It is famous for being the location of the Penn's Landing area and is generally parallel with Interstate 95 south of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

In 1831, the Philadelphia banker Stephen Girard, died and left the City $500,000 to construct a wide boulevard in its place, to be known as Delaware Avenue.

[1] The portion south of Spring Garden Street was controversially renamed after Christopher Columbus in 1992 despite opposition from residents north of Center City Philadelphia and the Lenape (also known as Delaware) nation.

[3] Delaware Avenue was originally a "major freshwater port"[clarification needed] which has recently seen revitalization with the increase in tourism and the start of casino businesses in the 2000s.

[4] The boulevard was dedicated in 1992 as Italian Americans persuaded city hall to rename the portion of Delaware Avenue south of Spring Garden Street[5] on the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus sailing to America.