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Birthday hats. Bubbles. Birds. Butterscotch Krimpets<\/a>. A Benjamin Franklin reenactor<\/a> singing \u201cHappy Birthday.\u201d <\/p>\n That was the fanfare Saturday morning as Franklin Square, the once-forgotten green space at Sixth and Race Streets, celebrated a milestone: This July marks 20 years since the square\u2019s dramatic revitalization, which transformed it from a dusty and dim outpost to a destination for family-friendly fun. <\/p>\n The pomp and hordes of young children playing with sidewalk chalk, kazoos, and streamers amid the daylight remnants of the annual Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival<\/a> were far removed from the Franklin Square of yore, when it was publicly described as part of the city\u2019s \u201cskid row.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt did not look good,\u201d Amy Needle, president and CEO of Historic Philadelphia Inc., said of Franklin Square\u2019s image in the early aughts. \u201cIt was really neglected. \u2026 There was no reason to go there. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think we all saw the potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Franklin Square (originally dubbed North East Publick Square and later renamed in honor of Benjamin Franklin) dates back to 1682, when William Penn designed Philadelphia. Penn anchored the city around a quintet of parks that would become Franklin Square, Washington Square, Rittenhouse Square, Logan Square, and Centre Square (City Hall). <\/p>\n While Franklin Square\u2019s 7\u00bd acres may have been heavily used by Philly\u2019s earliest settlers because of its proximity to the Delaware River, its condition started to decline in the early 20th century, when broad swaths of homes on the park\u2019s perimeter were razed to make way for the on-ramps to the Ben Franklin Bridge and, later, the Vine Street Expressway and I-95<\/a> feeder, according to The Inquirer\u2019s archives. The park\u2019s greenery was replaced by a brick desert, and the isolation and inaccessibility led to disarray. <\/p>\n Famed urban theorist Jane Jacobs said of Franklin Square: It was \u201cwhere the homeless, the unemployed and the people of indigent leisure gather amid the flophouses, cheap hotels, missions, [and] second-hand clothing stores.\u201d Occasionally, tai chi groups and area daycares used the expansive lawns and shady respite, after brushing away debris and drug paraphernalia, according to Needle. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Franklin Square is getting a $7.8M upgrade with new playground, zip line, restrooms, and bike lanes<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a dump,\u201d recalled Keith Owens, 69, of Cherry Hill<\/a>, who was visiting Saturday with his family. \u201cI just remember it was not a place you went to.\u201d<\/p>\n By the early 2000s, a movement to reinvent the square gained traction, coinciding with the opening of the National Constitution Center, a new flood of tourists to the long-vacant \u201cthird block\u201d of Independence Mall between Arch and Race Streets, and a residential housing boom. The effort, led by Historic Philadelphia and then-Gov. Ed Rendell, sought to to revamp Center City<\/a>\u2019s \u201cmost underutilized\u201d square footage and enhance tourists\u2019 trips between Old City<\/a> destinations, The Inquirer wrote at the time. <\/p>\n The rehab included fixing the 1800s fountain<\/a> and installing lighting, new playground equipment, a carousel, and an 18-hole miniature golf course featuring Philadelphia iconography \u2014 landmarks that set Franklin Square apart from other, \u201cpassive\u201d parks like Rittenhouse or Washington, according to Needle. Although the park is owned by the city, it is operated and maintained by Needle\u2019s group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to have attractions there and give people a reason to go there,\u201d she said. \u201cWe wanted to create experiences.\u201d <\/p>\n In the years since, the square has added the cherished Chinese Lantern Festival and a Square Burger eatery; meanwhile, the adjacent PATCO station reopened after nearly 50 years, new apartment complexes are being erected, and the restrooms were renovated for the first time since the Bicentennial in 1976<\/a>. Now, Historic Philadelphia is raising funds to redo the playground and recently received a $1 million boost from the state to do so<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI just feel like it\u2019s exploding \u2014 every time we come back, there\u2019s more stuff here,\u201d attendee Brooke Duane said. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd the bathrooms, which are great.\u201d<\/p>\n