Pennsport | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 39°55′39″N75°09′02″W / 39.92750°N 75.15056°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Philadelphia |
City | Philadelphia |
ZIP Code | 19147, 19148 |
Area code(s) | Area codes 215, 267, and 445 |
Pennsport is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Pennsport is home to a large working-class Irish American population, many of them descendants of immigrants from the mid to late 19th century. They maintain social organizations (also called "clubs"), which are located along 2nd Street (known locally as "Two Street"). [1] Each year the clubs spend months preparing costumes, music and performances for Philadelphia's annual Mummers Parade on Broad Street on New Year's Day.
At one time, Pennsport was proposed as a location for development of casinos along the Philadelphia waterfront. [2] [3] Many residents opposed this, as they wanted development that would provide better jobs. The state and city had conducted some negotiations with the Mashantucket Pequot, whose reservation is based in Connecticut, to establish Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia in this neighborhood, but the proposal never gained approval.
Pennsport is bounded by the Delaware River to the east, the Queen Village neighborhood to the north, Whitman to the south, and Dickinson Square West to the west. The Pennsport Redevelopment Area Plan of 1968 listed the border streets as Washington Avenue on the north, Snyder Avenue on the south, and Fourth Street on the west. [4]
The 2000 census listed Pennsport's population as 26,300, but this figure includes the populations of Southwark, Queen Village, and Whitman neighborhoods. [5]
Pennsport's population identifies as 70% white, 17% African American, 8% Asian American, and 5% Hispanic and Latino American, of any race. Roughly 40% of the population is under 18. [5]
According to the Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions, Pennsport was originally part of Moyamensing Township. Most of the area north of present-day Mifflin Street was included in the Southwark District from 1794 until the consolidation of Philadelphia in 1854. At that point, it was mostly contained in the First Ward. The First and Second wards ran east of Passyunk Avenue and were divided by Wharton Street (First to the south, Second to the north). The southern boundary of the First Ward initially spanned south to the river, but it was stopped at Mifflin Street in 1898. [6]
The Washington Avenue Immigration Station was an immigrant processing facility located at the end of Washington Avenue at Pier 53 on the Delaware River. It operated from 1873 to 1915.
During King George's War in 1748, a young Benjamin Franklin erected the "Association Battery" or "Grand Battery" here along the river. These were earthwork defenses fitted with artillery. [7]
The first United States naval yard started in the 1770s as a private commercial yard located in what is now Pennsport at Federal Street on the Delaware River. [8] It was owned and operated by noted shipbuilder Joshua Humphreys. He designed the original six frigates of the United States Navy. In addition, the frigate USS Philadelphia, not one of those six, was also built at what became the official navy yard.
The naval yard was designated for the US Navy in 1801 and was active until 1875. That year it was relocated to new facilities built on League Island. The shipyard expanded to support production and repair of ships. During World War II, some 40,000 people worked here in shifts that operated 24 hours a day.
The shipyard was closed in 1991, as a result of a decision by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Nearly 1000 acres was transferred to the City of Philadelphia for redevelopment. What is known as The Navy Yard has been developed for businesses and manufacturing. A part of the site is still devoted to shipbuilding. [9] [10]
The neighborhood has other buildings and structures of historic interest. Furness High School and the former Abigail Vare School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [11] The Historic rowhouse synagogue, Congregation Shivtei Yeshuron-Ezras Israel, was featured in the Hidden City Philadelphia 2013 Festival. [12]
The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools serving Pennsport.
Vare-Washington School serves grades K-8. [13] The school was previously named Abigail Vare School and had occupied a building in Pennsport. [14] [15] In October 2013 the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC) voted to close Washington School in Dickinson Square West. Abigail Vare School moved from its previous building to the former Washington building at 1198 South 5th Street. [16]
Furness High School also serves area residents. [17]
The Free Library of Philadelphia Whitman Branch in Whitman serves Pennsport. [18]
Bronze statues of William “Wild Bill” Guarnere and Edward “Babe” Heffron have been installed at a park on 2nd and Reed Streets. It portrays the pair as young men, as they looked just before leaving Pennsport to fight in Europe during World War II.
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west. A diverse working-class community of many neighborhoods, South Philadelphia is well-known for its large Italian-American population, but it also contains large Asian American, Irish-American, African-American, and Latino populations.
The Schuylkill Expressway, locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and Philadelphia. It is the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, southeast to the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Maintenance and planning for most of the highway are administered through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6, with the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) maintaining the approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge.
Southwest Center City (SWCC), also known as Graduate Hospital, is a neighborhood that is located in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, bordering Center City Philadelphia. The neighborhood is bordered on the north by South Street, on the south by Washington Avenue, on the west by the Schuylkill River, and on the east by Broad Street.
