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Snapshots of History

Photo Gallery: Dilworth Plaza through the years

Former Mayor Richardson Dilworth (1956-1962) in 1957. Dilworth died
in 1974, three years before Dilworth Plaza was completed.

Dilworth Plaza is currently a hollowed-out pit of fenced-in concrete on the west side of City Hall, but soon it should be so much more. Center City District’s plans for the new plaza are modern, chic and supposedly practical in a way that the original construction, which took more than a decade and spurned plenty of controversy, was not.

You can see an EarthCam photo of Dilworth Plaza’s progress here.

But even before Dilworth Plaza was named for the man on the left, former Mayor Richardson Dilworth, the location had served a wide range of purposes throughout the years. Until construction began earlier this year, the plaza was most recently made nationally famous as the site for Philadelphia’s Occupy Protests.

While we anticipate what the new Plaza will do for Center City, let’s take a brief photo tour of the purposes the space has served in the past.

Dilworth Plaza Photo Tour

2002

A pre-event for Take our Daughters to Work Day in Dilworth Plaza.

1981

A show of Christmas festivity on Dilworth Plaza in 1981.

1971


Redevelopment of Market Street including a view of the construction at Dilworth Plaza.
A second view of the redevelopment and construction progress.

1960

Two photos (above and below) of a 1961 car crash that occurred right on the spot that would become Dilworth Plaza.

1959

A shot of the Department of Streets booth during Employees Week in 1959 on what would become Dilworth Plaza.

A shot of the Fairmount Parks Commission booth during Employees Week in 1959 the eventual Dilworth Plaza.

A look at the City Commissioners Employee Week booth.

1938

An indirect view of the western side of City Hall which would one day be Dilworth Plaza.

1903

A 1903 view from the west side of City Hall, which would eventually become Dilworth Plaza.

3 replies on “Photo Gallery: Dilworth Plaza through the years”

the two photos from 1971 are not Dilworth plaza construction, they are the foundations of the Center square towers (where the clothespin is located).

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