Transformed Franklin Square marks anniversary

Six-year-old Christopher Pelc pushed his nose through the bars surrounding the Franklin Square carousel yesterday afternoon.

The Morrisville youngster, sporting a Phillies T-shirt with favorite player Ryan Howard's name on the back, announced to his grandmother Carol Clarke, 66, and 21-month-old sister, Emily, that he would ride the elephant.

"That's my favorite animal," he said.

Clarke and her husband, Charles, 66, of Northeast Philadelphia, were spending the day with their grandchildren touring Old City. Five years ago, they said, they wouldn't have dared take the children to Franklin Square.

"It was a horrible place," Charles Clarke recalled. "This was where the homeless people stayed."

Today is the third anniversary of Franklin Square's transformation. The former haven for the homeless and drug-addicted - between Sixth, Seventh, Race, and Vine Streets - is now an urban oasis with gourmet hamburgers, storytellers, and a miniature golf course.

In 2004, nonprofit Historic Philadelphia Inc. launched a $6.5 million overhaul of the 71/2-acre square, one of the city's original five. It reopened July 31, 2006.

The renovations included landscaping, benches, and playground equipment. The long-dry 19th-century fountain at the center was rebuilt and today sprays water as high as 15 feet.

In 2008, an estimated 732,000 people visited Franklin Square, up from 607,000 in 2007, said Cari Feiler Bender, a spokeswoman for Historic Philadelphia.

Even more visitors are expected when PATCO's Franklin Square stop reopens at Seventh and Race Streets, which is planned in about 18 months, a Delaware River Port Authority representative said.

Naimah Thomas, 37, a teacher with the Germantown Masjid, said she could not remember the area before the renovations. She and about 60 campers from the Islamic center visited the square yesterday for box lunches before visiting the U.S. Mint on Independence Mall.

"It's a beautiful park," Thomas said. "Clean and well-kept."

On a nearby bench, Florence Moore, 62, read a book, distracted only slightly by the children running around, she said. Moore visits the square almost daily to read on her lunch break; she works across the street at the American College of Physicians.

The lunchtime crowd has grown this summer because of SquareBurger, a food stand opened three weeks ago by well-known restaurateur Steven Starr.

Lou Ballezzi, 28, a law clerk at the nearby federal courthouse, tried one of SquareBurger's Cake Shakes - made with chunks of Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets and sporting extra-wide straws - for the first time yesterday.

"It is delicious," he said after a sip. "They managed to get [the cake pieces] to just the right size where they can fit up your straw."

Despite the steamy heat this week, the square was also a destination for out-of-towners.

On Wednesday afternoon, a family of four from Switzerland sought out the park, having read about it in a guide book. They rested on a bench between visits to the Liberty Bell and other historic sites.

Former Philadelphian Jacki Esposito, 45, a costume designer in New York City, was in town visiting family with her two sons. She took them to Franklin Square on Wednesday on the recommendation of one of her sisters.

"It's great," she said. "Nicer than a lot of the ones we have in New York."

Esposito's son Luca, 8, on an eagle, and Alessandro, 6, on a horse, mugged for her camera each time they spun past on the merry-go-round.

The only thing that could make the park better, Luca said, was if they could jump into the fountain to cool down.

Across the square, Maguire, a panting black and caramel terrier who could have had his run of an air-conditioned condominium, preferred to romp in the grass, said dog walker LaRue Boyd, 50, of Langhorne.

Savannah Harris, 9, sat on one of the benches in the shade sipping a Kool-Aid pouch as she admired the fountain.

The Philadelphia Charter School third grader was picnicking with six other children from Keisha's Kozy Corner day care. Their next stop was the playground, said Keisha Felder, 26, who runs the center.

"We're going to tire them out some," she said, adding that she hoped they would sleep during the van ride home.