Wonderful place!!! I love this place have been here numerous times with my children. Unfortunately when we went today the park was rat infested! I was so surprised and it put such a damper on our night. We ordered food for square burger(great food by the way) and tried to eat at one of the park benches around dusk (7ishand there where so many rats running around. Pretty disgusting!! read more

The light show is a nice idea, but the staff is absolutely rude. It was a nice light show, but I am not going to beg to give my money to some jerk for an overpriced beverage. read more

Gorgeous park with lots of trees and even a large fountain. A carousel for kids along with mini golf for family's. Also don't forget to check out the sand sculpture before you leave. They even have restrooms and food available on site. read more

Hugely disappointing. The PR hype misrepresents the experience here. It's ok enough but really not worth the trip to this desolate part of Philly when you have a limited amount of time here. Please find better experiences than this glorified playground! read more

Franklin Square is a cute place for an inexpensive play date. There's a carousel, mini-golf, a playground, and seasonal events held throughout the year. For this visit I went for the mini-golf. Super cute. There are 18-holes and each hole has a well-maintained display of some sort of Philadelphia landmark. It would be a great place for families to stop on a visit to the city. read more

Love this place! The playground is fun and the carousel is super cool. The mini golf was well with different holes set to different philly themes....but my favorite part of Franklin Square Park is the food! Whoaaaa so good! Check it out. read more

Decent size park with a good amount of benches and tables to sit and picnic at or to sit and enjoy your starr square buyer. We used Franklin Square as the meet up for our work Olde City scavenger hunt. It ended up being a gorgeous day out and everyone seemed to have a good time. There are hoards or children so if screaming kids isnt your thing i would steer clear on sunny days. read more

I was pleasantly surprised at how they had renovated this park. I wouldn't hang around there after dark but it's quite nice in the daytime. A bit out of the way for non locals. read more

A nice place for lunch on a weekday or to go read a book. Lots of kiddos and dogs. As well as some historical landmarks in the center of the square. It's fun. It's free and it's a great place to walk through in historic philly. read more

This part is cute and suitable for all ages. I like to walk my dog here, play mini golf and ride the carousel.

2 bathrooms?? Seriously?? 1 family bathroom a men's room and a ladies room. Really???

My toddler loved playing the mini golf, even though she cant actually play she loved it anyways because everything is miniature and cute.After we went on the carousel and played in the park. The toddler area in the park is quite small. Overall, we had a good 3 hours of fun there! read more

First time here. Great positive vibes, very family oriented. Loved the carousel. Light show was a lot of fun. Glad I stopped by.

This place is our son's favourite playground in Center City. Not only are there some cool attractions like miniature golf and an incredible carousel, but there's also a great, fenced-in playground. The equipment is in good shape and the general atmosphere is jovial. Add to this that fact that there is also a ton of great space for running around, playing catch, tag, football or whatever and you have an urban playtime oasis. read more

Nice place to just eat and relax or have some fun!!!!

This was a great outing for the family. Our two boys (4 & 5) had a great time. There are two play areas, with one geared toward smaller tots. Our boys seemed to fall in between the age groups. They were at the right age for the smaller playground, but a bit too young for the older playground. We still had a great time and even rode the carousel, which cost $2 i think per person. Next time, we will pack some drinks and a snack. There is a small booth that offers burger and such for a hefty price. I'll save a few bucks on that. My only complaint is the lack of parking. We had to fight to find a spot to park, and then run across a few large streets to get to the park. read more

We placed our order at 2:05pm (on a Monday in April 2015) then after a FORTY MINUTE WAIT (no unoccupied seats) the burgers & fries were NOT HOT, just LUKE-WARM FOOD. Shakes were cold. Burgers rather small. Only one size available for shakes. About 18 people waited for food. SERVICE WAS SLOW, VERY SLOW. VERY LIMITED SEATING. Seven small outdoor tables with four chairs each, and all were taken so we walked 150 yards to picnic tables. In summary, FORTY MINUTE WAIT, LUKE-WARM FOOD, NO SEATS/TABLES. SERVICE WAS SLOW, VERY SLOW. VERY LIMITED SEATING. If you have problem standing this is not the place for you. There wasn't any other food available in the park. read more

Great park in the city fun for every age. Do not have to spend a lot of money to have a great time.

