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58-558: The South Philadelphia Sports Complex was also once home to three iconic and since demolished stadiums: John F. Kennedy Stadium (1926–1992), Veterans Stadium (1971–2004), and the Spectrum (1967–2011). Prior to its development, the region that now is the South Philadelphia Sports Complex was a shanty town known as "The Neck" of the undeveloped League Island area, formerly Passyunk Township . Oregon Avenue

116-684: A 200,000 seat sports stadium to attract national and international sporting events. The city immediately submitted its candidacy to host the 1924 Summer Olympics . At the time, the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field was the city's largest ballpark with a capacity of 30,000 seats; the Philadelphia Athletics' Shibe Park sat 23,000, and the Phillies' National League Park sat 18,000. The initial meeting in 1920 favored building

174-630: A calendar and newsletters, and provides announcements of high traffic events scheduled at the Complex so neighbors can plan family events and travel with knowledge of conditions in advance. The boundary of the Special District is bounded by Oregon Avenue to the north, 7th Street to the east, I-95 to the south, and 20th Street to the west. It includes the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Packer Park and Marconi Plaza that are represented on

232-624: A flag pole at the east end. Roman Terraces of Marconi: The Greco-Roman –accented homes west of the plaza from 15th to 19th street, using the same concept but on a smaller scale, include two oval-shaped terrace streets at Smedley and Colorado. The terrace at Colorado Street became well known citywide for its annual decorations and street lighting during the Christmas holidays from 1950 to 2000. Moyamensing Avenue Parkway of Marconi: This main angular dual street with an approximately 50-foot center median landscaped area and tree-lined street, crosses

290-404: A loss in excess of $ 40,000. The Liberty Bowl's best game was its first in 1959, when 38,000 fans watched Penn State beat Alabama 7–0. However, even that crowd was swallowed up in the environment. Atlantic City convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Atlantic City's Convention Hall for 1964 . 6,059 fans saw Utah rout West Virginia in the first indoor bowl game. Dudley moved

348-568: A possible host of the 1994 FIFA World Cup . By the time the World Cup was held in 1994, JFK Stadium had already been demolished two years prior. The Philadelphia Flyers won their second Stanley Cup on May 27, 1975 . The next day they celebrated with a parade down Broad Street that ended at the stadium. Five years later, the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series on October 21 of that year. The following day,

406-562: A second wave of violence broke out in the otherwise quiet Marconi plaza, when a group of around 50 protesters met a group of around 100 counter-protesters . The latter group was heard chanting "U.S.A" before a brawl ensued and a man from each side was detained. On June 24 it was announced the city would request permission from the Philadelphia Art Commission to remove the statue, with public feedback collected online and an official hearing set for July 22. On August 12,

464-659: A target for vandalism and city sanctioned removal nationwide. Some members of the Italian-American community of South Philadelphia assembled in Marconi Plaza, believing that the Italian immigrant-created Columbus statue would be destroyed; some of them were armed with weapons and surrounded the statue. However, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, outsider far-right counterprotesters who were not from

522-463: Is a 19-acre (77,000 m ) rectangular park. The Roman-styled plaza is divided in the center by Broad Street and is bordered by 13th Street, 15th Street, Bigler Street, and Oregon Avenue. The plaza design is credited to the strong influence of renowned architect Paul Philippe Cret in 1904 as part of his participation in the Art Jury reviewing the preliminary plans presented by landscape architects

580-628: Is mirrored on both sides of Broad Street and became property of the Fairmount Park system. It held the common name of Oregon Plaza until October 18, 1937 when it was officially named Marconi Plaza in honor of the Nobel Prize Laureate Guglielmo Marconi , the inventor of radio. The F. Amadee Bregy School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The original design of

638-465: Is to protect community interests, improve neighborhood quality of life, and promote efficient operation within the neighborhood(s) of adjacent sports venues of the Citizen's Ball Park, Lincoln Financial Field, multi-event Wachovia Center and the former Spectrum Arena(demolished 2010). The mission is fulfilled by providing support and special services to the residential neighborhood(s) in close proximity to

