Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015. The Airport Line serves University City at University City Station in the University of Pennsylvania, going on to southernmost Southwest Philadelphia and the airport. Much of West Philadelphias housing stock was built on speculation during the nineteenth century, when revolutions in transportation allowed wealthier citizens to live outside of the crowded city center but still commute in for work. By the early twenty-first century West Philadelphia was about as populous as it had been in 1910, having lost more than a hundred thousand residents after 1950. A pivotal factor in the development of West Philadelphia was the construction of the University of Pennsylvanias campus. In 1900 West Philadelphia had 148,548 residents, in 1910 the number grew to 247,928, and by 1920 there were 359,601. The new bridge spurred growth, prompting a network of industries, including stockyards, lumber mills, slaughterhouses, coal yards, foundries, and glass factories to serve the city across the river. In the twenty-first century, portions near the University of Pennsylvania, in particular, enjoyed a resurgence. By the 1930s one of the more notable developments in West Philadelphia was the growing number of Black residents and the discriminatory pressures that boxed them into an intensely segregated area stretching south to Market Street, west to Fifty-Ninth Street, and bounded to the north and east by the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the river beyond it. Every day, thousands of vehicles travel this route, which is one of the major commuter routes into and out of Philadelphia from Delaware and Chester Counties. These include five of Philadelphia's remaining six streetcar lines. Other major thoroughfares include Chestnut and Walnut Streets, which together form Pennsylvania Route 3. The Woodlands Cemetery, which is located near the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was originally the estate of Andrew Hamilton who bought the property in 1735 from descendants of Blockley Township's founder, William Warner, who hailed from Brockley, England. During this period, the university adopted the moniker University City for the surrounding neighborhoods. It was purchased by the Woodlands Cemetery Company that year for use as a rural cemetery. Later renamed the Civic Center Museum, it closed in 1994. Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2017-2021. In 1872 the university moved to a new campus near Spruce and Thirty-Fourth Streets in West Philadelphia. American Community Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Education, 50 state departments of education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Geological Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service. One of West Philadelphia's most prominent features is the "El", or SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line or Blue Line. The property was cut off from all city services, though sympathetic Philadelphians sometimes delivered food and other necessities. . West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Police bombarded the home with water cannons and teargas, and the sides exchanged gunfire. Jake Blumgart is a reporter for WHYYs PlanPhilly. "Match Any Neighborhood" calculates the Match Level of one neighborhood to another using more than 200 characteristics of each neighborhood. After 1880 the larger houses closer to the river and the university, which dated to earlier in the century, began to be carved into smaller units. Count. For the next half century at least, West Philadelphia largely became a suburb in the cityabetted by a series of advances in transportation technology, starting with the horsecars of the 1850s. As West Philadelphias population climbed in the 1920s to the point that would have ranked it the nineteenth most-populous city in the United States, ambitions for the area soared. The district still had fewer than a hundred thousand people in 1890, but every new census revealed meteoric growth. Developers found they could increase profits by catering to this emerging group, shrinking lot sizes, and building more compact, less ornate houses. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and the SEPTA Media/Wawa Line to the south. By 1950, West Philadelphia had lost a quarter of its Irish-American and 11 percent of its Italian-American population, while the African American population increased by 72 percent. Allegheny West. The demographic statistics for this exhibit have been compiled fromSocial Explorerby the staff of theUniversity Archivesof theUniversity of Pennsylvania. of Pa. U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library, National Museum of American Jewish History, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Philadelphia&oldid=1128789657, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox settlement with no coordinates, Articles needing additional references from July 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles to be expanded from December 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2009, Articles needing additional references from December 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Non-Hispanic Black or African-American: 164,921 (76.2%), Non-Hispanic White/European: 37,010 (17.1%), This page was last edited on 22 December 2022, at 00:50. After several high-profile murders of Penn graduate students living in the mixed- race neighborhoods beyond the campus borders, which had lost much of their white population during the 1990s, the university began to again be active in the community. