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Lawncrest is a neighborhood in the "Near" (lower) Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name is an amalgam of Lawndale and Crescentville, the two primary communities that make up the neighborhood. [1] The Philadelphia Inquirer does not consider Lawncrest to be a neighborhood. [2]
The primary ZIP Code is 19111 (Fox Chase Post Office) for the area North of Comly Street and 19120 (Olney P.O.) for the area South of Comly Street. Most of the southern end of the Community is actually built on the former property of the Wentz Farm. Portions of the East side of Crescentville are actually built over former swamp land, while the West side was built on more stable bedrock.Rising Sun Avenue (formerly 2nd Street Pike) is usually identified as the main artery through Lawncrest, though originally, Ashmead Road/Levick Street was the primary Road.
The neighborhood of Lawncrest has many distinct borders. Lawncrest is one of the largest neighborhoods; bordering Cottman Ave to the north, Oxford Ave and then Castor Ave to the east, Frankford Creek and Tacony Creek to the south and southwest, and finally the Lawndale and Cheltenham train stations and train tracks to the west. Lawncrest is bordered by the neighborhoods of Fox Chase to the north, Oxford (Oxford Circle) to the east, Frankford to the southeast, Feltonville to the south, Olney to the west, and Cheltenham to the northwest. It is also important to note the current population of Lawncrest (as of 2024), is 17519.
Swedes and Germans settled the area as early as 1638. [3]
The community can trace its roots back to the 19th century as a small German community known to some as Marburg. Parts of Crescentville were known as "Grubbtown" during the Civil War. The main artery of the community, Rising Sun Avenue, was originally a toll road known as the Kensington & Oxford Turnpike. A sole remaining marker of this toll road once stood in front of the Engine 64 Firehouse at Rising Sun and Benner, near the bus stop.
The area of Lawncrest extends from Tacony Creek Park to Cottman Avenue. Adjacent neighborhoods include: Fox Chase/Burholme to the north, Oxford Circle/Castor Gardens and Frankford to the east and southeast, and Olney, and Feltonville to the south and southwest. To the West is Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County.
The Newtown Branch/New York Short Line of the Reading Railroad (now SEPTA/CSX) separates Lawncrest from Montgomery County. Tookany/Tacony Creek also skirts through a portion of the Community.
Two SEPTA Fox Chase Line Regional Rail stations serve the community: Lawndale Station at Robbins and Newtown Aves and Cheltenham Station at Martins Mill Road and Hasbrook Ave. Crescentville Station, closed in the 1970s, was located at the bottom of Godfrey Ave, behind Bond Bread and was nothing more than a dirt/gravel platform. A second Crescentville Station, which served the Frankford Branch of the Reading RR, was located directly behind the Bond Bread building on the south side of the railroad right of way. It was closed when passenger service ended on that branch in the 1930s.
Several SEPTA bus lines also serve the community. The route 18 bus runs from Cedarbrook Mall–Olney Terminal up to Fox Chase using Rising Sun, while the routes 19, 24, 26 and 67 buses serve the Eastern portions of the neighborhood, connecting to the Olney, Frankford and Fern Rock Transportation Centers via direct service or single transfer. All routes have connecting service to the Broad Street subway and Market-Frankford elevated lines.
There are about a dozen Protestant Churches within the community, the oldest being Trinity Oxford Church which dates back to 1698.
St. William's Parish, founded in 1920, covers most of the Crescentville end of the community and part of the lower end of Lawndale, from Magee Avenue South, while the upper end of Lawndale approximately covers the area of Presentation B.V.M. Parish which was founded in 1890 and also serves a large portion of the southeast corner of Cheltenham PA, in Montgomery County.
