Editing Penns Original Plan (section)

== Five Public Squares ==

The five public squares constitute Penn's plan's most distinctive feature, providing common ground distributed across the city's extent. Centre Square, at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets, occupied the plan's geometric center and was intended for public buildings. The four corner squares—originally called simply Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest—provided open space at regular intervals throughout the settled area. These squares fulfilled both practical and symbolic functions, serving as gathering places while demonstrating Penn's commitment to public amenity.<ref name="weigley"/>

The squares were later renamed for notable figures: Northeast became Franklin Square, Northwest became Logan Square, Southeast became Washington Square, and Southwest became Rittenhouse Square. Centre Square eventually became the site of City Hall, departing from Penn's intention while fulfilling his expectation that the central location would attract public buildings. The four remaining squares survive as parks, their character varying from the formal elegance of Rittenhouse to the family-oriented programming of Franklin Square. These squares continue to provide the public amenity that Penn intended, their presence demonstrating how eighteenth-century planning can serve twenty-first-century needs.<ref name="gallery"/>