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}395833N 751246W / 39.975709N 75.2129W / 39.975709; -75.2129. The 77th Street in Overbrook is not contiguous with the 77th Street in the column of streets that ends with 90th Street in Southwest Philadelphia. Total Population 1,576,251. Meanwhile, in many neighborhoods on the border of Delaware County and elsewhere, conditions worsened during the Great Recession and the subsequent decimation of the public sector workforce. The earliest developments began in 1850 and the final period of mass construction ended in 1930. Users should exercise caution when comparing 2017-2021 ACS 5-year estimates to other ACS estimates. By 1840, the tract was only ninety-two acres. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011. Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy, TheEncyclopedia It holds the graves of many famous Philadelphians. Mummies have captured the imagination and sparked the curiosity of Philadelphians since the Colonial Era. Then on the far bank of the Schuylkill, port and mercantile infrastructure began to build up at this westward point of entry to the city. The Philadelphia Social History Project (PSHP) was an interdisciplinary project that played a central role in transforming the study of urban and social history by creating a computerized database to study the effect of industrialization and urbanization on Philadelphias minority populations between 1838 and 1880. Initial development was divided into block lots and sold in 1852 with the condition that "substantial stone or brick buildings" be erected. High school sports programs began in the nineteenth century in Greater Philadelphia. The intersection of 52nd Street and Market Street in West Philadelphia was listed number eight in a 2007 list of the city's top ten recreational drug corners according to an article by Philadelphia Weekly reporter Steve Volk. The device ignited fuel in a generator on the roof, causing a fire that spread through the neighborhood. Since the dawn of rail transportation, Philadelphia has been home to a number of grand railroad stations. Under the guidance of university president Judith Rodin (b. . It stood divided, like much of the city and the country, between the haves and the have nots. In the 1960s and 1970s, illuminated signs announced what speed to drive to travel 4.3 miles into Center City without stopping for a red light. A major wagon route, Lancaster Pike, ran through the area, and in 1805 the first permanent bridge was built over the Schuylkill at Market Street. St. Thomas More High School for Boys at 47th and Wyalusing Avenue was closed in 1975 and now houses the Sr Clara Muhammad School. Social Explorer was created by a group of New York demographers to provide online access to U.S. socioeconomic data from a variety of sources, including the United States Census. As a consequence, large swaths of the area became deteriorated and underpopulated, despite a vibrant Black political and cultural scene and, in the twenty-first century, a resurgent higher education and medical cluster. White 1 Hispanic 2 Black Asian Mixed 1 Other 1 -42.4% 35.3% 77.7% +6.3% 12.4% 6.12% +31.8% 42.9% 11.0% +3.8% 6.90% 3.14% +0.3% 2.05% 1.71% +0.2% 0.53% 0.28% 1 non-Hispanic 2 excluding black and Asian Hispanics Relative Ethno-Racial Composition by Age #3 The resulting explosion sparked a conflagration that consumed much of the block and killed eleven people. In Elegy (for MOVE and Philadelphia), Philadelphia poet and playwright Sonia Sanchez questions the paradoxical nature of a city that seemingly set itself and its people ablaze near Sixty-Second Street and Osage Avenue. However, the Paoli/Thorndale does not stop anywhere between 30th Street and City Line Avenue, instead bypassing most of West Philadelphia ever since the closure of 52nd Street station. By the end of the 1920s, 220,000 African Americans lived in Philadelphia, and they desperately needed housing beyond the older Black ghetto in North Philadelphia. In 1831, horse-drawn omnibus services were established in the city and some lines ran over the recently built Market Street Bridge into West Philadelphia, but it was not until they were replaced by horse-drawn streetcars in 1850 that development began in earnest. University Archives staff members Mary D. McConaghy and Michael L. Ellerson gathered these statistical tables from the professional version of Social Explorerthen edited them for use here. Philadelphia was at the forefront of the early nursing profession and its prestigious nursing schools set new standards for professionalism in the field. The Black residents of West Philadelphia were forced to contend with redlining and other discriminatory practices that limited access to capital and higher-paid employment for many residents. The highest numbered street to run any considerable distance contiguously is 58th Street, which runs from the northern frontier of West Philadelphia at City Avenue south to the Schuylkill River. In the period after World War II, many white residents and industrial jobs left the city for its suburbs, leaving in their wake overwhelmingly black communities with few employment opportunities. (For example, 84th Street becomes Hook Road when it crosses into Sharon