Originally known as Hill Creek Project. The public housing project was built on 23.4 acres during Franklin Roosevelts Administration was opened in March 1938, purportedly the last such project built during his administration. Located on a hill overlooking the Tookany Creek in North East Philadelphia on the corner of Rising Sun and Adams Avenues. In the area known as Lawncrest Administered by the Philadelphia Public Housing Authority, it has 334 units of single-family, two-story apartments and provides Section 8 (housing) for low-income families. [4] [5]
According to Kathleen McDonough, who grew up in the area, "Households were typically ones in which dad worked and mom stayed home." [6]
The Lawncrest area is a neighborhood locally known as the “9” with gang culture around the neighborhood. Lawncrest is known for its deadly rivalry with other neighborhoods like Olney, Philadelphia.[ citation needed ]
Lawncrest is in the School District of Philadelphia, and most teens[ citation needed ] who live in Lawncrest attend either Northeast High School (public), or Samuel Fels High School (public). Two public elementary schools served the area - Ben Franklin Universal Creighton Charter School, the Truebright Science Academy (a charter school grades 7–12). The community also hosts Presentation BVM Parish School and Cedar Grove Christian Academy (in the former Lawndale Public School building) serve the private sector in education. St. William Parish School Closed in 2012 and is now the location of MaST II Charter School. Until 1991, students attended Olney High School.[ citation needed ]
McDonough stated that children who attended public and Catholic schools were known as a "public" or a "Catholic", respectively, and that children tended to attend schools in their own communities. [6]
The Naval Inventory Control Point is located at 700 Robbins St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111. [7]
Fox Chase is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending on how the area is defined. The Northeast is known as being home to a large and diverse working class population, including Polish, German, Jewish, Russian, African American, Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Guatemalan, Ukrainian, Indian, Chinese, Irish, and Vietnamese neighborhoods.
Frankford is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles (10 km) northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankford Creek on the south to Castor Avenue on the northwest and southwest, to Cheltenham Avenue on the north, and to Aramingo Avenue and I-95 on the east. Adjacent neighborhoods are Bridesburg, Juniata, Northwood, Summerdale, and Wissinoming.
Olney is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia. It is roughly bounded by Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Tacony Creek to the east, Godfrey Avenue to the north, and the railroad right-of-way west of 7th Street to the west.
Rhawnhurst is a residential neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, named for George and William Rhawn by area real estate developers. Roughly bordered by Cottman Avenue to the south, Pennway Street to the west, the Pennypack Creek to the north, and Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, Rhawnhurst encompasses ZIP codes 19152 and part of ZIP code 19111. The geographic center of Rhawnhurst is at the intersection of Castor Avenue and Rhawn Street.
Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from today's Frankford, Philadelphia neighborhood.
Feltonville is a working-class neighborhood in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located east of Logan and Hunting Park, west of Lawncrest and Juniata, south of Olney, and north of Fairhill and Harrowgate. Feltonville is bounded by Erie Avenue to the south, Front Street to the west, Roosevelt Boulevard to the north, Tacony Creek to the northeast, and G Street to the east.
Juniata is a working class, predominantly Hispanic and Caucasian neighborhood in North Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Juniata is located south of the Juniata Golf Club in Tacony Creek Park. It is bordered to the east by Frankford, to the west by Feltonville, and to the south by Harrowgate and Port Richmond. The neighborhood is bordered by G Street to the west, Juniata Park to the north, Tacony Creek to the east, and by SEPTA rail tracks to the south. Juniata shares the ZIP code of 19124 with the nearby neighborhood of Frankford.
Wingohocking Creek was once a major tributary of another Philadelphia, Pennsylvania stream, Frankford Creek, which flows into the Delaware River. Frankford Creek was formed by the confluence of Wingohocking Creek and Tacony Creek. Since Wingohocking Creek is now obliterated, having been piped underground in the late 19th century, it can be confusing to look at a modern map, which shows Tacony Creek suddenly changing names "in the middle of the stream," so to speak, and becoming Frankford Creek. The point at which the name changes is near the present intersection of I and Ramona Streets, where the Wingohocking once joined the Tacony to form the Frankford Creek. What was once a major stream and the site of many mills and factories has been completely wiped off the map—all but the city's sewer maps, that is. The outlet of the Wingohocking Sewer is the largest in the Philadelphia sewer system, about 24 feet (7.3 m) high. It is visible from various points in the Juniata neighborhood and the adjoining golf course.
