The Frankford Arsenal Lives Still

It lives in the form of a business center.  I have a bit of a different memory.

I grew over near the arsenal in Bridesburg.  My great grandfather, Joe Hobson, was a Sargent in the Army and was assigned to the Arsenal from 1880 to about 1901.  Joe met grandmother at the arsenal back then.  She was the cook for the commanding officer.  When they got married, Robert Lincoln, Abe’s son, was secretary of war and was making an inspection visit.  He volunteered to be a witness at the wedding.

Jim was over that way a few weeks ago and took some pictures.  This one is similar to a shot I took 40 years ago.  Those massive walls on the Tacony Street side are impressive.  The arsenal has been there almost 200 years now and provided valuable service to our country right up through the View Nam war.

Before I-95 rolled its way through the Northeast there was a neighborhood surrounding those walls.  On Bridge Street between Tacony Street and the main gate stood two stately single homes and St. Stephens Episcopal Church.  Opposite the main gate where the on ramp to I-95 is now, was the trolley turn around for the routes 15 and 73.  On Tacony Street, under what is now I-95, were rows of homes.  They were mowed down to make way for the highway.

Before everybody had a car, public transportation was the way people went to work and the workers would stream out of the main gate at quitting time to hop on one of the trolleys.  Now we see the the stark outline of the Sunoco plant and not much sign of life on that stretch of Bridge Street.

If you take a look inside the Arsenal business center though, you can see a lot of activity.  Besides the various businesses located there you will see two charter schools within those walls.  Several of the movies made in Philadelphia in the last few years found space within the arsenal for shooting.

It is one of the landmarks in the Northeast and most of us pass it by daily without giving it a thought.  For me, it holds some pleasant memories.  I rode on a half track one Armed Forces day there.  Walked the parade ground where my great grandfather marched at one time.  Visited friends there.  It deserves a historical society of its own just to tell its story.