History of Broad & Spring Garden

One of Philadelphia’s most dynamic cultural and industrial crossroads — where North Broad’s boulevard ambition meets the Spring Garden Street corridor.

Historic Photo Timeline

Archival photographs and prints documenting the intersection’s transformation — from Odd Fellows Hall and Baldwin Works to Automobile Row, the State Office Building, and civic life at the corner. Click a photograph to enlarge it.

Color lithograph of Odd Fellows Broadway Hall at the southeast corner of Broad and Spring Garden Streets, Philadelphia — **Mid-1800s — Odd Fellows’ Broadway Hall**
Southeast corner of Broad & Spring Garden. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) hall anchored the intersection when horse-drawn omnibuses still ruled the streets.
*L.N. Rosenthal, lith.; J.C. Trautwine, del. Published by James P. Kern, Philadelphia*

Broad Street front of Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1892 with industrial buildings, wagons, and City Hall tower in the distance — **1892 — Baldwin Locomotive Works**
Broad Street front of the plant that made Broad & Spring Garden the steam-engine manufacturing capital of the world (southwest corner).
*Source: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records / PhillyHistory.org*

Architectural rendering of the Building for the Estate of Henry C. Lea at Broad and Spring Garden Streets by Watson and Huckel architects — **1911 - 511 N Broad Street — Building for the Estate of Henry C. Lea**
Proposed tall commercial building at the southeast corner of Broad & Spring Garden (today’s 511 N Broad) by Watson & Huckel, Architects (1211 Walnut St.) — classical piers, storefront base, and a heavy cornice for a prominent corner lot.
*Architectural rendering*

North Broad Street with Matthias Baldwin statue and Lu Lu Temple onion domes visible in the early twentieth century — **c. 1910s — Baldwin Statue & Lu Lu Temple**
Looking east along Spring Garden at Broad Street: the Matthias Baldwin statue in the median and the Moorish onion domes of Lu Lu Temple (Shriners) — fraternal grandeur on the boulevard just north of the intersection.
*Archival photograph*

Broad and Spring Garden Streets looking east in 1916 showing LuLu Temple onion domes and a corner turret building — **1916 — Looking East**
Broad & Spring Garden looking east toward LuLu Temple’s onion domes and the northeast corner turret — a fraternal and commercial skyline before Automobile Row’s peak.
*Source: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records*

Central High School at Broad and Green Streets in 1925 with stone Romanesque architecture and observatory dome — **1925 — Central High School**
Broad & Green Streets, one block north of Spring Garden — Romanesque stone landmark with observatory dome (near today’s mural corridor).
*Source: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records*

Southeast corner of Broad and Spring Garden in 1926 with Central Trust Savings Company, Lee Tires, and Automobile Finance Corporation signs — **1926 — 511 N Broad (Southeast Corner)**
Central Trust Savings Co., Automobile Finance Corporation, and Lee Tires — North Broad as Automobile Row. Today’s 511 N Broad sits on this southeast corner.
*Source: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records*

Spring Garden Street looking east from Broad in 1926 with subway construction planking, trolley tracks, and LuLu Temple — **1926 — Subway Construction Looking East**
Spring Garden Street from Broad during Broad Street Subway excavation (1924–1928) — timber decking, trolley tracks, and LuLu Temple at left.
*Source: Philadelphia City Archives / Department of Records*

Broad and Spring Garden intersection in 1941 showing a subway entrance, traffic signals, and LuLu Temple dome — **1941 — Subway Entrance & Roadway**
Spring Garden Station era streetscape with subway stair structure, signals, and LuLu Temple dome — the intersection as a finished transit node.
*Source: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records*

American Red Cross Motor Corps volunteers lined up with ambulances at Broad and Spring Garden near the Dreer Seeds building, November 1942 — **November 1942 — Red Cross Motor Corps**
Uniformed volunteers with a fleet of ambulances at Broad & Spring Garden during World War II (in front of 511 N Broad). The landmark Dreer Seeds & Plants building and Fraternal Order of Eagles sign appear behind the line.
*Archival photograph (notation “11-42”)*

