LOGAN CIRCLE

This public space was part of the Philadelphia plans established by William Penn in 1682, as Northwest Square. He was renamed Logan Circle (or Logan Square) 150 years later in honor of James Logan, mayor of the city. Rethought in 1890 by the French architect Jacques Gréber, who was inspired by the Place de la Concorde in Paris, he now takes the form of a large circle with a fountain at its center, and acts as a roundabout for cars. The surrounding facades of the Free Library and Family Court Building, modeled on those of the Hotel de Crillon and the Hotel de la Marine, reinforce the similarity with the famous Parisian square. The central fountain is Swann Memorial Fountain (or Fountain of the Three Rivers because it represents the three rivers of the city, Delaware, Schuylkill and Wissahickon) and was carved by Alexander Stirling Calder, father of the famous mobile sculptor Alexander Calder.

Logan Circle is the place for many events and popular gatherings, Pope John Paul II even celebrated a mass in 1979. Not to miss, if you are on the spot mid-June: Every year, the students of the J.W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School throw themselves into the fountain to celebrate the end of the school year!