Hill.) [8], The area gained some fame through the DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince song "Yo Home to Bel-Air", which became the theme song to the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in which Wynnefield native Will Smith raps, "In West Philadelphia, born and raised.". Unlike standardly available Census demographics, NeighborhoodScout uses dozens of custom models to transform 8.5 million raw demographic data elements from government sources into proprietary indices and insights. Community groups have called on SEPTA to reopen closed Regional Rail stations in areas further away from the Market-Frankford Line and the Broad Street Line. The upgrades to campus were impressive. Largely commissioned by speculative developers and designed by some of the city's most prolific architects, they were purchased by industrial managers and other professionals who led the first movement of upper and middle class from the more crowded city center. Most recently many of these retail districts with the exception of 52nd Street have been converted to largely residential areas. The building, which still sports a large satellite dish on its roof, is now home to the West Philadelphia Enterprise Center. Starting with the first wave of Irish immigrants in the early 19th century, West Philadelphia was home to large numbers of European immigrants and their descendants. Rows of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style houses were built much further from the city center in neighborhoods like Cedar Park and Kingsessing and commercial corridors developed down streets like Baltimore Avenue and Fifty-Second Street. The construction of the University City Science Center required the demolition of the residential Black Bottom neighborhood in the 1960s. We apologize for the inconvenience. First, census tracts may vary from census year to census year, both with regards to boundaries and numbering. This photograph is from a street festival on Baltimore Avenue in the Cedar Park section of University City. Development was enabled by the creation of the horsecar, which pushed development to about 43rd Street, and, after the arrival of the electrified streetcar in 1892, accelerated to the west and southwest.[2]. Both College Hall and the library remain standing and are West Philadelphia landmarks. Estimates are not comparable to other geographic levels due to methodology differences that may exist between different data sources. Some, like the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing, continue to educate men and women in the field. Measuring America's People, Places, and Economy. In 1923 the Philadelphia Bulletin estimated that at least half the population of the district commuted in to center city every day. QuickFacts provides frequently requested Census Bureau information at the national, state, county, and city level. The NBC drama American Dreams is set in West Philadelphia in the mid-1960s. On the morning of August 8, 1978, Mayor Frank Rizzo ordered police to enter the property by force. After years of neighbor complaints regarding the group loudly broadcasting political messages and neglecting its children, MOVE was ordered to leave the property. An additional but smaller and less ornate 16 Italianate, brownstone, semi-detached houses, similar in form to the initial houses, were built around Chester Avenue. Farther west, African American neighborhoods tended to be more stable, with larger populations of public sector workers and private sector white collar workers, but that was little comfort to the displaced residents of Black Bottom. What resulted was a collection of Colonial Revival houses with Arts and Crafts influences, which reflect the sophisticated tastes of post-World War I Philadelphians. 1 Baths Ba; 320 S. 10th Street. The streets were once lined with American Chestnut and walnut trees that touched across the five lanes of roadway, but many were removed due to Chestnut blight and replaced with a mix of sycamore and poplar trees. A few large estates were built during this time as well, most notably the Hamilton familys Woodlands with its iconic Georgian mansion and that of John Bartram (1699-1777), the renowned botanist and Quaker who cultivated extensive gardens along the banks of the Schuylkill. Total Population by Neighborhood#5 16.5%. 2023 University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, The West Philadelphia Community History Center is sponsored by the, University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center. A map showing West Philadelphia in relation to the rest of the city. 1944), who was born and raised in West Philadelphia, Penn promised to not repeat the aggressive steps taken in the 1950s and 1960s. West Philadelphia was also the home of American Bandstand, the popular dance show that launched the career of host Dick Clark and turned some local high school students into teen idols. This is how city residents have self-reported their race and ethnicity to the US Census. Asian and Hispanic residents may identify with one of the more specific subcategories. For more than 150 years streetcars have served the Philadelphia area and helped Center City Philadelphia retain its commercial, retail, and entertainment supremacy in an ever-expanding region. ofGreaterPhiladelphia. Marsh, Margaret. Much of the vacancy and crime that blighted West Philadelphia could be found in these areas, which were still cut off from legitimate employment and capital markets. 