Forbidden Drive

Forbidden Drive (HM1B4I)

Location: Philadelphia, PA 19144 Philadelphia County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 1.665', W 75° 11.576'

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Inscription

1869

Welcome to Wissahickon Valley Park and
Forbidden Drive
Many rough mill roads once ran through this valley. But as traffic increased, people needed a better road. In the early 1850s, work began on a turnpike to ease travel between the mills and the city.

In 1869 the turnpike became part of Fairmount Park. It became Upper Wissahickon Drive, free to all who came to enjoy the valley's beauty.

With the coming of automobiles came years of debate: should the drive be a quiet park trail or busy road? In 1899 the park commission banned automobiles along the drive. But for nearly the next 30 years it received proposals to re-open the drive. The commission voted against them all and this stretch of road has been called "Forbidden Drive" ever since.

" . . . Now the Wissahiccon is of so remarkable a loveliness that, were it flowing in England, it would be the theme of every bard, and the common topic of every tongue . . . . "
"Morning on the Wissahiccon"
Edgar Allan Poe

In 1964 this park became one of the first seven places to be honored as a National Natural Landmark.
Details
HM NumberHM1B4I
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 28th, 2014 at 2:59am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 483537 N 4430855
Decimal Degrees40.02775000, -75.19293333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 1.665', W 75° 11.576'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 1' 39.90" N, 75° 11' 34.56" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)215, 610, 267
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 6223-6271 Forbidden Dr, Philadelphia PA 19144, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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