Mount Airy | |
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 Daniel Billmeyer House on Germantown Avenue | |
  Mount Airy | |
| Coordinates: 40°03′58″N75°11′02″W / 40.066°N 75.184°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia County |
| City | Philadelphia |
| ZIP Code | 19119 |
| Area code(s) | 215, 267, and 445 |
Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, which is part of Fairmount Park. Beyond this lies Chestnut Hill. On the west side is the Wissahickon Gorge, which is also part of Fairmount Park, beyond which lies Roxborough and Manayunk. Germantown borders the southeast of Mount Airy, and Stenton Avenue marks the northeast border. Beyond Stenton Avenue is Cedarbrook (which is considered to be part of Mount Airy by some) and West Oak Lane.
The USPS does not officially correlate neighborhood names to Philadelphia ZIP Codes, each of which is called "Philadelphia" or "Phila". [1] However, the 19119 ZIP code is almost entirely coterminous with the cultural-consensus boundaries of Mount Airy. [2] [3] [4]
There is no official boundary between Mount Airy and Germantown. The most common consensus is that Johnson Street is the de facto boundary; however, the West Mount Airy Neighbors and East Mount Airy Neighbors organizations consider Washington Lane to be Mount Airy's southern edge. [2] The question is moot, however, as the two neighborhoods blend together very gradually. Historically, the entire area was part of the German Township. Many buildings in Mount Airy carry the identity and even the name of Germantown in one way or another. For example, the Unitarian Society of Germantown, the Germantown Jewish Centre, the Germantown Christian Assembly, and the Germantown Montessori School are all in Mount Airy, yet also belong culturally to Germantown. Parts of the Battle of Germantown in 1777 occurred throughout Mount Airy. [2] The special relationship linking the two has its roots in the time before the Act of Consolidation, when Germantown was a borough separate from the City of Philadelphia, and its rural environs were what is now Mount Airy. [2]
William Allen, a prominent Philadelphia merchant and Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, created his summer estate and mansion on Germantown Avenue at Allens Lane in 1750, and the area eventually took the building's name, Mount Airy, as its own. [3] Before this, the area which makes up the modern neighborhood of Mount Airy was part of two sections of the original Germantown Township (which covered all of Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill), Cresheim and Beggarstown.
The village or Dorfshaft of Krisheim (also known as Cresheim) has its origins in the original land divisions of Germantown Township in 1689. [5] It was a section of the township that was allotted to a group of original Germantown settlers who acquired rights to land either directly or indirectly from William Penn. It covered the area from Stenton to Wissahickon Avenues and from Mermaid Lane to roughly Sedgwick Street. The name is derived from a town known today as Kriegsheim in the Palatine in Germany which was the hometown of a few German Quaker families who had settled in Germantown in the 1680s. Throughout much of the 18th century, this area of Germantown Township was known in the land and tax records as simply Cresheim or Cresham. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that the name Mount Airy began to replace Cresheim. [6]
Beggarstown (also Beggars-town or Beggar Town), an area centered along Germantown Avenue between Gorgas Lane and Cliveden Street, was formed out of the so-called "Sidelands" of Germantown. The Sidelands were a section of Germantown Township that had been set aside so that the owners of lots in the center of Germantown could have access to an equal share of land in the entire village of Germantown section of Germantown Township. The portion from which Beggarstown grew covered the area from Upsal Street to roughly Sedgwick Street, Stenton Avenue, and Wissahickon Avenue. As the Germantown village filled up, settlers began to move northwest along Germantown Avenue. By the 1730s and 1740s, the Sidelands area was subdivided into smaller house lots. An account published in 1770 states that the area received its name as a result of its first resident's begging for money to build his house, which later became the home of the Germantown Church of the Brethren. The name for this area disappeared by the late 19th century, and it was sometimes called Pelham, Germantown, or Mount Airy.
Much of modern Mount Airy was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spreading out from Germantown Avenue and two railroad lines. Large three-story, gray-stone Victorian, colonial revival, and Norman and Cotswold-style houses and mansions, with stained glass windows and slate roofs, are situated on many of the area's tree-lined streets. They dominated districts like West Mount Airy's Pelham section (a Wendell and Smith development from the 1890s), East Mount Airy's Gowen Avenue (the James Gowen Estate development from the 1880s), Sedgwick Farms (an Ashton S. Tourison development from 1905), and Stenton (a Frank Mauran development from 1905) areas.
As of the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey, [7] Mount Airy had 29,206 residents.
Of those residents, 57.4% were Black or African-American, 33.2% White/Caucasian, 2.8% Hispanic, 1.3% Asian, and 5.3% were from other races or from 2 or more races.
There were 12,564 households. 50.5% of households were married couples living together, 21.2% had a female householder, 7.2% had a male householder, and 21.1% were non-families. The average household size was 2.3.
Of Mount Airy's residents, 19.5% were under the age of 18 and 19% were 65 years and over. The median age was 42 years. 54.4% of residents were female. 45.6% of residents were male.
