Friends of Bainbridge Green
History Of Bainbridge Green
Adjacent to 4th Street’s vibrant Fabric Row, Bainbridge Green is the park located between 3rd and 5th Streets in the middle of Bainbridge Street in Queen Village, Philadelphia. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it served as an open air market, known as Washington Market, for the immediate area’s Russian, Polish, and Jewish immigrants. On the 3rd Street endcap, its historic fountain was installed in 1901 with the inscription, “Drink Gentle Friends.” In 1911, the city closed the market and renamed it “Edward Shippen Plaza,” after one of Philadelphia’s earliest mayors. In the 1980’s, friends Joel Spivak, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg, Rick Millan, and Dave Auspitz, organized the original Friends of Bainbridge Green (FOBG)— (and a tribute to the trolley tracks in the neighborhood with its “trolley monument” on the west side of the 4th Street endcap) — to maintain this beloved corridor that serves neighbors, visitors, local businesses, and their customers.
Present
Today, Bainbridge Green has an active Indego bike station, and the FOBG continue to care for the park by cleaning, planting, painting and more. The FOBG collaborate with the Queen Village Neighbors Association (QVNA), the South Street Mini Station, and the South Street Headhouse District (SSHD), to hold clean-ups during Parks and Recreations’ Love Your Park days, as well as additional events throughout the year.
Photos by Maxine Mayer
Photo by Debotri Chatterjee
Photo by Maxine Mayer
Connect With Us
Please contact us if you would like to be added to the volunteer list to learn about upcoming events: FOBGVolunteers@gmail.com
Instagram: @friendsofbainbridgegreen
Bainbridge Green is a linear greenspace that runs down the middle of Bainbridge Street between Third and Fifth. There are trees and parking spaces in the middle of each block. Seating areas are located on the corners of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Streets.