William Penn Annex West in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Center Square

Photographed by Larry Gertner, September 2014

1. Center Square Marker

Inscription. The site of this City Hall was originally Center Square, one of the five squares given by William Penn to the city when he founded Philadelphia. During the Revolution, regiments of Patriots drilled here. In September 1781, Comte de Rochambeau, Commander in Chief of the French Army in America, encamped here with six thousand soldiers on their way to the final battle of the war at Yorktown, where they assisted Washington in capturing Cornwallis.

To commemorate these events which make this spot significant in the Annals of Liberty, this Tablet is erected by The Pennsylvania Society of the Order of The Founders and Patriots of America.
September 1908

Erected 1908 by The Pennsylvania Society of the Order of The Founders and Patriots of America.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 39° 57.143′ N, 75° 9.816′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in William Penn Annex West. It can be reached from Germantown Avenue. The marker is in the central court of Philadelphia

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City Hall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1400 John F Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia PA 19107, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

New Netherland,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Great World War Memorial (here, next to this marker); Declaration of Independence Signators (here, next to this marker); Philadelphia City Hall (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Philadelphia City Hall (here, next to this marker); This Place Is At The Heart Of Philadelphia (a few steps from this marker); Philadelphia Municipal Water System (a few steps from this marker); Gathering for Centuries (a few steps from this marker); William Penn’s Prayer for Philadelphia (within shouting distance

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of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.

More about this marker. The marker is one of many on or around Philadelphia City Hall.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2017, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 486 times since then and 21 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on August 29, 2017, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.