The Spectrum – the Golden Age of Philadelphia Sports
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The Spectrum – The Golden Age of Philadelphia Sports May, 13th 2008 Group 1 Blase Szyszko Andrew Dowds Chris Cawley Rasheed Wilkins Chris Becker Group 1 – The Spectrum Table of Contents I. South Philadelphia before the Construction of the Spectrum Pg. 2 II. South Philadelphia after the Construction of the Spectrum Pg. 11 III. The Future of South Philadelphia and the Spectrum Pg. 24 IV. Our Journal Pg. 26 V. Works Citied Pg. 31 Page | 1 Group 1 – The Spectrum South Philadelphia before the Construction of the Spectrum Page | 2 Group 1 – The Spectrum While standing at the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue fans see a vast expanse of land that is covered in asphalt, grass, and cement. Jutting out from this landscape appear giant steel structures that hold thousands of die‐hard fans waiting for their team’s next success, so they too can be a part of the next Philadelphia sports legacy. None of these steel structures has hosted more successes and failures than the Spectrum. Teams and players have achieved goals that have shaped modern day Philadelphia. But what was on that land prior to the asphalt, cement, and steel? Well, that’s when most fans would lose interest. It is this place where five students, on a mission to discover the history of the land that surrounds the Spectrum, enter. Go back about three‐hundred and fifty years to about 1638. The Swedes have recently set up a colony, in the Delaware Valley, to further trade in the area and grow tobacco. When the Swedes arrived, they are met by the Lenape Indians. The Indians called Philadelphia, below Cedar Street, now South Street, “Wicaco” (New Sweden Museum). The Lenape allowed the Swedes to use the land because they believed that the land was to be shared. Their colony was started in Essington, PA and was settled as far North as Bristol. With the Swedes new settlement, they began to dike Page | 3 Group 1 – The Spectrum and drain some of the swamps surrounding their colony. Around 1653, Queen Christina rewarded a man for his service and gave him the land surrounding and including FDR Park and the stadiums. His home still stands in FDR Park, and is the home of the American Swedish Historical Museum. One area that they specifically drained was the area around where the stadiums were going to be built. The land around the Spectrum still remained a swampy area. The surroundings were full of life, which meant food for the colonists, especially migrating birds. Still today the Mid‐Atlantic coastal plain, from South Carolina to New Jersey up the Delaware River, sees migrating birds. The colony was never profitable for Sweden and eventually failed, but was never forgotten. The Philadelphia Eagles’ first jersey was blue and gold representing the previous Swedish settlement of the area. In 1682 when William Penn arrived, there still was a heavily Swedish population in South Philadelphia region. The area around the Spectrum remained undeveloped for many years until the Navy Yard was established in 1868. With the establishment of the Navy Yard came many jobs and opportunities for Philadelphians. Though the area was now bringing in many workers, it remained swampy and difficult to build on. The land surrounding the Navy Yard remained unused. Christopher Morley “to his surprise found Philadelphians living in almost rural existence amid the marshes, ash Page | 4 Group 1 – The Spectrum heaps and junk yards” (Phillyhistory.org). He believed that the area held “great promise”. His belief came true when in 1889 the New York Times announced “The winning plan for the new League Island Park” (phillyhistory.org) was drawn up by a New Yorker, Samuel Parsons Jr. His plans failed because of the difficulty of working with the swampy land so, in 1912, the city hired the preeminent landscape architecture firm, Olmsted Brothers, to produce the designs for the park. It included the land where the stadiums are now standing. The land was so low lying that it required a complex draining system to allow the water in the park to drain and fill with the tides. The lagoons and ponds that were created, and still remain, are the remnants of the tidal marsh and channel systems. The area finally saw the end to the tidal marsh and channels when they Olmsted Brothers installed a flood gate. The gate permitted the drainage of the park and minimized the inflow of the Delaware River. The area is still part of the Atlantic Coastal plain. The park is a refuge for many animals that are on the verge of distinction because of the massive development in the area. With America’s entrance into World War One, the Naval Yard and the surrounding area saw an increase in the amount of work and naval operations. Page | 5 Group 1 – The Spectrum