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696-404: The 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition and developed the large river delta land south of Oregon Avenue. South Broad Street was a grand European-styled boulevard surrounded by massive exhibit buildings and structures that were to be a testament to American science, culture, and progress for the future. Following the close of the celebration of these 150 years of American Independence on

754-486: The 1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament . In the game, England defeated Team America, 3-1, in front of a small crowd of 16,239. England and Italy had failed to qualify for the 1976 European Championship final tournament and so they joined Brazil and Team America, composed of international stars playing in the North American Soccer League , in the four team competition. Because Team America

812-489: The Olmsted Brothers , who were then charged with a modified design to complete the work. . The Plaza later served as the grand pre-entrance for the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition , leading visitors south along a tree lined Southern Boulevard Parkway (landscaped segment of South Broad Street) to the exhibition grounds that started at Packer Avenue and continued to League Island Park . This neighborhood twin park

870-598: The Veterans Stadium parking lot following the stadium's condemnation. The stadium became known chiefly as the "neutral" venue for a total of 41 annual Army–Navy Games played there between 1936 and 1979. The streak was briefly broken during World War II , when travel restrictions forced three games to be held on campus and one game to be played in Baltimore . From 1960 to 1970 the stadium served as Navy's home field when they played Notre Dame . It also hosted

928-431: The 1950s and 1960s. NRG station on SEPTA 's Broad Street Line is within walking distance of the three venues in the area. It was once known as Pattison Station until it was renamed AT&T Station under a naming rights agreement in 2010; the naming rights passed to NRG in 2018. NRG station is served by local trains along with special Sports Express trains making limited stops along the line before and after events at

986-637: The Avenue of the Colonies of South Broad Street came quick total demolition except of the stadium. Prior to building Veterans Stadium across Packer Avenue north of JFK Stadium was family entertainment of a bowling alley, and a drive-in theater that was a venue created by Camden, New Jersey, chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., whose family owned and operated the R.M. Hollingshead Corporation chemical plant in Camden and that peaked in popularity in

1044-618: The Notre Dame-Army game in 1957, marking the only time the Cadets have hosted the Fighting Irish outside of New York or New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors, Penn Central and Conrail , offered game-day service to all Army-Navy games, using a sprawling temporary station constructed each year on the railroad's nearby Greenwich freight yard. The service, with 40-odd trains serving as many as 30,000 attendees,

1102-578: The Philadelphia Art Commission issued an order to remove the statue from Marconi Plaza and to place it in temporary storage. This followed an endorsement of a city proposal, two weeks prior, by the Philadelphia Historical Commission , to remove the statue, citing public safety and susceptibility of damage to the statue as a result of the George Floyd protests . Mollbore Terraces of Marconi : The 1930s Mollbore Terrace

1160-482: The Plaza was a two level terrace with pathways, marble trims, urns, influenced by landscaped architecture modeling after Roman gardens and English gardens . The east and west plaza reflected the same winding pathways, leading to a raised stepped terrace surrounded by stone railings and entrance sculptures of large urns, with two small "reflecting" pools of water facing Broad Street at the center point, which at that time

1218-651: The South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Primary areas of supportive improvements include attention to traffic calming, directional signage, and orderly traffic patterns and flows, removal of an abundance of excess curbside street and sidewalk trash and debris with dedicated cleaning teams (other than normal City provided services), street tree care for over a thousand trees, landscape beautification of several public medial areas and walkways, recreational facility upgrades, upgrades to street lighting and traffic light enhancements, public safety initiatives, conducts special community events, attends public and civil meetings, circulates

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1276-581: The Sports Complex. SEPTA City Bus routes 4 and 17 provide service to the Sports Complex. The Sports Complex Special Services District (SCSSD)is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Philadelphia that was established in the year 2002 to minimize the impact of concentrating major sporting and entertainment facilities in a geographic area adjacent to established Philadelphia residential neighborhoods of South Philadelphia . The mission

1334-701: The United States. It was purchased for $ 18,000 with money raised by Italian-Americans and the Columbus Monument Association, through the efforts of Alonzo Viti of Philadelphia and his brothers. The statue's initial installation began an annual tradition for the colony of mostly Italian Americans in South Philadelphia to march each year on Columbus Day to the statue in Fairmount Park. The 6-mile (9.7 km) journey

