| Benjamin Franklin Parkway |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY | |
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Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic avenue that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia . The Parkway serves as an integral part of the Museum District of Philadelphia. Named for favorite son , one block southeast from its starting point; Swann Fountain , which it encircles in Logan Circle ; and the Philadelphia Museum Of Art at its ending point, where the parkway provides access to Kelly Drive in Fairmount Park and the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76). In a city famous for its Planning , the Parkway represents one of the earliest examples of urban renewal in the United States . The road was constructed to ease heavy industrial congestion in Center City and to restore Philadelphia's natural and artistic beauty. The Parkway was designed to emulate the Champs-Élysées in Paris , terminating at the Art Museum rather than the Arc De Triomphe , giving the notion of the Parkway as being "a slice of Paris in Philadelphia." The Parkway also gives off an international flavor by being lined with flags of countries from around the world. In recent years, there has been concern that the original plan of a wide, multi-sectioned, multi-laned, tree-lined boulevard, while beautiful to travel on, is not very engaging for pedestrian or other public use. Traffic along the Parkway has decreased considerably because of the completion of Rt. I-676, linking the Schuylkill Expressway with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge . In response, the roadway has been narrowed somewhat and the sidewalks expanded around Logan Circle. Various plans for the rest of the Parkway, some of which would insert shops and other smaller structures into the long stretches between museums, have been proposed, been none so far have been thought feasible or financially sound. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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