Oxford Circle is a neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its namesake is the much used traffic circle at Roosevelt Boulevard and Oxford Avenue. The Oxford Circle neighborhood has traditionally included the areas up to Rhawnhurst and Mayfair but does not really have a fixed boundary, other than in publications about Philadelphia which are of a public relations or informational nature.
Wissinoming is a neighborhood in the Near Northeast section of Philadelphia, United States. It was the site of locomotive builder Matthias Baldwin's estate "Wissinoming", which was located near Tacony and Van Kirk Streets. The current Wissinoming is bordered by Mayfair on the west and Tacony on the north, Bridesburg on the south, I-95 and the Delaware River on the east, and Frankford on the southwest. Wissinoming has two ZIP codes: 19124 and 19135. Physical boundaries are: Levick Street on the north, Bridge Street on the south, I-95 and the Delaware River on the east, and Frankford Avenue on the west.
Pennsylvania Route 232 (PA 232) is a 25.2-mile-long (40.6 km) state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/US 13 at the Oxford Circle in Philadelphia. The northern terminus is at PA 32 in the borough of New Hope, Bucks County, on the banks of the Delaware River. The route passes through the urban areas of Northeast Philadelphia as Oxford Avenue, serving the Lawncrest, Burholme, and Fox Chase neighborhoods. Upon entering Montgomery County, PA 232 becomes Huntingdon Pike and through suburban areas, serving the communities of Rockledge, Huntingdon Valley, and Bryn Athyn. The route passes through more suburban development in Bucks County as Second Street Pike, running through Southampton and Richboro. In Wrightstown Township, PA 232 enters rural areas and becomes Windy Bush Road as it heads north to New Hope.
Pennsylvania Route 73 (PA 73) is a 62.32-mile (100.29 km) long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from PA 61 near Leesport southeast to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River in Philadelphia, where the road continues south as New Jersey Route 73. The route passes through rural areas of Berks County, crossing U.S. Route 222 (US 222) in Maiden Creek before heading southeast through Oley and Boyertown. PA 73 continues into Montgomery County and intersects PA 100 in Gilbertsville and PA 29 in Schwenksville before it heads into the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia. The route passes through Skippack and intersects US 202 in Center Square, PA 309 in Springfield Township, and PA 611 near Jenkintown. PA 73 continues through Northeast Philadelphia on Cottman Avenue, crossing US 1 and US 13 before coming to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) near the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge.
St. William Parish is a Catholic church founded in January 1920 in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania, neighborhood of Lawncrest. The parish originally served 70 households. The Parish elementary school was opened in 1924.
Crescentville is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, United States. It is located in the vicinity of Adams, Rising Sun, and Tabor Avenues. The name Crescentville is thought to be derived from the Crescentville Rope Factory that once stood along the Tookany Creek watershed.
Lawndale is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located near Rising Sun and Oxford avenues and is south of Cottman Avenue.
Route 50 is a former streetcar line that was operated by SEPTA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cheltenham Avenue is a major east-west road in Philadelphia and its suburbs. It is served by SEPTA bus routes, trolleys, regional rail, and subway. Cheltenham Avenue is an unsigned quadrant route in Montgomery County. It serves as the border between Springfield and Cheltenham townships. A section of the road along the Philadelphia border with Cheltenham Township is part of PA Route 309.
Cheltenham Township is a home rule municipality and Township of the First Class located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township and Jenkintown to the north, and Springfield Township to the west.
Combination of Lawndale and Crescentville
The following "lesser known" neighborhoods were listed in 1988 but are not currently: ... Lawncrest (in Northeast Philly) ...