My inner child is in love with Franklin Square. A bit of a not-so-hidden gem, Franklin Square is a perfectly manicured area with tons to do. One of the original five public squares designed by William Penn, the renovations from a few years back have turned this into one of my favorite areas in the city. There is a picnic area, playgrounds, a carousel, and even Philadelphia themed mini golf (which is my main draw). The 18 hole course allows you to putt through the Friendship Arch, over the Ben Franklin bridge, and through Elfreth's Alley. At the last hole, if you manage to get your ball up to the Liberty Bell, it rings! The mid-19th century fountain is gorgeous and sits in the center of the park. Franklin Square is also the home of the Living Flame Memorial, a memorial to the city's fallen policemen and firefighters, and huge sand sculptures that change periodically . Stephen Starr's square burger further increases the park's interest, serving burgers and even Tastykake milkshakes. read more

This was my family's favorite part of our Philly visit. Our children (ages 7,12,15) loved the mini-golf, and we got some great pictures of the miniature sights. The TastyCake milkshakes at Square Burger were delicious. The playground had great unique equipment for older children. read more

i used to live at 5th and vine. we would call this "homeless park". it was so bad, i did not cut thru, even tho it would take several minutes off my walk to work. there were crack heads everywhere. sleeping all day, all over. clothes lines ran from bench to bench. it looked more like a refugee camp. absolutely NO reason to go in there. then a wonderful thing happened. they put up a 20 ft fence and started construction. for many months we had no idea what was going on. when it was all over and the fence came down, it was the cutest place in cc. mini golf (which i have no interest in playing) carosel, playground. so family friendly. there was no where to take a little one before. people in period costumes everywhere. it is just such a nice addition to philly. the fountain is beautiful. and its nice to sit on a bench and just take it all in. so hard to believe what it used to be. read more

Franklin Square, home to Franklin's famous kite experiment holds a very special place in my heart. Growing up in Chinatown meant staring at blacktop. There was no picnic area or even a chance to walk barefoot in the grass, let alone play catch or toss a football until one day, my friends and I wandered outside of our "play area" as most children do and discovered a park full of green. This was our escape! No longer did we, did I go without the smell of morning dew, the mushy feel of leaves underneath my feet and the field that would be my diamond. It was far from perfect.. Broken concrete, a weathered and rusty jungle gym and dry grass. But we didn't care. It was our park!! Then lo and behold, Once Upon a Nation transformed the park to what it is today- a restored green space complete with astroturf and playground equipment for all ages including infants, a carousel where one of the horses is named Smarty Jones and a 18 hole mini golf course that includes ringing the Liberty Bell with a hole in one. With this face lift, I can't even imagine how many more children will create their own adventures here and claim this park to be their own. So no matter what your age, join in on the fun! Oh, the places you'll go! read more

I love this park and have enjoyed many afternoons here with my daughter when she was little. I remember this park before the upgrade many years ago, the city did a great job when they put in the carousel and other amenities, it was pretty sad a long time ago. The children's playground is very nice and is free to use. The carousel and mini golf have ticket that you need to buy. There is a small food vendor. The park is one of the original old city parks, has beautiful mature trees, a nice fountain and many areas for sitting. It can get a little crowded if there are family picnics or parties, but not all the time. Most recently, I noticed that the mini golf area is looking worn down and needs some work. Some of the areas are damaged, with pieces coming off the greens. This is minor and won't dampen enjoyment much, I do hope the Parks and Rec will do some upkeep to keep it nice. ** As a local, I have never paid for the Chinese Lantern festival, since it is so expensive and such a tourist trap. read more

Although having frequented the Metroclub a few times in my past life, I never actually had the opportunity to step foot into the wonderful Franklin Square. Well, until last night that is, because that's the exact place where "The Collaborative" decided to host their picnic. The place was filled with parents and kids, kids and dogs, parents and dogs, dogs and non-parents and whatever other combo of the three examples of the living and breathing I just mentioned. There was even a pretty carousel that reminded me of one of those music boxes I got when I was a kid (although I dont think there was any actual music coming out of the carousel). The fountain in the middle of the park gave a very-much-needed certain romantic vibe that fit perfectly with the overall ambience of the place and made the presense of the very misplaced food vagon much less visible. The overall place was cute enough that you can almost forget the highway right next to it and can almost forgive the bad bathroom locks and having someone walk in on you while you're, thankfully, already washing your hands read more

Went to this park for the Chinese lantern festival. What an absolute joke. Paid $17 to stand in line for 45 mins and then spent 17 mins walking around the tiny event. The lights are nice but not $17 nice. I do not recommend this event. Take you $17 and go to the beer garden and get two beers for the same price and enjoy yourself much more. read more

Super cute. Whet to see the electrical spectacle while visiting on a Friday night. It wasn't crowded at all. Enjoyed a round on the carousel. The lights were nice. The hot cocoa stand hot cocoa was watered down I don't recommend it. Overall small, but very pleasant atmosphere. There is mini golf there also. read more