While sorting through some old bookmarks I found a link to a set of archive photos on Philly.com of the old Liberty Bell Park Racetrack. For those too young to remember, Liberty Bell Park was a racetrack in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia that held harness racing and Thoroughbred horse racing from 1963 until it’s demise in 1986. The Franklin Mills Mall now stands in it’s place.
I don’t have many memories of the place, except for the fact that when I was a youngster, the Ringling Bros. Circus used to come to town every year around my birthday and set up in their parking lot. My dad would take me there every year for my birthday.
The only other memory is when they had a huge concert there in ‘81: The Police, The Go Go’s, Oingo Boingo and The Specials. (A Police fan has posted a set list here.) Attendance was around 16,000.
I live about 5 minutes from the current Franklin Mills Mall. It was great when it first opened, but, like most retail malls, has gone downhill the last few years. Once known for outlet stores of high-end/popular retailers and entertainment (restaurants, movies, arcades – even a bowling alley), the mall has transformed into a hodgepodge of urban streetwear stores and borderline “dollar”-type stores. There’s still a few good retailers there, but it’s not quite the destination it once was.
Rumors have surfaced in the area over the last few years that the mall was being sold off by the parent company to developers, who had planned to make it a mix of housing and retail.
Personally, I’d rather see the old racetrack…
2 responses so far ↓
1 caesar // Jan 2, 2009 at 11:46 am
great shots of the Bell.
Grew up in north NJ but on Sundays in the 80s Liberty was the only game in town for us.
We’d drive the 90 minutes or so each way for the Sunday card. Remember in Oct 1982 my buddy had just started law school and he studied in the car as I drove down there.
Had some of the best track pizza that I ever had.
2 monica // Feb 5, 2009 at 7:26 am
Thanks for this. I’m from just across the river in jersey, but used to pass by Liberty Bell a lot on our way to visit cousins in the NE. Came to love horse racing in adulthood……….too late to enjoy parks in my “backyard”, such as Liberty Bell and Garden State (10 mins from my home). Oh, well, I shouldn’t complain– have Phila Park, Monmouth and DE Park close by. But still, who needs MORE shopping? I wonder how many of these old parks would still be around if slots had come in time to save them.
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