These include five of Philadelphia's remaining six streetcar lines. 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. Like the rest of the citys manufacturing sector, West Philadelphias industry enjoyed great diversity. Unlike the bucolic landscape of Stanfords park, the University City Science Center was to be located in the densely populated areas just north of the college campuses. MOVE, founded in 1972 by West Philadelphia native John Africa, was originally headquartered in the Powelton Village neighborhood. The community has a fair number of Afro-Caribbean/Caribbean American residents, from the Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados, and other areas of the West Indies, as well as a growing number of African immigrants. The Callowhill Depot built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to house their fleet of streetcars. 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. 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 Woodlands mansion and cemetery continue to operate today. Route 36 terminates in Southwest Philadelphia at Island Avenue west and 73rd Street, near the Philadelphia International Airport. The vintage year (e.g., V2022) refers to the final year of the series (2020 thru 2022). The group refused to leave and a year-long blockade followed. West Philadelphia did not exist until the middle of the nineteenth century. West Philadelphia is also served by five of SEPTA's thirteen Regional Rail Lines, which transport thousands of commuters daily to and from Center City and University City, and provide a quick and inexpensive link to the Philadelphia International Airport. Copyright 2000-2023 Location Inc. One of West Philadelphia's most prominent features is the "El", or SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line or Blue Line. Beginning in the 1990s, the University of Pennsylvania began a process of community engagement to help rebuild the surrounding neighborhoods by providing an unarmed security force in University City and establishing the university-affiliated Sadie Alexander School. Check out how our partner Point2 can help you generate more leads by making your listings and profile stand out. The two 77th Streets (as well as all numbered streets after 58th) are miles apart. Outbreaks of violence, like the 1844 Nativist Riots in Kensington and Southwark, exposed the Philadelphia police departments inability to police areas outside of center city, spurring calls for consolidation. The Black neighborhoods closest to the river, and therefore closest to Penn, tended to be those with the lowest income and the least political power. Photo: Lexey Swall/GRAIN for The Pew Charitable Trusts In 1963, four stone eagles were added to the bridge approaches after being salvaged from New York Citys recently demolished Penn Station. A series of wooden and iron bridges were constructed to replace it until the modern-era span was completed in 1932. The map below highlights areas of . Here, middle neighborhoods are places like East Mt. [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.". Airy, West Oak Lane, East Oak Lane, Rhawnhurst, Germantown, Mayfair, Tacony, Wynnefield and Olney. 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. After generating area maps from Google Maps,they added census boundaries and census tract labels as needed. Hamiltonville as a continuation of Penns grid in Philadelphia proper. New routes into the city aided this movement too, like the Chestnut Street bridge completed in 1866. They were also discouraged, by legal means or by violence, from immediately following the white population into the growing suburbs. Chinese and Koreans, were living in the Oxford Circle/Castor section of lower Northeast Philadelphia (ZIP code 19149), West Philadelphia (19104), and Chinatown (19106 . Professional, scientific, and technical services, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. Along with a decrease in crime and a trend toward urban living, most of University City underwent gentrification. 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. (Author information current at time of publication.). The majority race in Philadelphia overall is white at 62.2% of residents. Please note: Unemployment data updated November 2022. 1 Beds Bds; . Black Bottom was a traditionally black, working-class neighborhood along the Market Street corridor, between the Powelton Village and Mantua neighborhoods and the campuses of Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. These include mosques such as Masjid Al-Jamia, a Sunni Muslim institution at 4228 Walnut Street. The setback of these houses was 25 feet, allowing generous front yards. Similar homes for rent in Washington Square West, Philadelphia. U.S. District Court for the Eastern Dist. The main thoroughfare, Market Street, runs East and West, paralleled to the north and south by smaller streets named for tree species. The eastern side of West Philadelphia is also known as University City. The earliest developments began in 1850 and the final period of mass construction ended in 1930. Rodin, Judith. Initial development was divided into block lots and sold in 1852 with the condition that "substantial stone or brick buildings" be erected. It remained to be seen whether the ascendancy of the eastern section of West Philadelphia, where old industries and worker housing were giving way to new investment, would be enough to buoy the fortunes of the outlying, formerly middle class areas. During the 1940s, the Warriors drew crowds to the Philadelphia Arena at Forty-Fifth and Market Streets. Total Population 1,576,251. In May 1985, an attempt to evict MOVE again escalated to violence. It was purchased by the Woodlands Cemetery Company that year for use as a rural cemetery. 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. On Chestnut Street, Drexel Universitys WKDU regularly welcomed local talent into its studio for live events, as did WPEN, which lent its studio to college broadcasters. West Philadelphia High School's student population of 372 students has declined by 22% over five school years. Estimates are not comparable to other geographic levels due to methodology differences that may exist between different data sources. Often branded the 'Surekill Distressway,' the Schuylkill Expressway, connecting the Heart of Philadelphia to the northwestern suburbs, has been on of Pennsylvania's popular and congested highways. Since the mid-nineteenth century, West Philadelphia's fortunes have risen and fallen with shifts in transportation and demographics. The property was cut off from all city services, though sympathetic Philadelphians sometimes delivered food and other necessities. The original bridge, often called the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge, was first built with exposed trusses, but covered a few years after its completion with a wooden roof and walls adorned with sculptures by William Rush. Philadelphia's love affair with the bicycle began with its public debut at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, held in Fairmount Park. As the student body swelled in the first half of the nineteenth century, the center city campus was expanded and new buildings were constructed to replace the Presidents House, but the school still needed more space. St. Thomas More High School for Boys at 47th and Wyalusing Avenue was closed in 1975 and now houses the Sr Clara Muhammad School. 