My spouse and I visited the Philadelphia Navy Yard on a
Saturday afternoon in late July 2017. You can print out a self-guided 2-mile walking
tour (which takes about 1 hour) from the website. On weekdays, you can catch a ride
on the Navy Yard Loop shuttle bus. Public restrooms are available at the
Marriott Courtyard and at Building 543 (URBN headquarters).
Philadelphia was the birthplace of the US Navy. When George
Washington’s Naval Act was passed in 1794, six frigates were built to defend the
country, officially opening the Southwark Yard in 1801. It was the first shipyard in the world to use
floating dry docks during the building process in order to speed up production.
After iron-clad warships made the yard obsolete, it closed in 1876. Years
later, a new facility for the Philadelphia Navy Ship Yard (PNSY) opened on
League Island, the remnants of which you can visit today. When the present site
officially ceased operation in 1996, the Navy Yard employed up to 40,000 people
during peak production periods (such as during World War II, when it built 50+
ships and repaired more than 1200 ships).
The city began to redevelop the Navy Yard area in the year
2000, and its land now spans 1,200 acres that host 145 companies occupying 7
million square feet of office/industrial/manufacturing/development/research
space. Over 11,500 employees work in the redeveloped area, including for the
largest employers GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners
(BFTP), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Tastykake
Baking Company, and NAVSEA. Employees have access to credit
unions/banks/ATMs, a dentist and doctor, a chapel, and a yoga studio, in
addition to various retail and dining options (including Bar Amis [previously
called Lo Speido], Shop 543 [the cafeteria at URBN], Jharoka Cafe, DiNic’s,
Bistro, Gallery Café, and lunch trucks [Wednesdays only]). Note that many of
the restaurants operate on weekdays only. Bar Amis is an exception because it serves
dinner on Saturday evenings. Workers/residents can also enjoy the public art
and the many public parks (including Crescent [with its putting green], League
Island, Marine Parade Grounds, Dry Dock, Riverfront Greenway, and Central Green
[with hammocks, an outdoor amphitheater, table tennis tables, and a walking path]).
The walking tour takes you past the Broad Street entrance
gate and gatehouses, the Reserve Basin (with decommissioned ships), Quarters M1
to M7 (Marine Corps officer’s quarters in historic Georgian revival homes),
Marine Barracks (Renaissance revival/Romanesque architecture), Marine Parade
Grounds, Chapel, and the Commandant’s Building (Beaux-Arts architecture).
Buildings are numbered in order of their construction (from 1 to 640), while
residences are lettered.
Our tour of the Navy Yard was an enjoyable way to spend a
Saturday afternoon, but we would like to return on a weekday to see the
property at full operation.
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