Packer Park, Philadelphia

Last updated

Packer Park
Community area
Packer Park
FDR Park 1.JPG
Meadow Lake with baseball fields behind it. Interstate 95 borders the park, with the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard behind it. Above an airplane begins its landing at Philadelphia International Airport.
Street map of Philadelphia and surrounding area.png
Red pog.svg
Packer Park
Coordinates: 39°54′32″N75°10′42″W / 39.9088°N 75.1782°W / 39.9088; -75.1782
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Philadelphia
City Philadelphia
Neighborhoods
list
  • Packer Park, Philadelphia
Area
  Total2.01 sq mi (5.21 km2)
Elevation
20 ft (6 m)
Demographics
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip Codes
parts of 19145

Packer Park is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States that originally included 1,000 homes built in two unique builder developments, of Packer Park in the 1950s and Brinton Estates during the 1990s. It is now one of four residential communities to be designated as Packer Park. The original footprint community is also one of four adjacent communities that form Philadelphia's Sports Complex Special Services District. The approximate boundaries are Packer Avenue to the north, Hartranft Street to the south including FDR Park farther south, Broad Street to the east known as the Southern Parkway, and I-76 to the far west. Packer Park has been considered home to one of the most organized community groups in the South Philadelphia region.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Overview

The area was a section of Passyunk Township, a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County and originally occupied by settlers from New Sweden. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. The American Swedish Historical Museum located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park on the southern border of the Packer Park community memorializes the Swedish ethnic history.

To the immediate east is the South Philadelphia sports complex consisting of Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, Wachovia Spectrum, Wachovia Center, and the dining complex of Xfinity Live!. This was also the former site of now demolished Veterans Stadium, the Spectrum and John F. Kennedy Stadium.

Packer Park

Packer Avenue itself was named in honor of William Fisher Packer, a former governor of Pennsylvania, and was built as an approach to the American International exposition grounds of the Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926. Following 1926, the exposition was demolished and the US Navy built temporary housing on the site. The Navy abandoned the site and moved families to new housing west of Penrose Avenue. This opened up the site to the private development of Packer Park on what was reclaimed swampy land and preserved the vitality of the borders of Board Street's Southern Blvd, together with the Olmsted Brothers architecturally designed landscaped FDR Park on the south and Marconi Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Park on the upper north. FDR Park is 348 acres (1.41 km2) which include a 146-acre (0.59 km2) golf course, about 125 acres (0.51 km2) of buildings and managed landscapes, and about 77 acres (310,000 m2) of natural lands including ponds and lagoons. Also on the south side from Packer Avenue to Hartranft Street is the Philadelphia Eagles Football Practice Field, Novacare Center, and Vendemmia Square maintaining large green areas from the site of the former U.S. Naval Hospital. Along the six blocks from Broad Street to 20th on Hartranft Street is a landscaped pedestrian walkway park lined with trees and seasonal plants, nicknamed the "Gladway" (memorializing the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition green area of rows of hundreds of Gladiolus).

The Packer Park urban townhouses distinguish themselves in South Philadelphia by departing from the Philadelphia grid of streets and blocks of dense rowhouses. This included cul-de-sacs that were designed with a greater emphasis on a green park setting with common green spaces and accommodation for driveways and off street car parking. The community soon became populated by a large third -generation Italian and Italian Americans.

Geary Estates

Most recently, 10 new townhomes have been built on the block of 1900 Geary Street at the site of the former Holy Spirit convent. Geary Estates in Packer Park are three-story, new-construction homes with luxury amenities, including two-car parking, decks, skyline views, a finished basement, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, luxury cabinetry, ten-year tax abatements, etc.

