Heavy Philadelphia traffic on Sept. 7, 1950

Temple Univeristy archives

(October 25, 2018) Race Street appears to be an appropriate name for this Philadelphia thoroughfare which joined the entrance to the Delaware River Bridge in this photo from the Temple University archives. According to the source, the image was taken on Sept. 7, 1950.

The bridge was renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in 1955. The entrance was also realigned and is now accessed from I-676 which crosses the center of Philadelphia from east to west and enters Camden, N.J., on the east side of the bridge.

Apparently the oldest automobile in the scene, a Ford dates from 1933 to ’34, and newest models are then current 1950 vehicles, one of the cars has a low number two-digit license plate.

The park at the right is Monument Plaza at the intersection of Race and N 6th St. Today it features a modern sculpture called the “Bolt of Lightening,” to commemorate Ben Franklin’s famous electricity experiment with the kite.

The 1930s car in the front center of the photo is a 1937 Oldsmobile 8.

Source: The Old Motor (theoldmotor.com)