Aerial view of North Broad Street near Spring Garden showing cleared city blocks and the Philadelphia Inquirer building clock tower — **c. Late 1940s — Cleared Blocks on North Broad**
Aerial looking toward Broad & Spring Garden with large cleared lots south of the intersection and the Philadelphia Inquirer (Elverson) Building’s clock tower in the foreground — urban renewal reshaping the corridor.
*Archival aerial photograph*

Busy Broad and Spring Garden intersection around 1948 with Elmer Harold Wolf Chevrolet dealership, Chevrolet billboard clock, trolley tracks, and a traffic officer — **c. 1948 — Elmer Harold Wolf Chevrolet**
Automobile Row in full swing: Elmer Harold Wolf new & used cars (northwest corner), Kelly Tires, a rooftop Chevrolet “More Value!” billboard with clock, trolley tracks, and a traffic officer directing the intersection.
*Archival photograph*

Architect’s model of the Commonwealth office building planned for Broad and Spring Garden, a white tower raised on piers over a landscaped plaza — **May 22, 1955 — Model of the Commonwealth Building**
Architect’s model of the $7 million Commonwealth office building for the block bounded by Broad, Spring Garden, Buttonwood, and 15th Streets. The white-marble tower, lifted on piers above a paved and landscaped plaza, was planned with 16 floors of offices and penthouse suites for the governor — the design that opened in 1958 as the State Office Building.
*Photo by John Condax. George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, Temple University Libraries (opens in a new tab)*

Aerial newspaper photo of Broad and Spring Garden showing the Inquirer buildings and the future site of the Philadelphia State Office Building — **September 25, 1956 — Site of the State Office Building**
*Philadelphia Inquirer* aerial: Broad Street runs past the Inquirer buildings, with the southwest corner of Broad & Spring Garden marked as the future site of the Philadelphia State Office Building.
*Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer*

Philadelphia State Office Building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets with mid-century cars and a traffic signal — **c. 1962 — State Office Building**
International Style state offices at Broad & Spring Garden (completed 1958) — a mid-century government landmark on the southwest corner. The building later became residential (Fashion District / 1400 Spring Garden lofts).
*© City of Philadelphia, Department of Records*

Noon traffic on Broad Street in 1963, photographed from the 18th floor of the State Office Building, with a Gothic church, an ornate stone facade, and a parking garage — **January 23, 1963 — Noon Traffic on Broad Street**
From the 18th floor of the State Office Building, looking along Broad: midday lanes of cars, a Gothic church, an ornate stone facade, and a banded parking garage fading into the winter haze.
*Photo by Jack Tinney, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, Temple University Libraries (opens in a new tab)*

View east along Spring Garden Street at noon in 1963 from the State Office Building, toward the Delaware River, with light traffic and trolley tracks — **January 23, 1963 — Spring Garden from the 18th Floor**
The same morning, looking east along Spring Garden toward the Delaware River: lighter noon traffic, trolley tracks in the pavement, a Philadelphia National Bank billboard, and the waterfront skyline beyond the blocks.
*Photo by Jack Tinney, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, Temple University Libraries (opens in a new tab)*

Philadelphia Inquirer clipping showing about 1,500 demonstrators blocking Broad and Spring Garden to protest day-care funding cuts in 1975 — **September 19, 1975 — Day-Care Funds Protest**
About 1,500 demonstrators — mothers, teachers, and children — blocked Broad & Spring Garden in four directions during a march between City Hall and the State Office Building, protesting cuts that threatened hundreds of day-care centers.
*Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer / photo by Edward J. Freeman; reporting by Steve Twomey*

Meg Saligman Common Threads mural on the former Thaddeus Stevens School at Broad and Spring Garden — **1998–Present — Common Threads**
Meg Saligman’s eight-story mural on the former Thaddeus Stevens School — local youth beside antique figurines, defining the intersection’s public-art identity.
*Source: Mural Arts Philadelphia*

At a Glance

1681 Thomas Holme surveys Broad Street as a primary artery of William Penn’s plan.
1830s Matthias Baldwin establishes locomotive works at Broad & Spring Garden.
1854 Act of Consolidation brings the District of Spring Garden into the City of Philadelphia.
Mid-1800s Odd Fellows’ Broadway Hall stands at the southeast corner.
1892 Baldwin Locomotive Works dominates the southwest Broad Street frontage.
1924–1928 Broad Street Subway / Spring Garden Station constructed.
1942 Red Cross Motor Corps mobilizes at the intersection during World War II.
1955 Architect’s model shows the Commonwealth Building raised on piers at Broad & Spring Garden.
1958 Philadelphia State Office Building opens on the southwest corner.
1963 Evening Bulletin photographs record noon traffic from the building’s 18th floor.
1965 Community College of Philadelphia opens on Spring Garden (former U.S. Mint).
1975 Day-care funding protest fills the intersection.
1998 Meg Saligman’s Common Threads mural completed.