The median household income was $72,685 and the per capita income was $48,997.
The area is recognized by many civil rights groups as one of the first successfully integrated neighborhoods in America. [8] [9] Mount Airy residents organized to resist blockbusting, panic selling, and redlining, especially during the period from the late 1950s to the early 1970s when those practices were prevalent. [10] [11] It continues to be a well-blended neighborhood and was cited in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine for its racial diversity and neighborhood appeal. The community has also been recognized by U.S. News & World Report for racial harmony and balance. [12]
The School District of Philadelphia operates area public schools. Zoned K–5 schools serving sections of Mt. Airy include the Eleanor C. Emlen School. Zoned K–8 schools serving sections of Mt. Airy include Charles W. Henry School, Henry H. Houston School, and the Anna L. Lingelbach School. [13] Residents assigned to Henry, Houston, and/or Lingelbach are also zoned to Roxborough High School; [14] they were previously zoned to Germantown High School. [15] Other nearby schools include Academy for the Middle Years, Parkway High School, and Martin Luther King High School. [13]
West Oak Lane Charter School and Wissahickon Charter School are two Mt. Airy area K–8 charter schools. Charter schools in nearby Germantown include Imani Education Circle Charter School (K–8), Germantown Settlement Charter School (5–8), Renaissance Charter School (6–8), and Delaware Valley Charter High School (9–12). [13]
Private schools in Mount Airy include Blair Christian Academy (PreK–12), Revival Hill Christian High School (9–12), Islamic Day School of Philadelphia (PreK–5), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK–8), Project Learn School (K–8), Classroom on Carpenter Lane (K–2), and Holy Cross School (K–8), a parochial school. Private schools in nearby Germantown include the Green Tree School (special education, ages 6–21), Germantown Friends School (K–-12), William Penn Charter School (K–12), Greene Street Friends School (K–8), and the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (ages 3–17).
Universities and colleges close to Mount Airy include Arcadia University, Chestnut Hill College, La Salle University, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University, and Saint Joseph's University. [13]
Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Lovett Square Branch at 6945 Germantown Avenue. [16]
Two SEPTA Regional Rail lines connect the neighborhood to Center City. The Chestnut Hill West Line runs through West Mount Airy with stops at Upsal, Carpenter, and Allen Lane stations and the Chestnut Hill East Line runs through East Mount Airy with stops at Mount Airy, Sedgwick, and Stenton stations.
The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 18, 23 (formerly a trolley line), 53 (formerly a trolley line), H, and L.
In 2011, The New York Times described the influx of new businesses to Mount Airy as a "cultural revival" buoyed by "the neighborhood's reasonable housing costs and relatively safe streets." [17] In 2013, CNNMoney named Mount Airy one of America's top ten best big-city neighborhoods. [18]
The political tone of the neighborhood is predominantly progressive. [17] One prominent Mount Airy politician is former Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz.
There are three Jewish congregations in Mount Airy (Germantown Jewish Centre, P'nai Or Jewish Renewal Congregation of Philadelphia, and Chabad-Lubovitch of Northwest Philadelphia) and the national office of the Jewish organization The Shalom Center. [19]
A Hare Krishna community is located on West Allens Lane. [20]
Mount Airy's main commercial district lies along stone-paved Germantown Avenue, which also serves as the boundary between East and West Mount Airy. The neighborhood has a variety of independent shops, restaurants, art galleries, clothing stores, coffee shops, a gastropub, wine bar, fitness centers, and professional offices. Mt. Airy also has two tented farmers' markets. [21] The Sedgwick Theater, notable for its art deco style, has been a cultural center in the past, and now houses the Quintessence Theatre Group. [22] [23] [24]
The Weavers Way Co-op, a long-running co-op grocery store in West Mount Airy, [25] also manages two working farms, works with local schools, and provides fresh food to a shelter. [26]
Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Palatine, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'.
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools.
Roxborough is a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is bordered to the southwest, along the Schuylkill River, by the neighborhood of Manayunk, along the northeast by the Wissahickon Creek section of Fairmount Park, and to the southeast by the neighborhood of East Falls. Beyond Roxborough to the northwest is Montgomery County. Roxborough's ZIP Code is 19128. Most of Roxborough is in Philadelphia's 21st Ward.
West Oak Lane is a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood was developed primarily between the early 1920s and late 1930s, with the areas near to Cedarbrook constructed after World War II. At the northeast corner of Limekiln Pike and Washington Lane was the site of the Cedar Park Inn, a historic tavern built in the early 19th century, which was torn down sometime after 1931 as the neighborhood was being fully developed.
Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill River to the southwest, Northwestern Avenue to the northwest, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, and Wister Street and Stenton Avenue to the east. Conventionally, the area east of Wissahickon Creek, which comprises Germantown, Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, and Cedarbrook, is termed the 'Upper Northwest', and the area west of the creek, which comprises Roxborough, Wissahickon, East Falls, and Manayunk, is termed the 'Lower Northwest'. The area of Philadelphia west of the Schuylkill River is known as West Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Police Department patrols two districts located within Northwest Philadelphia. The two patrol districts serving Northwest Philadelphia are the 5th and 14th districts.