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. 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. Northsouth streets are numbered, rising consecutively from 30th Street at the Schuylkill River to 77th Street on the far western edge near Cobbs Creek and to the block-long 90th Street in Southwest Philadelphia near the airport. 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. Neither area proved popular at first, but as the city became more highly developed the lots began to sell. This process accelerated with the full extension of the Market-Frankford line in 1907, which boosted settlement, including that of immigrant and Black laborers living close to the line. Count. In 2014, President Barack Obama designated a swathe of West Philadelphia neighborhoods, including Mantua, as one of twenty-two national Promise Zones. 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 land that makes up West Philadelphia was not always part of the city. It stood divided, like much of the city and the country, between the haves and the have nots. 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 University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and Into the Streets. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015. An official website of the United States government. Population by Neighborhood in Philadelphia There are 158 neighborhoods that are fully or partially contained within Philadelphia (144 fully and 14 partially). 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. Our nationally-comparable school ratings are covered under US Patent No. Age Under 5 Years: 6.6% The process began during World War I, as Black migrants arrived in the city in increasing numbers. The Route 38 trolley, running from Wynfield to Center City via Belmont Avenue, and the Route 31 trolley, running from Overbrook to Center City via Haverford Avenue, were replaced by diesel buses when the Philadelphia Transportation Company transferred control of the trolley service to National City Lines. The demographic statistics presented here include all variables found in the "Comprehensive Reports" generated by Social Explorer for the census years since 1940. In 1854, the Act of Consolidation was signed, aligning Philadelphias borders with those of Philadelphia County. The second story, projecting, semi-hexagonal bay is incorporated into this design, an element which defines the later rowhouses. West Philadelphia's streets are laid out in a modified grid. It is situated directly across the Schuylkill River from Center City . In contrast, people younger than 25 and those older than 65 earn less, at $35,844 and $33,684, respectively. 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. top Male population 45.52% Female population 54.48% Citizen US Born 88.53% Citizen not US Born 5.24% Not Citizen 6.24% Moved from Abroad 0.94% Moved from Same County 9.19% Moved from Same State 2.37% Moved from Different State 3.65% Same House as Last Year 83.85% This postindustrial economic vise resulted in the kind of divestment and shadow economy dealings that blighted many other inner city neighborhoods. In two of West Philadelphias most infamous turns of events, a conflict between the urban black liberation organization MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department left people dead and many other West Philadelphia residents without homes. As of early 2017, large proposed developments in West Philadelphia include the 30th Street Station District and Schuylkill Yards. Foreign Born residents have immigrated to the United States from another country and may or may not be naturalized citizens. The street was unified by front yards, and enclosed by decorative iron fences. The city held public unwrappings in the nineteenth century and is home to several important collections, including the holdings of the Penn Museum. The North Philadelphia neighborhood, which straddles Germantown Avenue just west of Broad Street and Erie Avenue, has seen its population rise 4 percent (above the city's 1 percent increase), its housing prices rose 11 percent again above the citywide average. Data Tool U.S. and World Population Clock See U.S. population by date, region, age and sex, and the top 10 areas by people and density. The renowned Penn Relays draw high school and college track and field athletes from around the country. In the latter decades of the twentieth century West Philadelphia kept changing as the white population continued to drain out of the city. Elementary schools include Morton McMichael Elementary School and Lea Elementary School. Everything from printers and bakeries to slaughterhouses and mirror manufacturers dotted this slice of the landscape. Documentationon the census data and variables is available onSocial Explorer. West Philadelphia High School was one of the biggest and most diverse schools in state when it was opened in 1911. Per capita is the best measure of the average spending power of each person in the city. These are the most common groups that city residents self-reported as their ancestry. Another major transit link in West Philadelphia are the five Subway Surface Lines, often called the Green Lines for their representation on SEPTA route maps. The group resurfaced in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood in 1981 and was again the subject of neighborhood complaints. 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. By the 1840s developers in Philadelphia, which was the second-largest city in the United States at the time, were already looking beyond the Schuylkill for fresh land. 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. The decision tarnished Penns community relations for many years to follow, especially as the University City Science Center failed to promptly live up to the universitys lofty goals. 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. In the following decade, farther to the east, general violence continued to rise, as it did in the rest of the country. For a detailed map and demographic statistics for a specific census tract, click on a tract number in the map or as listed below: Abraham Browers innovative omnibus service, introduced to Philadelphia in 1831, allowed new settlers speedy access into the central city. West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. A plethora of recreational bike trails and a bike sharing program provide cyclists with new options in the twenty first century. The then-scion of the family, William Hamilton (1745-1813), established the estates Georgian mansion and laid out. Throughout the eighteenth century much of what would become West Philadelphia remained sparsely populated farmland. Statistics are provided for West Philadelphia as a whole and by individual census tract. The decline of the neighborhoods after World War II allowed many of these old homes to be preserved by neglect as they were not under the pressures of more central neighborhoods to develop during the urban renewal movement of the mid-twentieth century. 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.