Colonial & Early American Origins (1681–1820s)

The street grid When surveyor Thomas Holme laid out William Penn’s plan for Philadelphia in 1681, Broad Street was designated as one of two primary broad arteries (alongside High Street, now Market Street).
Springettsbury Farm The area surrounding Spring Garden Street was originally part of Springettsbury Farm, a large country estate belonging to William Penn and his descendants.
Outside city limits During the colonial and early national eras, Spring Garden sat north of Philadelphia proper (then Vine Street to South Street) as a rural district of estates, gardens, and farmland.

The Industrial Age & Baldwin Locomotive Works (1830s–1900)

Industrial transformation In the early 1830s, Matthias Baldwin established his locomotive factory at Broad and Spring Garden Streets. Baldwin Locomotive Works grew into the world’s largest manufacturer of steam locomotives, occupying several square blocks on the southwest side of the intersection along North Broad.
Economic powerhouse Tens of thousands of skilled mechanics, engineers, and laborers worked nearby, driving rapid urbanization around the intersection.
Odd Fellows’ Broadway Hall Mid-19th-century lithographs show the I.O.O.F. hall on the southeast corner — fraternal life sharing the crossroads with booming industry.
District consolidation In 1854, the Act of Consolidation formally integrated the District of Spring Garden into the expanded city of Philadelphia.

Automobile Row & Commercial Expansion (c. 1920s–1940s)

From locomotives to automobiles As manufacturing shifted, North Broad filled with showrooms, finance offices, tire dealers (including Lee Tires and Kelly Tires), and trolley-served commercial blocks — “Automobile Row.”
Elmer Harold Wolf Chevrolet By the late 1940s the northwest corner carried a full Chevrolet dealership, rooftop billboard clock, and constant traffic directed by officers in the intersection.
Subway era Construction of the Broad Street Line (1924–1928) locked in Spring Garden Station as a primary North Philadelphia transit node, visible in 1926 decking photos and the 1941 subway entrance streetscape.
Wartime mobilization In November 1942, American Red Cross Motor Corps volunteers lined ambulances at Broad & Spring Garden near the Dreer Seeds building — the corner as a wartime staging ground.

Mid-Century Community & Modern Renewal

State Office Building (1958) A May 1955 architect’s model showed the $7 million Commonwealth Building — white marble, lifted on piers over a landscaped plaza — for the block bounded by Broad, Spring Garden, Buttonwood, and 15th. After mid-century clearance near the Inquirer complex, the International Style State Office Building rose on the southwest corner — later adapted into Tower Place / 1400 Spring Garden lofts.
Views from the 18th floor (1963) On January 23, 1963, Evening Bulletin photographer Jack Tinney looked down from the State Office Building: noon traffic along Broad Street, and a quieter view east along Spring Garden toward the Delaware River, with a Philadelphia National Bank billboard in the foreground.
Philadelphia’s first barrio In the 1950s–60s, Spring Garden became a hub for Puerto Rican migrant communities, Latino culture, and activism.
Community College of Philadelphia CCP established its primary campus in 1965 west of Broad on Spring Garden in the former U.S. Mint building.
1975 day-care protest Demonstrators blocked the intersection for hours while marching between City Hall and the State Office Building to oppose day-care funding cuts — civic life playing out in the street itself.
Common Threads (1998) Mural Arts Philadelphia commissioned Meg Saligman to paint Common Threads on the former Thaddeus Stevens School — still one of the city’s most iconic murals.
Adaptive reuse & high-rises Industrial buildings became lofts; North Broad added transit-oriented towers, retail, and renewed cultural venues.

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