Point Breeze is a multicultural neighborhood in South Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is bounded by 25th Street to the west, Washington Avenue to the north, Broad Street to the east, and Moore Street to the south. Southwest Center City lies to its north. Passyunk Square and East Passyunk Crossing lie to its east. Point Breeze is separated from Grays Ferry to the west by a CSX railway viaduct over 25th Street.
Grays Ferry, also known as Gray's Ferry, is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, bounded (roughly) by 25th Street on the east, the Schuylkill River on the west, Vare Avenue on the south, and Grays Ferry Avenue on the north. The section of this neighborhood west of 34th Street is also known as Forgotten Bottom.
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.
Southwark was originally the Southwark District, a colonial-era municipality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Today, it is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Because of its location south of the early Philadelphia, the name was adopted in allusion to the borough of Southwark in the county of London, England, just south of the city of London.
Moyamensing is an area of Philadelphia established as a Moyamensing Township during British colonial rule on the fast land of the Neck, lying between Passyunk and Wicaco. It was incorporated into Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States and today encompasses several neighborhoods along the Moyamensing Avenue corridor in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Route 291 is an east–west state route in Pennsylvania that runs from U.S. Route 13 and US 13 Business in Trainer, Delaware County, east to Interstate 76 (I-76) in South Philadelphia near the Walt Whitman Bridge and the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Except for a short 1-mile (1.6 km) section between the western terminus and the Chester/Trainer line, PA 291 is mostly a four-lane highway. From the western terminus to the eastern part of Chester, the route has a concurrency with US 13. It runs parallel to the Delaware River for much of the route. The route passes through industrial areas near the river in Delaware County, serving Chester, Eddystone, Essington, and Lester. PA 291 enters Philadelphia near the Philadelphia International Airport, at which point it has an interchange with I-95. The route crosses the Schuylkill River on the George C. Platt Memorial Bridge and continues along Penrose Avenue to I-76. It has been designated the Industrial Heritage Highway.
Whitman is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is bounded on the west by Sixth Street, on the east by Front Street, on the south by Bigler Street, and on the north by Snyder Avenue. The name "Whitman" was adopted when the nearby Walt Whitman Bridge was being constructed in the 1950s. In 2015, Whitman and nearby South Philadelphia neighborhoods were named by Philadelphia Magazine as one of the safest and most family-friendly neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
Edward James "Babe" Heffron was a private with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Heffron was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Robin Laing. In 2007, Heffron wrote Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story with fellow veteran William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and journalist Robyn Post.
Horace Howard Furness High School is a secondary (9th-12th) school in South Philadelphia. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia.
West Passyunk is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is bounded by Mifflin Street to the north, West Passyunk Avenue to the south, South 18th Street to east, and South 25th Street to the west. It is served by the 1st Police District, located at 24th and Wolf Streets.
Lower Moyamensing is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, situated just south of the East Passyunk Crossing neighborhood and north of the stadium area. It is bounded by Snyder Avenue to the north, Oregon Avenue to the south, South 7th Street to the east, and South Broad Street to the west. The neighborhood was once part of Moyamensing Township before becoming part of Philadelphia in 1854. Lower Moyamensing is known for its 19th century row homes, factory buildings, and variety of restaurants. South Philadelphia High School is located in Lower Moyamensing, at the corner of Broad and Jackson Streets.
Vare-Washington School, is a K-8 school in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. It occupies the former George Washington School building in the Dickinson Narrows neighborhood, in proximity to Southwark.
Dickinson Square West is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States bordered by neighborhoods Queen Village to the north, Whitman to the south, Pennsport to the east and Passyunk Square and East Passyunk Crossing to the west. The neighborhood was previously referred to as "Dickinson Narrows", but was officially reestablished as "Dickinson Square West" in 2013 by the Registered Community Organization, Dickinson Square West Civic Association, located within its boundaries. In October, 2018, The Dickinson Square West Civic Association passed an amendment to expand the southern boundary from Mifflin Street to Snyder Ave
Congregation Shivtei Yeshuron Ezras Israel is an unaffiliated Jewish congregation and synagogue located in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation moved to its current location in 1909 and had purchased the building by 1917. It is South Philadelphia's oldest continuously active synagogue building and congregation. Religious services are lay led and conducted in the Ashkenazi rite. The congregation offers cultural events and tours open to the public.
Abigail Vare School is a former school building located in the Pennsport neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located across from Dickinson Square Park.
Mount Sinai Hospital was a hospital in Philadelphia in the United States, from 1905 to 1997.