West (The Reserve)

The Packer Park community name expanded in 2003–2007 adjacent to the original footprint became known as the "Reserve" at Packer Park, a separate housing development of 230 homes built on a triangular land area to the west of 20th Street, north of Pattison, east of Penrose Avenue. The Reserve was built on what was formerly a United States naval housing site, built in 1962 and abandoned in 1995 after the Cold War. The Capehart property, a designated ACT II site, housed nearly 400 naval families in two-story townhouse structures separated using a cul-del-sac street design. Upon the Military Base Closing Act in 1995, the United States government deeded the 27+12-acre Brownfield property to the city of Philadelphia. New luxury townhouses were built on the site by a private developer, John Westrum and Real Estate agent, daughter of the original Packer Park developer, Barbara Capozzi, who styled these homes for families. The colonial-styled architecture incorporated the "green technology" of environmentally adaptive re-use of existing piles and foundations, infrastructure, and materials previously built by the Navy. The existing street layout preserved green areas augmented with large back yards, open area pocket parks and tot lots. The streets and cul-de-sacs were renamed to memorialize sections of Italy to reflect the Italian-American population.

West (Siena Place)

The Packer Park community expanded in 2008 with the groundbreaking of a new townhouse community composed of 313-luxury-townhomes named Siena Place. The development is set on a 30-acre land parcel in South Philadelphia and uses the Packer Park neighborhood name in its marketing program. The newly created neighborhood preserves open green spaces, and provides private garages and ample street parking. The home designs are traditional three-story brick town homes, each with distinctively unique features which enhances the streetscape. Close proximity to major highways, as well as the Philadelphia International Airport allow residents easy access to anywhere they wish to go. The community is home to several prominent Philadelphia professional athletes, including members of the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Wings because of the convenience and security the neighborhood offers.

East (Stella Maris Homes)

The Packer Park community name extended for a separate 1950s development of about 500 homes, commonly associated with the "Stella Maris" parish housing on 13th street for the priest and nuns until the buildings were completed on 10th and Bigler Street. Thereafter, the area took on the name of the 1960s Stadium built on vacant land to the south border and later demolished to make way for a baseball stadium and known as Veterans Stadium Homes. located west of Broad Street from Packer Avenue south to Geary Street and bordering the expansive parking lots of the Baseball Stadium. The parking lot border includes a large raised buffered zone of green space with dense trees and grass.

South (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park)

This graceful parkland is amenity to Packer Park in non-residential parkland that was established in the late 1800s. It was originally named League Island Park and locally became known as the "Lakes", is an aesthetically landscaped designed park by the famous park architects Olmsted Brothers known for New York's Central Park. In 1948, it was renamed FDR Park, defined as located along the Delaware River in the southernmost point of South Philadelphia, comprising some 348 acres (1.41 km2) which includes a 146-acre (0.59 km2) golf course, approximately 125 acres (0.51 km2) of buildings, roadways, pathways for walking, landscaped architecture, and a variety of picnic and recreation areas placed within about 77 acres (310,000 m2) of natural lands including ponds and lagoons.

Education

Donatucci Branch Phila FLP Passyunk01.jpg
Donatucci Branch

The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools.

The Free Library of Philadelphia Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. Branch (formerly the Passyunk Branch) serves Packer Park. The library received its current name in 2004. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sesquicentennial Exposition</span>

The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Mills</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper in the suburb of North York. Consisting of residential, commercial and industrial sub-districts, it was planned and developed by private enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)</span> Professional baseball venue in Pittsburgh to 1915

Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fields were used mainly for professional baseball and American football from c. 1879 to c. 1915. The ballparks were initially located on the north side of the Allegheny River in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, which became the city's North Side, located across from Pittsburgh's downtown area. Due to flooding from the nearby river, the three stadiums' exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the eventual sites of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near South Side, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

The Near South Side is a community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, just south of the downtown central business district, the Loop. The Near South Side's boundaries are as follows: North—Roosevelt Road ; South—26th Street; West—Chicago River between Roosevelt and 18th Street, Clark Street between 18th Street and Cermak Road, Federal between Cermak Road and the Stevenson Expressway just south of 25th Street, and Clark Street again between the Stevenson and 26th Street; and East—Lake Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition Park (Los Angeles)</span>