1392-499: The WFL instant credibility when it announced a crowd of 55,534 for the home opener, and 64,719 for the second home game. However, when the Bell paid city taxes on the attendance figures two weeks later, it emerged that the gates had been wildly inflated. The team sold block tickets to area businesses at a discount, and the tax revenue was not reported. In turn, many of these businesses gave away

1450-427: The birthday of the world-famous Italian scientist and inventor. Marble statue of Christopher Columbus was erected on the west plaza in 1976. This work was originally located along Belmont Avenue in Fairmount Park, having been unveiled on October 12, 1876, for Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition . Thought to be the work of Emanuele Caroni, this is said to be first publicly funded monument to Christopher Columbus in

1508-773: The board by four neighborhood districts. The Special District does not include the " Xfinity Live! " dining entertainment built on the former site of the Spectrum Arena. The impact of traffic and patrons have raised concerns by the adjacent neighborhood community and the parkland of FDR Park seeking to have a mechanism to deal with it in an organized structure, similar to the SCSSD. 39°54′12″N 75°10′08″W  /  39.9033°N 75.1688°W  / 39.9033; -75.1688 John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) John F. Kennedy Stadium , formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and Sesquicentennial Stadium ,

1566-412: The facility seated in excess of 102,000 people. Bleachers were later added at the open (North) end. The shape of the stadium resembles the horseshoe configuration of Harvard Stadium built in 1903. Each section of the main portion of the stadium contained its own entrance, which displayed the letters of each section above the entrance, in a nod to ancient Roman stadia. Section designators were divided at

1624-621: The game to Memphis in 1965 where it has been played since. The stadium hosted Philadelphia's City Title high school football championship game in 1939 and 1978. St. Joe's Prep defeated Northeast , 27-6, in 1939. Frankford beat Archbishop Wood , 27-7, in heavy rain in 1978. On September 16, 1950, the Cleveland Browns , playing their first season in the NFL after dominating the defunct All-America Football Conference (winning all four league titles), played their first NFL game against

1682-659: The game was moved from Shibe Park ; this proved to be a wise decision, as the contest drew a then NFL-record 71,237 — virtually doubling the Eagles' prior attendance record of 38,230. Many thought Bell had scheduled this game of defending league champions to teach the upstarts from the AAFC a lesson. Instead, the Browns shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense in a 35-10 rout and went on to win the NFL Championship that first year in

1740-701: The league. In 1958, some 15,000 fans attended a CFL game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Rough Riders with proceeds from ticket sales going to local charities. (Hamilton won, 24-18, in what remains the only regular-season CFL game played between two Canadian teams outside of Canada.) The stadium was home to the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League in 1974. The Bell seemed to give

1798-685: The middle by Broad Street . It is located at the most southern end of the city and within the northern border of the Sports Complex Special Services District and the southern border of Lower Moyamensing . The park plaza is accessible via the Oregon Avenue station of the Broad Street subway . Boundaries of the Marconi Plaza neighborhood: The urban park plaza itself, from which the neighborhood derives its name (Marconi East and "Marco" Marconi West),

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1856-485: The neighborhood began to show up. Jim Kenney released a statement on twitter; @PhillyMayor (June 14, 2020). "We are aware of the groups of armed individuals protecting the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza. All vigilantism is inappropriate, and these individuals only bring more danger to themselves and the city" ( Tweet ) – via Twitter . city officials have since declared that the statue will remain on site for

1914-485: The park is densely lined with large maple trees with heights of 30–50 feet high. Bronze statue of Guglielmo Marconi , sculpted by Saleppichi Giancarlo, was erected on the east plaza in 1975 though the efforts of the Italo-American Community organized as the "Marconi Memorial Association" headed by Dr. Frank P. DiDio. The statue was dedicated on April 25, 1980, to commemorate the 106th anniversary of

1972-465: The plaza, two reflecting pools of water. The pools were filled in to provide the foundation for the two statues that were later erected to support the cultural history of the immigrant Italian community and respond to Anti-Italianism . The park is currently lushly covered with 25% trees adorned with park benches, open areas for two tot lots, a baseball field, basketball court, and country cottage style enclosed bocce court. The sidewalk border surrounding

