Rittenhouse Square (SAMPLE)

Unlike the other squares. the early Southwest Square was never used as a burial ground. although it offered pasturage for local livestock and a convenient dumping spot for “night soil�.

History

By the late 1700s the square was surrounded by brickyards as the areaﾴs clay terrain was better suited for kilns than crops. In 1825 the square was renamed in honor of Philadelphian David Rittenhouse. the brilliant astronomer. instrument maker and patriotic leader of the Revolutionary era. A building boom began by the 1850s. and in the second half of the 19th century the Rittenho