King’s Court is bounded by buildings on two sides and Ellis St. and Kings Highway on the other two. This makes King’s Court function as a street in its own right, even though it is only accessible to pedestrians. Ellis St. is a strange street that starts as a corner with Centre St., runs around a roundabout, and does not even travel half a mile before splitting into Kresson Rd. and Haddonfield-Berlin Rd. But along that way it goes past an Acme, the only real grocery store within Haddonfield’s city limits, merges with Haddon Ave., an important route into nearby Haddon Township, Collingswood, and Camden, and finally splits into two streets both heading off into Cherry Hill. It is not very pedestrian-friendly except near King’s Court and does not serve any other function besides as a path for cars. Another important area adjacent to King’s Court is a large public parking lot that empties into the corner of Ellis and Centre, along with three other exits accessible to pedestrians. It has no formal name, but I refer to it as the Lutheran Church lot and Google calls it “Parking behind Haddonfield mini mall.” Technically, the lot charges an hourly fee of $0.25 with a minimum payment of $1.00, but residents know that that fee is not enforced. The convenience and lack of cost make the parking lot great for people looking to drive to Kings Highway and King’s Court, especially when on-street parking is unavailable.
In contrast to Ellis St., Kings Highway is likely the most important street in town. It is both the geographic center of town, bisecting the Borough from southwest to northeast, and also the social, commercial, and cultural center. It is often dubbed Downtown Haddonfield. The Highway runs through New Jersey’s Philadelphia suburbs along the Delaware River. In most places, it is a normal highway made for traveling between towns without much impediment, but in Haddonfield, it is constrained by the town’s universal 25 mph speed limit. It transforms into a quaint main street with both mom-and-pop shops and larger chains like Starbucks and CVS. This is in contrast to the rest of Haddonfield surrounding it, which is mostly residential. Kings Highway also has a PATCO Speedline station, which connects it to Philadelphia on one side and Lindenwold on the other. The sidewalks of Kings Highway are usually busy with pedestrians. Several restaurants and cafes also put outdoor seating onto the sidewalk, which blends the boundaries between public and private space. This is especially apparent when Kings Highway is momentarily crowded, like when a group of runners or a protest passes through the outdoor seating, disturbing the diners and blocking the waitstaff. This is, however, well within the rights of those using the sidewalks. Other examples of this include annual festivals like the Craft Fair and the Fall Festival, where tents crowd not only the sidewalk but also the street, which is closed down from the PATCO station to Haddon Ave. Small businesses and artisans sell their wares in public space and everything becomes a shop. The closing of Kings Highway also happens during other events that actually expand the public space of the street. On New Year’s Eve, known as First Night, and during the series of summer concerts in King’s Court, the street is closed and opened entirely to pedestrians. In the terminology of Lynch’s The Image of the City, Kings Highway simultaneously has the features of a path, a node, and a district. It is a path in that it functions both as a street and a well-trafficked pedestrian sidewalk. It functions as a node in that it is a place of gathering and a connecting point of many paths. And it functions as a district in that it is an area with a specific purpose, namely commerce. Kings Highway also has several landmarks, including a large statue of a dinosaur which was discovered in the town, an ornate town clock, and plazas like Kings Court. This combination of features contributes to Kings Highway’s importance and popularity in town.