2030-617: The show at which Rage Against the Machine stood on stage without playing in protest of the Parents Music Resource Center . The Wells Fargo Center now stands on the site. The Center is part of the Sports Complex that also includes Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park . †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium

2088-541: The south end of the stadium (the bottom of the "U" shape) between West and East, starting with Sections WA and EA and proceeding north. The north bleachers started with Section NA. It was built of concrete, stone, and brick on a 13.5-acre (55,000 m ) tract. Leaders of Philadelphia's sports organizations gathered at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in March 1920 and announced their intention to build

2146-553: The stadium as a memorial to the nation's war dead and placing it in Fairmount Park at its entrance to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway . The stadium was built as part of the 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition . Originally known as Sesquicentennial Stadium when it opened April 15, 1926, the structure was renamed Philadelphia Municipal Stadium after the Exposition's closing ceremonies. In 1964, it

2204-563: The stadium due to multiple findings by city inspectors that the stadium was structurally unsafe as well as a potential fire hazard. Just hours before the concert, city inspectors had discovered piles of combustible materials, numerous electrical problems, and crumbling and/or falling concrete. By this time, some 20,000 people were already in the stadium, with another 20,000 in line waiting to enter. The Grateful Dead were only allowed to perform due to strict no-smoking regulations that had been enacted some time before. While renovation and repairs of

2262-522: The stadium were discussed, this was quickly rejected due to the exceedingly high costs, and it was demolished on September 23, 1992. The 1993 Philadelphia stop for the Lollapalooza music festival was held at the JFK Stadium site on July 18, 1993 . The site was an open field, as construction had not yet begun on the then still tentatively named "Spectrum II" ( Wells Fargo Center ). This was

2320-417: The standard street grid and was designed as an alternative roadway access to the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition. It begins at Oregon Avenue, that once was a headhouse entrance for the 1926 Expo, through to the intersection of 20th Street, Penrose Avenue and Packer Avenue. An architectural design for a grand public square like the squares of Center City Philadelphia (inspired by the Benjamin Franklin Parkway )

2378-402: The standard street grid, offsetting the numbered streets that permitted placing a "mini-public-square" of green space for houses to face inward on all four sides and directions. The center large rectangular common parks space was originally designated as a "Terrace" that included pathways, grass and trees with an octagon-shaped wading pool at the west end and a raised octagon sand pit platform with

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2436-579: The team paraded the exact route. In 1981, The Rolling Stones announced their World Tour via a press conference at JFK. Through 1989, the Broad Street Run course ended with a lap around the track at the stadium. JFK Stadium was known for hosting some of the largest and most prominent rock music acts of the late 20th century, including (but by no means limited to): Six days after the Grateful Dead's 1989 show, Mayor Wilson Goode condemned

2494-581: The team's demise in 1931. Two years later, the National Football League awarded another team to the city, the Philadelphia Eagles . The Eagles had a four-season stint as tenants of the stadium before moving to Shibe Park for the 1940 season, although the team did play at Municipal in 1941. The Eagles also used the stadium for practices in the 1970s and 1980s, even locating their first practice bubble there before moving it to

2552-556: The then-new Stadium during a rainstorm to witness Gene Tunney capture the world heavyweight boxing title from Jack Dempsey . Undefeated Rocky Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott at the stadium on September 23, 1952 to win boxing's heavyweight championship. On June 26, 1957, a 150-lap NASCAR convertible race was held at the Stadium, which was won by Bob Welborn in a 1957 Chevrolet . JFK Stadium hosted Team America's soccer match against England on May 31, 1976, as part of

2610-480: The tickets for free. The actual paid attendance for the home opener was only 13,855, while the paid attendance for the second game was only 6,200—and many of those tickets were sold well below face value. The "Papergate" scandal made the Bell and the WFL look foolish, and proved to be a humiliation from which neither recovered. The team played at Franklin Field in 1975; the league folded late into that season. On September 23, 1926, an announced crowd of 120,557 packed

