built a wharf, warehouses and an inn: the Crooked Billet. This place was where Benjamin Franklin had his first hot meal and spent his first night in Philadelphia.
Watson reported that â[i]n 1721, the Grand Jury present, as out of repair and dangerous the Crooked Billet steps, above Chestnut street.â What finally happened to these stairs is unknown, but they seem to have been closed in the mid-nineteenth century, whereupon the ground was likely taken over by neighboring property owners. These environs are all topped by Highway 95 today.
P HILIP S YNG J R . AND B EN F RANKLIN â S J UNTO
Like carver William Rush, silversmith Philip Syng Jr. (1703â1789) was one of countless craftsmen who lived and worked along Front Street. He came to America in 1714 and later moved to this vicinity, where he obviously saw Benjamin Franklin around town. The two became friends. Syng helped Franklin with his electrical research and even made the static electricity machine with which the great scientist experimented in 1747.
Syng joined the Junto, the club of tradesman that Franklin organized in 1727 and which became the first discussion and intellectual club in America. The men of the Junto founded many of Philadelphiaâs longstanding public and private associations and organizations. They were familiar with the Delaware waterfront, as most lived and earned their livelihoods not far from the river.
Philip Syng designed and crafted an ornate silver inkstand for the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1752. It was this inkstand that members of the Second Continental Congress used to sign the Declaration of Independence and delegates to the Constitutional Convention used to sign the United States Constitution. Now part of the collection at Independence Hall, the Syng inkstand is surely (for what itâs worth) the most important inkstand in the world.
Plans for Chestnut Street Pier, with an inset showing the interior of the pavilion. Philadelphia City Archives .
T HE C HESTNUT S TREET P IER AND I TS N EIGHBORS
New finger piers were constructed between Market and Chestnut Streets after Delaware Avenue was enlarged to its current width by 1900. Pier 1 South was a covered timber-crib, earth-filled structure that was leased to a contractor for use in moving street dirt and ashes via barges. Pier 3 South processed fruit, grain and general freight for steamship lines trading to foreign and domestic ports.
Pier 5 South at Chestnut Street was owned by the city, which leased it to steamboat companies that handled food and wares. Built in 1899, Chestnut Street Pier had a steel superstructure and, like Race Street Pier, an ornate Victorian pavilion on its upper deck where people could relax by the Delaware. These public places were intended to act as parks alongside the riverâs edge.
A footbridge over Delaware Avenue provided quick access to the pavilion from the Market-Chestnut station of the Delaware Avenue El. The pavilion was removed in 1922 when Pier 5 South was modernized to become headquarters for the Department of Wharves, Docks and Ferries. Next to Pier 5 were ferry slips of the Delaware River Ferry Company of New Jersey, a service owned by the Reading Railroad.
Along with nearby warehouses, all the piers from Market to South Streets were removed in the 1960s to make way for Pennâs Landing and Interstate 95 on this stretch of the river. The Philadelphia waterfront had become moribund by then, long past its prime as a commercial shipping district.
12
C HESTNUT TO W ALNUT
A W ELCOMING M ANSION ( AND P ARK ) FOR W ILLIAM P ENN N EAR THE B IRTH OF THE M ARINES
Wynne Street, the first name of Chestnut Street, was taken from Thomas Wynne, William Pennâs personal physician and a first purchaser of Philadelphia. Wynneâs lot was at Front and Chestnut.
S AMUEL C ARPENTER â S W HARF
Samuel Carpenter (1649â1714) was an English Quaker from Barbados, a friend of William Penn and a first purchaser. He had
Watson reported that â[i]n 1721, the Grand Jury present, as out of repair and dangerous the Crooked Billet steps, above Chestnut street.â What finally happened to these stairs is unknown, but they seem to have been closed in the mid-nineteenth century, whereupon the ground was likely taken over by neighboring property owners. These environs are all topped by Highway 95 today.
P HILIP S YNG J R . AND B EN F RANKLIN â S J UNTO
Like carver William Rush, silversmith Philip Syng Jr. (1703â1789) was one of countless craftsmen who lived and worked along Front Street. He came to America in 1714 and later moved to this vicinity, where he obviously saw Benjamin Franklin around town. The two became friends. Syng helped Franklin with his electrical research and even made the static electricity machine with which the great scientist experimented in 1747.
Syng joined the Junto, the club of tradesman that Franklin organized in 1727 and which became the first discussion and intellectual club in America. The men of the Junto founded many of Philadelphiaâs longstanding public and private associations and organizations. They were familiar with the Delaware waterfront, as most lived and earned their livelihoods not far from the river.
Philip Syng designed and crafted an ornate silver inkstand for the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1752. It was this inkstand that members of the Second Continental Congress used to sign the Declaration of Independence and delegates to the Constitutional Convention used to sign the United States Constitution. Now part of the collection at Independence Hall, the Syng inkstand is surely (for what itâs worth) the most important inkstand in the world.
Plans for Chestnut Street Pier, with an inset showing the interior of the pavilion. Philadelphia City Archives .
T HE C HESTNUT S TREET P IER AND I TS N EIGHBORS
New finger piers were constructed between Market and Chestnut Streets after Delaware Avenue was enlarged to its current width by 1900. Pier 1 South was a covered timber-crib, earth-filled structure that was leased to a contractor for use in moving street dirt and ashes via barges. Pier 3 South processed fruit, grain and general freight for steamship lines trading to foreign and domestic ports.
Pier 5 South at Chestnut Street was owned by the city, which leased it to steamboat companies that handled food and wares. Built in 1899, Chestnut Street Pier had a steel superstructure and, like Race Street Pier, an ornate Victorian pavilion on its upper deck where people could relax by the Delaware. These public places were intended to act as parks alongside the riverâs edge.
A footbridge over Delaware Avenue provided quick access to the pavilion from the Market-Chestnut station of the Delaware Avenue El. The pavilion was removed in 1922 when Pier 5 South was modernized to become headquarters for the Department of Wharves, Docks and Ferries. Next to Pier 5 were ferry slips of the Delaware River Ferry Company of New Jersey, a service owned by the Reading Railroad.
Along with nearby warehouses, all the piers from Market to South Streets were removed in the 1960s to make way for Pennâs Landing and Interstate 95 on this stretch of the river. The Philadelphia waterfront had become moribund by then, long past its prime as a commercial shipping district.
12
C HESTNUT TO W ALNUT
A W ELCOMING M ANSION ( AND P ARK ) FOR W ILLIAM P ENN N EAR THE B IRTH OF THE M ARINES
Wynne Street, the first name of Chestnut Street, was taken from Thomas Wynne, William Pennâs personal physician and a first purchaser of Philadelphia. Wynneâs lot was at Front and Chestnut.
S AMUEL C ARPENTER â S W HARF
Samuel Carpenter (1649â1714) was an English Quaker from Barbados, a friend of William Penn and a first purchaser. He had
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