Between 1838 and 1844, the famed author and poet Edgar Allan Poe lived at four different locations in Philadelphia, including one residence at 16th and Locust Streets.

While in Philadelphia, Poe authored 31 stories, including "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" in 1841 and "The Gold-Bug" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", both in 1843.

[2][3] Robert Patterson, a Union Army general during the American Civil War, resided at a three-story Greek Revival mansion at 13th and Locust Streets from 1836 until his death in 1881.

On December 9, 1981, at 3:55am, Philadelphia Police Department officer Daniel Faulkner conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle carrying Marxist political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal's younger brother William Cook at the intersection of 13th and Locust Streets.

[5] Driving his cab in the vicinity, Abu-Jamal observed the altercation, parked, and ran across the street toward Cook's car.