Cedarbrook is a neighborhood located in the Northwest section of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
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.
Germantown Township, also known as German Township, was a township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. The municipality ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.
The Colonial Germantown Historic District is a designated National Historic Landmark District in the Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along both sides of Germantown Avenue. This road followed a Native American path from the Delaware River just north of Old City Philadelphia, through Germantown, about 6 miles northwest of Center City Philadelphia, and on to Pottstown. Settlement in the Germantown area began, at the invitation of William Penn, in 1683 by Nederlanders and Germans under the leadership of Francis Daniel Pastorius fleeing religious persecution.
Martin Luther King High School is a neighborhood public high school located in the East Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at the intersection of Stenton Avenue and Haines Street in Philadelphia. It is a neighborhood school, meaning no application is necessary for students who live in the West Oak Lane and Germantown neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It is named after Martin Luther King Jr.
Germantown High School was a secondary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Germantown High School graduated its final class on June 19, 2013 and closed its doors that week.
Henry H. Houston was a leading Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist. He worked in iron and transportation industries and invested in oil and precious metal concerns. He sat on boards of a number of railroad organizations and he was trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and Washington and Lee University. He developed Wissahickon Heights, an exclusive community in western Chestnut Hill.
Cresheim Creek is a creek in southeastern Pennsylvania. Rising at Wyndmoor in Springfield Township, it runs about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) southwest, passing through part of Northwest Philadelphia and forming the boundary between Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill, before emptying into the Wissahickon Creek at Devil's Pool not far south of the Valley Green Inn.
Beggarstown or Bettelhausen was a small community that was located in the present day neighborhood of Mount Airy in Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It centered primarily along a stretch of relatively flat land along Germantown Avenue roughly between Upsal Street and Gorgas Lane.
The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is the third-oldest school of its kind in the United States. Its founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf children who he observed on the city's streets. The current school building is listed by the National Register of Historic Places, and two former campuses are similarly recognized.
The Beggarstown School, built c. 1740, is a historic school in Beggarstown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now part of the Mount Airy neighborhood. It is a rare example of a school building from the colonial era.
Weavers Way Co-op is a member-owned consumers' cooperative in Philadelphia's West Mt. Airy section. Founded in 1973, Weavers Way Co-op was formed as a neighborhood buying club in a church basement. Since its incorporation, it has grown to more than 5,000 member households, with annual sales of nearly $20 million. After moving to its location at 559 Carpenter Lane, Weavers Way expanded, purchasing the adjacent building and consolidating the two buildings. Subsequent expansions included the purchase of two buildings across the street, which include a retail pet supply store, retail health and wellness store and offices. Weavers Way expanded again, adding a second, larger store in Chestnut Hill, at 8424 Germantown Ave, at the former Caruso's grocery store site, in 2010 and a health and beauty specialty store, also in Chestnut Hill, in 2013. For several years, Weavers Way also ran a third smaller store in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, but that closed in September 2011. The Co-op rents warehouse space several miles away in the Nicetown section, in the SHARE food pantry complex. Two farm operations comprise 5.5 acres, one at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown and one on the grounds of Saul Agricultural High School in Roxborough. Weavers Way has participated in such events and organizations as Mt. Airy Day, Mt. Airy ArtJam, Mt. Airy YouthWorks, Mt. Airy Business Association, Mt. Airy USA (MAUSA), Mt. Airy Village Fair, Chestnut Hill's Fall for the Arts Festival and the XPoNential Music Fest.
Ridge Pike is a major historic road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that opened in 1706 that originally connected Wissahickon Creek to Perkiomen Creek. Inside Philadelphia, it is called Ridge Avenue. Going westward, it traverses many eastern Pennsylvania neighborhoods in Montgomery County including Conshohocken and beyond, connecting with Germantown Pike near Collegeville and continuing to Pottstown. In Montgomery County, Ridge Pike is called Main Street in the Norristown area and again in Collegeville and Trappe, and is called High Street in the Pottstown area.
Germantown Pike is a historic road in Pennsylvania that opened in 1687, running from Philadelphia northwest to Collegeville. The road is particularly notable for the "imposing mansions" that existed in the Germantown neighborhood in Philadelphia. The road was left in ruins after the British destroyed it in the Revolutionary War during the 1777 Battle of Germantown, and was not rebuilt until 1809. Portions of Germantown Pike were signed as U.S. Route 422 (US 422) before the latter was rerouted along a freeway alignment to King of Prussia.
pastorius.and another account that appears in the "Grund und Lager Buch" translated by Learned on p. 137.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)) or simply "Mount Airy" around 1820 (Marriage notice for "Miss Ann Gorgas, of Mount Airy, Germantown" The American Daily Advertiser. 1818-02-17.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)).
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