptures of a Grizzly Bear and a ram. The center of the park is dominated by a Victorian-era fountain which flows most of the year.

Education

The Philadelphia School, a private institution, is located at 2501 Lombard St. The school, which originally opened in 1972, offers preschool through 8th grade classes.

The Free Library of Philadelphia

Free Library of Philadelphia

The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr...

operates the Philadelphia City Institute on the first floor and lower level of an apartment complex at 1905 Locust Street.

External links

• Fitler Square Improvement Association
• Historic Photographs of Filter Square, PhillyHistory.org