The next big change would come in 1926, when Philadelphia hosted the Sesqui‐Centennial Expedition. The Sesqui‐Centennial Celebration commemorated the 150th anniversary signing the Declaration of Independence. The New York Times released an article declaring “Bad Site Hampered Sesqui”. Mayor Moore, who was mayor of Philadelphia at the time, thought “less favorably of the exposition.” He didn’t prepare much for the celebration. Though in 1924 he was succeeded by Freeland Krendrick, who was a business man and wanted to make “a big boy out of” the celebration. “League Island adjoins the Philadelphia Nay Yard. It was then; much of it is now, undeveloped marshland, low‐lying, bleak in winter time, windswept and, during the summer, infested by a tribe of mosquitoes more ferocious than New Jersey ever dreamed of.” Colonel Collier told Kendrick that “You can’t do it. We won’t be ready until 1927.” Kendrick replied “I am going to do it” Before the construction could begin, “Some mammoth engineering problems had to be resolved and the marshy land on which the exposition building would sit drained and filled. Thousands of tons of dirt was dug from Broad Street subway and brought to the land and dumped into the Marshes. The men had to dam creeks, make lagoons, stop natural springs, and stop “subterranean creeks.” Streets were surveyed, graded, and paved, sewers and water and electrical lines installed, and mosquitoes controlled. Eventually these advances would help develop South Philadelphia to what it is today. The fair opened on May Page | 6 Group 1 – The Spectrum 31st, 1926, and ran through November on grounds bounded by 10th Street, Packer Avenue, 23rd Street, and the U.S. Navy Yard (Terminal Avenue) in South Philadelphia. The area was originally known as League Island Park. These grounds are now occupied by FDR Park which is a remnant of League Island Park, the four facilities of Philadelphia's massive Sports, the Philadelphia Eagles training facilities, and private homes. After the Sesqui‐Centennial failure, South Philadelphia was left with the land and the Municipal stadium. The roads were already surveyed, graded, and paved roads, sewers and water and electrical line installed leaving the area well‐prepared for private homes and development of the area. During the Great Depression, under Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the New Deal began to bring revitalization efforts and funds to the Naval Yard. Workers in the Progress Administration improved grounds, roads, railroads tracks, steam and water pipe lines, and buildings. A new hospital was built on Pattison Avenue north of the Island. Ship construction and “FDR’s advancement of the U.S. Navy was helped by the Vinsom‐Trammell Construction Act.” Eight ships were built in the Yard between 1934 and 1936. Every time a ship was to be launched, the Yard would announce a Navy Day, upon which thousands of people would flock to the Yard and surrounding area to watch the launching. In one instance, in October 1938, 65,118 people came to League Island to watch the keel laying of the battleship Washington. It was 35,000 tons and was the biggest ship Page | 7 Group 1 – The Spectrum the Naval Yard could build, until more improvements were made. At this time Municipal Stadium provided entertainment for the sailors and Philadelphians, but the real attraction to the area was the Naval Yard. World War Two brought an incredible amount of development to the Naval Yard and therefore it greatly affected the surrounding area. The war caused oil refineries, factories, and housing to be built for the Yard and the sailors. Two of the largest dry docks in the world were built at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. By the end of the war “48 new warships built, 41 converted, 574 repaired, and 650 ships completed and dry‐docked.” The Naval Aircraft Factory and a propeller factory were built. The Naval Aircraft Factory produced 500 aircraft and the Propeller Shop made 5, 500 propellers. Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the Yard and promised $4,000,000 in expansion funds, construction of 1,000 low‐cost housing units, and 11,000 new jobs. The Navy Yard had a huge influence on the war. It produced the first aircraft carrier and helped develop a majority of the ships used. At the time, South Philadelphia was mostly known for the Navy Yard. The last ship was launched in 1946. For the next decade, no new ship production would take place. Page | 8 Group 1 – The Spectrum After the war, the area continued to grow. It became very industrialized north of Broad St. South of Broad St. became a residential area. It would remain this way until, about the 1960’s when talks about a new stadium and a new franchise surfaced. Philadelphia was awarded an expansion hockey franchise for 2 million dollars.