Broad Street, as the name suggests, is Philadelphia’s wide and grand north to south boulevard. When the first plan for the Philadelphia street grid was designed in 1682, Broad street was originally designated as Twelfth street. By 1730 this designation was changed to fourteenth street which was closer to the actual midpoint between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.

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This guide takes visitors through the center city stretch of Broad Street. Beginning along North Broad Street and Race Street, walking through City Hall and ending at South Broad and South Street. This one-mile walk (30mins) will highlight several of the city’s iconic buildings and architects. Works by Horace Trumbauer, Frank Furness, and John Fraser show a wide range of late nineteenth and early twentieth century works of architecture.

 

As the city grew westward from the Delaware River, the cultural center of the city shifted to Broad Street. Many theaters, music venues and art institutions relocated here, and the street became a stately address for Philadelphia’s elite families. Today that music, art, and performance culture continues to exist with Broad Street giving it the nickname The Avenue of the Arts. This concentration of wealth and creativity during the later 1800s and early 1900s makes Broad Street one of the most architecturally rich streets in the country.

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