Northwest Philadelphia | |
---|---|
Country | United States of America |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Philadelphia |
City | Philadelphia |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | ~170,000~ |
ZIP codes | 19118, 19119, 19127, 19128, 19129, 19138, 19144, 19150 |
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. [1]
Northwest Philadelphia has substantial African American, Irish-American, Jewish-American, German-American, Italian-American, and British American (English American/Scottish American) populations, but its culture is varied, and only smaller neighborhoods within it can be said to be known for one ethnicity predominating. In 2011, Northwest Philadelphia lost 8.6 percent of its population. In 1990, African Americans account for "slightly more than 50 percent of the population". [2]
Compared with other sections of Philadelphia, a substantial portion of the Northwest retains a more suburban feel. In East Falls there are large Tudor homes and big modern ranch homes on sizable properties only blocks from more humble townhouses and rowhouses. Upper Roxborough has post-World War II suburban housing developments, while Lower Roxborough consists mostly of rowhouses and urban twin houses and apartments over storefronts. There are also blocks of large Victorian homes peppered among the rowhouses. In some places the buildings and street grid have existed for three centuries, other spots nearby were farmland until after World War II, and have infrastructure that is very recently developed, 18th-century farmhouses to 19th-century rowhouses to 20th-century shopping centers. From an enclave of working-class Germantown rowhouses and small single mansions to the wealthy estates of Chestnut Hill, both may have been built in the period of 1880-1920.
Northwest Philadelphia is known for its hilly terrain, especially in the western half between the Wissahickon and the Schuylkill River. This hilly terrain is a distinct characteristic of Manayunk and Roxborough, making them popular for any recreation that can use a good hill (such as sledding and soapbox derbies, or especially challenging sessions of running and biking). Upper Roxborough, because it is one of the highest elevations in Philadelphia, is the site of a reservoir and many of the city's broadcast transmission towers. Ridge Avenue follows the ridge that divides the Wissahickon valley from the Schuylkill valley. Wissahickon Valley Park is located in Northwest Philadelphia. [3]
Northwest Philadelphia's street grid is oriented along axes of northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast. These axes are skewed almost exactly 45° from the true north-south and east-west axes of Philadelphia's main street grid. The Wissahickon gorge divides the "halves" of Northwest Philadelphia because of the relative scarcity of road crossings. The rail lines tend to rather thoroughly divide adjacent neighborhoods, for the same reason. Manayunk's street grid evolved completely independently from Germantown's.
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.
Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania.
Manayunk is a neighborhood in the section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania. Located adjacent to the neighborhoods of Roxborough and Wissahickon and also on the banks of the Schuylkill River, Manayunk contains the first canal begun in the United States.
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although 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. An alternate definition includes all city land west of the Schuylkill; this would also include Southwest Philadelphia and its neighborhoods. The eastern side of West Philadelphia is also known as University City.
Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
East Falls is a neighborhood in Lower Northwest, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in 1822 by the Schuylkill Canal and Fairmount Water Works projects. East Falls sits next to the Germantown, Roxborough, Allegheny West, and the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhoods. Wissahickon Valley Park separates it from Manayunk, Philadelphia.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are more than 500 properties and districts listed on the National Register in Philadelphia, including 67 National Historic Landmarks.
Andorra is a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Andorra is a part of Roxborough, being within the borders of the original Roxborough Township and having the same zip code (19128). At some point during the 19th or 20th century, Andorra developed a cultural identity as a neighborhood within Roxborough. Andorra was named "Andorra" after a fancied resemblance to the small country of the same name which sits astride the Pyrenees between France and Spain.
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.
The Walnut Lane Bridge is a concrete arch bridge located in Northwest Philadelphia that connects the Germantown and Roxborough neighborhoods across the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmount Park. While drivers may cross the bridge too quickly to notice, the view from underneath the bridge has inspired many artists and writers, such as Christopher Morley. The design was copied from Pont Adolphe in Luxembourg.
Wissahickon is a neighborhood in the section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Wissahickon is located adjacent to the neighborhoods of Roxborough and Manayunk, and it is bounded by the Wissahickon Valley Park, Ridge Avenue, Hermit Street, and Henry Avenue. The name of the neighborhood is derived from the Lenni Lenape word wisameckham, for "catfish creek", a reference to the fish that were once plentiful in the Wissahickon Creek.
The Academies at Roxborough High School is a public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, operated by the School District of Philadelphia and servicing the Roxborough, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, Wissahickon, East Falls, Mt. Airy, and Germantown sections of Philadelphia.
St. John the Baptist Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1831, it is the tenth oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The current Neo Gothic church was dedicated on April 1, 1894 and is the spiritual home for Roman Catholics living in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Manayunk, Roxborough, and Wissahickon.
Shawmont is a former train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on Nixon Street in the Roxborough section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia. Built by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, it later became part of the Reading Railroad and ultimately SEPTA Regional Rail's R6 Norristown Line. SEPTA made the station a whistle stop and closed its waiting room in 1991. SEPTA later closed the station in 1996. In 2018, $1 million was set aside for repairs and rehabilitation.
The Norristown Branch is a railway line in Pennsylvania. It runs 14.6 miles (23.5 km) from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line in North Philadelphia to Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was originally built by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N) in 1834, and was a part of the Reading Company system from 1870 until 1976. Today it is owned by SEPTA and hosts the Manayunk/Norristown Line commuter rail service.
Route 35 is a bus route operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
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.
Butler Pike is a road in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, that runs northeast from Conshohocken to Horsham Township. For most of its 9.8-mile (15.8 km) length, it is a county road and forms a boundary between townships.