N3rd Street is about to be official.

Thanks to the work of a wide group of partners, City Council will introduce a resolution today that will make N. 3rd Street from Market Street to Girard Avenue officially “N3rd Street,” said Danny Harvith, director of business development at Jarv.us and one of the leaders of the effort. It’ll get voted on next week. (The resolution was originally introduced last week and slated to get passed today, but City Council, following additional feedback, will change the northern limit from Poplar Street to Girard Avenue and is reintroducing the resolution today, Harvith said.)

The designation may lead to nickname signs under the standard N. 3rd Street signs. This won’t likely replace the traditional signs, which are good for tourists, but will give permanence to the identity of those tech firms based there.

From Old City to Northern Liberties, more than 30 tech companies and more than 45 marketing and design agencies are located on or around N3rd Street, the resolution states.

“A cultural identity like N3RD Street is an important asset for Philadelphia,” the resolution reads. It celebrates Philadelphia growing its own tech community — rather than striving to be like that of New York City or San Francisco, it says.

The project to get N3rd Street recognized officially was the work of partners all along the corridor, including members of Indy Hall, Old City District and the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, Harvith said, adding that the city’s Commerce Department and other city officials like Chief Innovation Officer Adel Ebeid and Managing Director Rich Negrin were also supportive.

Marking the northern anchor of the stretch, 3rd and Girard is just north of the ‘Search Church’ that is home to 80-person search marketing and analytics firm SEER Interactive and the Piazza at Schmidt’s, which has housed design firms like O3 World and bluecadet interactive, which have recently outgrown the space.


Councilmen Mark Squilla, Darrell Clarke and Jim Kenney are sponsoring the City Council resolution.

Once it’s official, then what?

Lively street signs, for one. And, of course, a party.

The official naming ceremony and N3rd Street barbecue is scheduled for April 11 during Philly Tech Week.

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