2668-401: The time being and on June 17 city workers boarded it up with a wooden box to protect it. On June 15 conservative WPHT radio talk show host Dom Giordano interviewed a South Philadelphia resident who defended the statue in a segment called "The 'Gravy Seals' Speak Out". When questioned as to why the man would defend the statue, he is quoted as saying "...it's more than just a statue, that statue

2726-492: The two-time defending NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles as a prelude to what would eventually in time become the NFL Kickoff Game . Philadelphia was the center of the professional football universe at the time; not only did the city host the defending NFL champions, but the league offices were also in town, headed up by NFL commissioner (and Philadelphia native) Bert Bell . To accommodate the anticipated ticket demand,

2784-399: Was a unique urban change from the densely lined row houses that characterized most of South Philadelphia. The design included front porches and a rear yard with an access service roadway for trash pick-up. Three separate Mollbore Terrace sections were constructed east of the plaza within the boundaries of 13th Street to 7th Street, and from Oregon Ave to Johnston Street. The layout departed from

2842-492: Was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia that stood from 1926 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of Broad Street at a location now part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Designed by the architectural firm of Simon & Simon in a classic 1920s style with a horseshoe seating design that surrounded a track and football field, at its peak

2900-646: Was composed of international players and was not the American national team , the Football Association does not regard England's match against Team America as an official international match. JFK Stadium was one of fifteen United States stadia (and along with Franklin Field , also in Philadelphia) inspected by a five-member FIFA committee in April 1988 in the evaluation of the United States as

2958-416: Was cut away from the curbline, forming half circles open to traffic on both the east and west. This accent was used in 1926 to position a large Liberty Bell at the center of the street, permitting traffic to circle around. Over the years, many of the fine details have been erased, including the half circled indented curbline on either side of Broad Street at the center. This location also had, on both sides of

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3016-419: Was donated from the community and was paid for by the community. So it represents Italian heritage, even though the history may be blemished on Columbus himself. It's still recognized as an Italian heritage symbol, so we feel like we're being attacked. Because you know - they took down Rizzo , they took down the mural, now they're gonna take down this and they're probably going to stop the parade ..." On June 23

3074-539: Was found to be too exhausting and in 1920 the celebration changed locations. Controversy surrounding Christopher Columbus statue The words "Italian-Americans against racism" were painted on the pavement in front of the statue as part of a series of protest events on Columbus Day. During the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and greater Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in June, statues depicting Christopher Columbus as well as other historical figures had become

3132-549: Was planned at the parkway's end point of Penrose Avenue, which was viewed by city planners to be the significant southern gateway to the City. The 1926 square was never developed. In 2002, the City of Philadelphia legislated boundaries of the Sports Complex Special Service District . The residential communities defined included Marconi Plaza. The Special District established an overlay providing

3190-550: Was renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium in memory of the 35th President of the United States who had been assassinated the year before. The stadium's first tenants (in 1926 ) were the Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League , whose Saturday afternoon home games were a popular mainstay of the Exposition. The Quakers won the league championship but the league folded after one year. The Frankford Yellow Jackets also played here intermittently until

3248-489: Was the single largest concentrated passenger rail movement in the country. A.F. "Bud" Dudley, a former Villanova University athletic-director, created the Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia in 1959. The game was played at Municipal Stadium and was the only cold-weather bowl game of its time. It was plagued by poor attendance; the 1963 game between Mississippi State and NC State drew less than 10,000 fans and absorbed

3306-515: Was the southern border end of the city up to the 1920s. As early as April 1914, "a plot of ground on Broad Street near the Navy Yard was also considered" as a location on which to erect a stadium for the Army–Navy Game with a capacity greater than Franklin Field and Shibe Park , both of which had not yet been expanded in 1914. In 1926 the City selected the area south of Oregon Avenue for

3364-561: Was unable to be used as a result of damage. Marconi Plaza, Philadelphia Marconi Plaza is an urban park square located in South Philadelphia , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States. The plaza was named to recognize the 20th-century cultural identity in Philadelphia of the surrounding Italian American enclave neighborhood and became the designation location of the annual Columbus Day Parade. Marconi Plaza has two main halves, east and west, which are divided in

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