Philadelphia's Dock Street
- jbarrett479
- Aug 13
- 2 min read
By Raighnaid Meister
Learning and Engagement intern, summer 2025
In 1683, William Penn wrote extensively about Philadelphia and the naming conventions for new streets in his “intended metropolis”. According to John Fanning Watson, the author of the Annals of Philadelphia, Dock Street was named after the creek that William Penn encountered when he first set foot in Pennsylvania. The area was home to the Blue Anchor Tavern at the time, but what enthralled William Penn was the “low sandy beach”. He named it “Dock Creek” and saw it as a perfect landing space to harbor vessels in the winter.
As the area developed into a landing port for boats carrying all sorts of goods, the dockside began to thrive, attracting more and more residential and commercial enterprises. As the population of the area grew, many debates arose on how this dock and its surrounding swamp area could be put to best use. On October 25th, 1701, ten years after the first petition, William Penn's Charter for the City of Philadelphia decreed that the creek and open swamp areas would be open and free for use by all persons.
However, William Penn did not anticipate the problems that would follow. From 1704 onwards there were multiple drawbridge collapses. The bridge that was home to the Blue Anchor Tavern was deemed “too dangerous for man or beast”, and its use had to be restricted. Multiple tanneries were dumping their excess waste products into the river, and locals were using the creek as a dumping ground for their own garbage. By 1747, the pollution was causing illness throughout the local population. After countless futile attempts were made to solve the problems, the ultimate decision was made to cover the creek completely. By 1769 only the section above 2nd Street was covered, but the entire creek was fully covered up by 1784 and “Dock Creek” became “Dock Street”.
However despite all the trials and tribulations, Dock Street throughout the years has maintained its value as a place where commercial and community meet. Within HSP’s vast collection there are many photos of places around Dock Street throughout the years, particularly in the late 19th century.
You can see that it continues to be a place where many inns are located as well as rope makers and other commercial businesses. Even with all the massive changes Dock Street has gone through over hundreds of years, it has remained resilient—like much of Philadelphia, it hasn’t forgotten who and what it is.
John Fanning Watson, Annals of Philadelphia manuscript scrap book, 1693-1828: https://discover.hsp.org/Record/dc-13512/Description#tabnav
John Fanning Watson, Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania, In Olden Time, being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants, and of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania. E.S.Stuart: Philadelphia, 1887:
Bill Double, Scenic Stream to City Sewer: Dock Creek from 1682 to 1849. Independence National Historic Park: Philadelphia, 2013.