PHILADELPHIA NEIGHBORHOODS
Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. Each neighborhood is unique in its character. Below is a list of some of the historic neighborhoods in the city. The list is based on the neighborhood's architecture, historic past, and urban development.
Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. Each neighborhood is unique in its character. Below is a list of some of the historic neighborhoods in the city. The list is based on the neighborhood's architecture, historic past, and urban development.
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LIST OF HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN PHILADELPHIA
POWELTON VILLAGE
Where: West Philadelphia
Facts: Powelton Village is a beautiful victorian neighborhood in Philadelphia. It borders Drexel University and is in close distance to other institutions, both education and medical. This helps keeps the neighborhood racially and economically diverse. It is a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood with commercial development along Lancaster Avenue.
"Powelton Village was built on land that was held by two families: the Powel family and the Bingham-Baring family. The first houses were built in the Italianate style beginning in 1859-’60. Over the subsequent 50 years houses were built in Powelton in every important style of Victorian architecture. Because of this architectural diversity and its social history, Powelton Village was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985."
- http://poweltonvillage.org/history.html
Additional info:
http://poweltonvillage.org/
http://poweltonvillage.org/pvca.html
FRANKFORD
Where: Northeast Philadelphia
Facts: Frankford is a historic neighborhood in Philadelphia. The neighborhood played a key role in America's history. It was historically a manufacturing center with many mills and textile factories. Today, Frankford still remains rich in history.
"Frankford takes great pride in once having within its environs the palatial summer homes of prominent Philadelphians dating from the early 1700’s through the Revolutionary Period: Cedar Grove, Chalkley Hall, Waln Grove, and Port Royal. With the exception of Cedar Grove, now in Fairmount Park, these homes were destroyed to make way for industry. However, much of the Port Royal mansion was dismantled and reassembled at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware."
-Historical Society of Frankford
Additional Info:
http://thehistoricalsocietyoffrankford.org/
http://frankfordgazette.com/
GERMANTOWN Where: Northwest Philadelphia Facts: Germantown is one of America’s most historic neighborhoods. The housing stock in the neighborhood is extremely diverse. There are rowhomes, semi-attached homes, apartments, and large single homes. Germantown has played a significant role in American history; it was the birthplace of the American antislavery movement, the site of a Revolutionary War battle, and the temporary residence of George Washington. Germantown is rich in historic sites and buildings from the colonial era. "Germantown’s history has frequently been the subject of regional and national attention. Architects working on the Depression-era Historic American Buildings Survey began the path-breaking national survey of historic structures by examining twelve houses in Germantown. The National Park Service has served as a steward of one Germantown site (the Deshler Morris House) since 1948 and the National Trust for Historic Preservation of another (Cliveden) since 1972. From the 1950s to the 1970s, some of the nation’s top urban planners devoted their energies to devise solutions to Germantown’s economic decline and population loss mostly based on capitalizing on its historic assets. Today, the presence of fourteen historic sites testifies to a century’s worth of preservation efforts. Those museums, however, have not always been interested in producing new knowledge; rather they preserved how life was lived long ago." -David W. Young Historic Germantown: New Knowledge in a Very Old Neighborhood Additional info: http://www.germantownhistory.org/ http://www.freedomsbackyard.com/ http://givewings.com/germantown/index.html http://germantownunitedcdc.org/wp/ |
OLD CITY
Where: Center City Philadelphia
Facts: Old City is home to the oldest continually inhabited street in America, Elfreth's Alley. It is home to more than 3,000 people since 1702, and the street today holds 32 houses built between 1728 and 1836. The neighborhood is also home to Independence National Historical Park, Carpenters' Hall, the Betsy Ross House, and many of Philadelphia's other historic sites.
Additional info: http://www.oldcitydistrict.org/
Where: Center City Philadelphia
Facts: Old City is home to the oldest continually inhabited street in America, Elfreth's Alley. It is home to more than 3,000 people since 1702, and the street today holds 32 houses built between 1728 and 1836. The neighborhood is also home to Independence National Historical Park, Carpenters' Hall, the Betsy Ross House, and many of Philadelphia's other historic sites.