Exposition Park is a 160-acre urban park (65 ha) in the south region of Los Angeles, California, in the Exposition Park neighborhood. Established in 1872 as an agricultural fairground, the park includes the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, BMO Stadium, the California Science Center, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the California African American Museum. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is under construction. Bounded by Exposition Boulevard to the north, South Figueroa Street to the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the south and Vermont Avenue to the west, it is directly south of the main campus of the University of Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Avenue and Sutton Place</span> Avenue in Manhattan, New York

York Avenue, Sutton Place, and Sutton Place South are the names of segments of a north–south thoroughfare in the Yorkville, Lenox Hill, and Sutton Place neighborhoods of the East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. York Avenue runs from 59th to 92nd Streets through eastern Lenox Hill and Yorkville on the Upper East Side. Sutton Place and Sutton Place South run through their namesake neighborhood along the East River and south of the Queensboro Bridge. Sutton Place South runs from 57th to 53rd Streets. Unlike most north–south streets in Manhattan, street numbers along Sutton Place South increase when headed south. Sutton Place runs from 57th to 59th Streets. The streets are considered among the city's most affluent, and both portions are known for upscale apartments, much like the rest of the Upper East Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad Street (Philadelphia)</span> Thoroughfare in Pennsylvania

Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The street runs for approximately 13 miles (21 km), beginning at the intersection of Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Cheltenham Township and the West/East Oak Lane neighborhoods of North Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marconi Plaza</span>

Marconi Plaza is an urban park square located in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The plaza was named to recognize the 20th-century cultural identity in Philadelphia of the surrounding Italian-American enclave neighborhood and became the designation location of the annual Columbus Day Parade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy Yard (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut</span>

The neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut in the United States are varied and historic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park</span>

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park is a park located along the Delaware River in the southernmost point of South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, comprising some 348 acres (1.41 km2) which includes a 146-acre (0.59 km2) golf course, about 125 acres (0.51 km2) of buildings, roadways, pathways for walking, landscaped architecture, and a variety of picnic and recreation areas placed within about 77 acres (310,000 m2) of natural lands including ponds and lagoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cityscape of Louisville, Kentucky</span>

Louisville, Kentucky is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations, the most noteworthy being the Old Louisville neighborhood, the third largest historic preservation district in the United States. The city also boasts the postmodern Humana Building and an expanding Waterfront Park which has served to remove the former industrial appearance of the riverfront.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Philadelphia Sports Complex</span> Sports venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the home of four major Philadelphia professional sports teams. The complex is located in South Philadelphia and is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, home arena for the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers, Lincoln Financial Field, home field for the Philadelphia Eagles, Citizens Bank Park, home field for the Philadelphia Phillies, and Xfinity Live!, a sports retail and entertainment center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ednor Gardens-Lakeside, Baltimore</span> Community in Baltimore, Maryland

Ednor Gardens-Lakeside is a large community in northeast Baltimore, Maryland. It is bounded by 33rd Street to the south, Hillen Road to the east, Ellerslie Avenue to the west, and Argonne Drive, The Alameda, Loch Raven Boulevard, and Roundhill Road to the north. Ednor Gardens was part of a large planned community that was built out from the 1920s through the 1950s by Edward Gallagher, one of Baltimore's most prolific homebuilders at the time. It is notable among its neighbors for the quality of the homes and extensive landscaping. Until it was torn down in 2002, Memorial Stadium was located in Ednor Gardens-Lakeside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarama Aquarium Theater of the Sea</span> Zoo in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Aquarama Aquarium Theater of the Sea, also known as Aquarama, was a unique 1960s aquarium attraction located in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of Broad Street and Hartranft Street, just west of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, south of Marconi Plaza, north of FDR Park, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Naval Hospital. It adjoined the east border of the newly developed residential neighborhood Packer Park at 3300 South Broad Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Hospital Philadelphia</span>

The Philadelphia Naval Hospital was the first high-rise hospital building constructed by the United States Navy. At its 1935 opening it represented a state-of-the-art facility for the Navy with 650 beds and a total floor space of 352,000 square feet (32,700 m2). The dedicated medical purpose of this facility contributed to the World War II mission as the center for amputation, orthopedic and prosthetic services for Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard veterans residing east of the Rocky Mountains.

References