Way back in the 1600s, William Penn planned a utopian city that was laid out as a grid with one green square –basically, a mini-park– smack dab in the middle, with other green squares in each corner. This unique design was meant to promote green urban living, and it is one of the many characteristics that makes Philadelphia such a special place to do this day.
Those squares still exist today, and that grid, set between the Delaware River to the east and the Schuylkill River to the west, still makes up Philadelphia’s downtown, aka “Center City