Additional info: http://www.oldcitydistrict.org/
CHESTNUT HILL
Where: Northwest Philadelphia
Facts: From the mid-19th century through the mid-20th, the neighborhood served as both a "railroad suburb" and a "streetcar suburb" of Center City; although it was part of Philadelphia, it was a leafy outlying part functioning as a bedroom community. Today, Chestnut Hill is known as one of the affluent neighborhoods in the city. The neighborhood contains a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century residential buildings by many of the most prominent Philadelphia architects. There are many beautiful mansions, green lawns, and tree lined streets in Chestnut Hill. Germantown Avenue is the main commercial corridor in the neighborhood.
"Germantown Avenue’s cobblestone blocks where trolleys once ran, feature shopping, antiques and dining of all sorts and are known for walk-ability and charm. Chestnut Hill was designated one of the top seven urban enclaves in the USA by Forbes.com and selected as a 2010 Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.Houses range from modest row houses to extensive mansions as well as architectural landmarks by Louis Kahn and Robert Venturi."
-Chestnut Hill Local
Additional info:
http://www.chestnuthillpa.com/
http://www.chhist.org/
Where: Northwest Philadelphia
Facts: From the mid-19th century through the mid-20th, the neighborhood served as both a "railroad suburb" and a "streetcar suburb" of Center City; although it was part of Philadelphia, it was a leafy outlying part functioning as a bedroom community. Today, Chestnut Hill is known as one of the affluent neighborhoods in the city. The neighborhood contains a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century residential buildings by many of the most prominent Philadelphia architects. There are many beautiful mansions, green lawns, and tree lined streets in Chestnut Hill. Germantown Avenue is the main commercial corridor in the neighborhood.
"Germantown Avenue’s cobblestone blocks where trolleys once ran, feature shopping, antiques and dining of all sorts and are known for walk-ability and charm. Chestnut Hill was designated one of the top seven urban enclaves in the USA by Forbes.com and selected as a 2010 Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.Houses range from modest row houses to extensive mansions as well as architectural landmarks by Louis Kahn and Robert Venturi."
-Chestnut Hill Local
Additional info:
http://www.chestnuthillpa.com/
http://www.chhist.org/
CHINATOWN
Where: Center City Philadelphia
Facts: There are restaurants serving Cantonese, Fujianese, Northern, Sichuan, and Taiwanese cuisine. Numerous restaurants in Philadelphia's Chinatown feature other Asian cuisines, such as Burmese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.
Additional Info:
http://chinatown-pcdc.org/
Where: Center City Philadelphia
Facts: There are restaurants serving Cantonese, Fujianese, Northern, Sichuan, and Taiwanese cuisine. Numerous restaurants in Philadelphia's Chinatown feature other Asian cuisines, such as Burmese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.
Additional Info:
http://chinatown-pcdc.org/
BELLA VISTA
Where: South Philadelphia
Facts: Annual festivals in the neighborhood include the Italian Market Festival and Bella Vista Festa. Arts and cultural events in Bella Vista are centered on public concerts, coffeehouses, Mew Gallery, and the Fleisher Art Memorial.
Additional Info:
http://bellavistaneighbors.org/home/#
Where: South Philadelphia
Facts: Annual festivals in the neighborhood include the Italian Market Festival and Bella Vista Festa. Arts and cultural events in Bella Vista are centered on public concerts, coffeehouses, Mew Gallery, and the Fleisher Art Memorial.
Additional Info:
http://bellavistaneighbors.org/home/#
Neighborhoods to be added: Roxborough, Spruce Hill, Northern Liberties, Rittenhouse Square, Manayunk , East Falls, Queen Village, Oak Lane, Winchester Park, University City, Society Hill, Fairmount, Mount Airy, Wynnefield, Fishtown, and so many more!