1960 Census 1970 Census 1980 Census 1990 Census 2000 Census 2010 Census 2010 Census Tracts The demographic statistics for this exhibit have been compiled from Social Explorer by the staff of the University Archives of the University of Pennsylvania. The student body continued to grow into the twentieth century and by 1900 the campus had expanded to thirty buildings including dormitories, laboratories, and the Frank Furness-designed library shown at left in this postcard. 1 non-Hispanic 2 excluding black and Asian Hispanics. Population by Neighborhood in Philadelphia There are 158 neighborhoods that are fully or partially contained within Philadelphia (144 fully and 14 partially). Apartment buildingsunusual in this row-house-dominated citybegan to spring up as well. [citation needed] Harrity Elementary School is a district-owned school operated by Mastery Charter Schools.[6]. But farther from the university in other West Philadelphia neighborhoods, like Kingsessing and Cobbs Creek on the Delaware County line, conditions stagnated or worsened as the Great Recession eliminated many public sector jobs. The renowned Penn Relays draw high school and college track and field athletes from around the country. A handful of chestnut trees remain near Cobbs Creek. The introduction of electric streetcars in the 1890s further altered the area, as those with more resources moved farther out, leaving behind a more broadly based middle class. Finally, note that Social Explorer has included in its Comprehensive Reports most, but not all, of the variables available for each census year. Promise Zones are advertised as entities organized to "leverage federal resources to increase economic activity and opportunity, create jobs, improve education and reduce violent crime. Here, middle neighborhoods are places like East Mt. Other high schools include University City High School; William L. Sayre High School, formerly Sayre Middle School; Robert E. Lamberton High School; Mastery Charter Shoemaker Campus, formerly William Shoemaker Middle School; and Overbrook High School. From designs evoking Greek temples built at the dawn of the automobile age to the ubiquitous utilitarian structures of the twenty-first century, gas stations have become a fixture of the Philadelphia area's landscape. Modeled after the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition in London, the Centennial Exhibition in 1876 exhibited national pride and belief in the importance of education and progress through industrial innovation. With firefighters fearful of being fired upon, the blaze was allowed to burn. The area's public schools are operated by the School District of Philadelphia. The vintage year (e.g., V2022) refers to the final year of the series (2020 thru 2022). Most of these passenger trips originate outside of the city, but more West Philly residents are using SEPTA's multi-ride "Transpass"[citation needed], which allows unlimited rides on SEPTA vehicles within the city limits. People who identify as black are most likely to be living in the central places. Scope: population of Philadelphia and Allegheny West. West Philadelphia is the home to several universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and Saint Joseph's University. A series of wooden and iron bridges were constructed to replace it until the modern-era span was completed in 1932. The Big 5, an association of local college basketball programs, played at the University of Pennsylvania's Palestra arena from the time of its formation until 1986. No representation, guarantee or warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information modified or aggregated for specific neighborhoods and/or zip codes. 47, No. During a confrontation at the fortified compound of the anarcho-primitivist group MOVE in 1985, the police attempted to drop a high explosive on a bunker atop the radicals home. Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram Persons per household, 2017-2021. The teacher population of 32 teachers has declined by 17% over five school years. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. West Philadelphia was among the early streetcar suburbs, and a portion of it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb Historic District. Age is classified into groups; each percentage listed is that groups percentage of the total population. Residents aged 25 to 44 earn $47,072, while those between 45 and 64 years old have a median wage of $59,126. (Author information current at time of publication.). During the 1940s, the Warriors drew crowds to the Philadelphia Arena at Forty-Fifth and Market Streets. The city held public unwrappings in the nineteenth century and is home to several important collections, including the holdings of the Penn Museum. This set the living pattern apart from its counterparts in North and South Philadelphia, where row houses were interspersed with factories and warehouses. This gradual elevation makes the skyline of Center City visible from many points in West Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Neighborhood Map Area: 0.192 square miles Population: 2,019 Population density: 1,660 71.5% Black 231 9.9% White 173 7.4% Hispanic or Latino 147 6.3% Asian 64 2.8% American Indian 48 2.1% Two or more races Median household income in 2019: Distribution of median household income 198 Less than $10,000 169 $10,000 to $19,999