The MOVE Bombing
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
On May 13, 1985, at 6221 Osage Avenue, an armed conflict occurred between the Phila. Police Dept. and MOVE members. A Pa. State Police helicopter dropped a bomb on MOVE's house. An uncontrolled fire killed eleven MOVE members, including five children, and destroyed 61 homes.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On May 13, 1985, a long-simmering standoff between Philadelphia police and the Black liberation group MOVE erupted into catastrophe on Osage Avenue. Police dropped a bomb from a state helicopter onto the group's rowhouse, and the fire that followed was allowed to burn — killing eleven MOVE members, five of them children, and destroying 61 homes in the surrounding Black neighborhood. It remains one of the only times an American city bombed its own residents.
Why it matters
The MOVE bombing stands as a searing reminder of how far state force could go against Black communities, and it continues to shape debates over policing and accountability.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer5.1 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia5.1 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall5.2 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center5.2 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Visitor Center5.2 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall5.2 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- American Bandstand1.9 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo3.0 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge3.2 mi away
- Discovery Center at East Park Reservoir3.5 mi away
- Rocky Steps3.7 mi away
- The Universal Sphere4.2 mi away
Food & drink
- Philly Pretzel Factory5.0 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe5.0 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Burger King5.0 mi away
- Fat Salmon5.1 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Garden5.1 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily5.1 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City4.5 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City4.5 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Holiday Inn Express4.6 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City4.6 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel4.6 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Fairfield Inn & Suites4.6 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Related events
- · MOVE bombing of May 13, 1985
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Hakim's Bookstore and Gift Shop
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2023
Founded in the 1950s by Dawud Hakim, this Philadelphia shop was the city's first Black-owned bookstore devoted to Black history and authors—a place where readers could find their own story on the shelves. Through the 1960s it became a gathering point for civil rights organizing and Black activism. That prominence also drew the eye of the FBI, which surveilled Hakim's along with other Black bookstores of the era.
Crystal Bird Fauset
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
Crystal Bird Fauset lived here when, in 1938, she won a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and became the first Black woman elected to any state legislature in the United States. A gifted organizer and speaker, she later advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on race relations within the wartime Office of Civilian Defense. Her career opened doors in electoral politics that had long been barred to Black women.
Abraham L. Pennock
Upper Darby, PA · est. 1985
Abraham L. Pennock lived at Hoodland, a house built by his father-in-law in 1823, until his death in 1868. A leader in the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, he lent his energy to abolition alongside the causes of woman suffrage and temperance. Reform-minded visitors, including the poets John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell, passed through his doors.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
Paul Robeson was a rare figure of towering talent — a football star at Rutgers, a Columbia-trained lawyer, and then a world-renowned concert singer and actor celebrated for his interpretations of African American spirituals. His outspoken activism on race and labor drew fierce backlash during the Cold War, and his career and travel were curtailed for years. He spent his final years in quiet retirement at this Philadelphia home.