An 89-year-old Northern Liberties resident is hoping to preserve an important piece of Philadelphia history by replacing a missing plaque that once recognized her block’s role in the Underground Railroad. Mary Dankanis has lived on North 4th Street for nearly 70 years. She and her late husband, Bill, moved into his childhood home in 1960 when many families were leaving the city for the suburbs. “I guess I’m the oldest person here in the neighborhood,” Dankanis said. Over the decades, she has watched Northern Liberties change as new construction replaced century-old homes. “I’ve been here for 66 years. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Dankanis said. She says welcoming new neighbors also means making sure they understand the history of the community. “It’s fine to have all these new people moving in but they have to be reminded of the past also,” she explained. Dankanis said she learned through her work as a community coordinator that part of the 400 block of Wallace Street — once known as Paschall’s Alley — played an important role in the Underground Railroad by sheltering people escaping slavery. Around 2019 and 2020, a plaque was installed on the block recognizing that history. But after about a year and a half, Dankanis said weather damaged it beyond repair. “It wasn’t one of those real expensive plaques,” she said. “The wind and the storms just tore it apart and nobody bothered to replace it.” Dankanis said she has spent years trying to have the plaque replaced, contacting local groups and the historical society, but says her calls have gone unanswered. “Every once in a while I’ll put it on Facebook to remind people and everybody’s all excited, ‘Oh, we got to do something. We got to get it replaced,'” she said. “And up until now no one has really come forward to do it. It’s really important to the neighborhood though.” She hopes someone will step forward to help restore the marker so future generations can learn about the neighborhood’s history. “If you don’t know your past, you don’t know where you’re going,” Dankanis said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less