Spruce Hill | |
|---|---|
 Dickens Statue in Clark Park in Spruce Hill | |
  Spruce Hill | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country |  United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia |
| City | Philadelphia |
| Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
Spruce Hill is a neighborhood in the University City section of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between 40th and 46th streets and stretches from Market Street south to Woodland Avenue.
With a population of more than 16,000, Spruce Hill is a racially and ethnically diverse part of the city, where multiple examples of historic architecture are preserved, including a large number of Victorian rowhouses, many of which have been converted to multi-family apartments. [1]
This neighborhood was built as a streetcar suburb for Center City between 1850 and 1910. [2] Among its most prominent developers was financier Clarence Howard Clark Sr. (1833 – 1906), who built dozens of rowhouses, donated land for the Walnut Street West Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, settled a tax assessment by founding the 9.1-acre Clark Park, and established his mansion on the grassy block that today holds the Penn Alexander public elementary school. [3]
A statue of Charles Dickens, cast in 1890 by Francis Edwin Elwell, stands in Clark Park; it is one of just two known statues of the author. [4]
The School District of Philadelphia operates the Penn Alexander School and the Paul Robeson High School for Human Services. The Spruce Hill Christian elementary and middle school is located on Baltimore Avenue.
The University of Pennsylvania campus extends into Spruce Hill and the University of the Sciences campus is also located in this neighborhood.
The Free Library of Philadelphia Walnut Street West Branch serves Spruce Hill. [5]
North Wales is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and is one of the three historic population centers that make up the North Penn Valley, which is centered on the borough of Lansdale. It is approximately 27 miles (43 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. The population was 3,426 as of the 2020 census.
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.
University City is the easternmost portion of West Philadelphia, encompassing several Philadelphia universities. It is situated directly across the Schuylkill River from Center City.
Cedar Park is a neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the larger West Philadelphia district, it stretches north to Larchwood Ave., south to Kingsessing Ave., east to 46th Street, and west to 52nd Street.
Overbrook is an historic neighborhood that is located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated northwest of West Philadelphia, Philadelphia.
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough 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.
Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous with Philadelphia County.
Old City is a neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, near the Delaware River waterfront. It is home Independence National Historical Park, a dense section of historic landmarks including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the First Bank of the United States, the Second Bank of the United States, and Carpenters' Hall. It also includes historic streets such as Elfreth's Alley, dating back to 1703.
Cobbs Creek is a neighborhood located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, named for the creek which forms part of Philadelphia's western border. Cobbs Creek is generally bounded by Market Street to the north, Baltimore Avenue to the south, 52nd Street to the east, and the border of Upper Darby along Cobbs Creek to the West.
Society Hill is a historic neighborhood in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 6,215 as of the 2010 United States Census. Settled in the early 1680s, Society Hill is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia. After urban decay developed between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an urban renewal program began in the 1950s, restoring the area and its many historic buildings. Society Hill has since become one of the most expensive neighborhoods with the highest average income and second-highest real estate values in Philadelphia. Society Hill's historic colonial architecture, along with planning and restoration efforts, led the American Planning Association to designate it, in 2008, as one of the great American neighborhoods and a good example of sustainable urban living.
Haddington is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its borders are defined as Haverford Avenue/Girard Avenue to the north, 52nd Street to the east, Market Street to the south, and 67th Street to the westernmost edge of the neighborhood.
Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University.
Walnut Hill is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located between 45th Street and 52nd Street, bounded by Market Street and Spruce Street. Most of the neighborhood is in the northwestern part of the University City District. It is located north of the neighborhoods of Garden Court and Spruce Hill.
Clark Park is a municipal park in the Spruce Hill section of West Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its 9.1 acres (3.7 ha) are bordered by 43rd and 45th streets, and by Baltimore and Woodland Avenues.
Pennsport is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
G. W. & W. D. Hewitt was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. It was founded in Philadelphia in 1878, by brothers George Wattson Hewitt (1841–1916) and William Dempster Hewitt (1847–1924), both members of the American Institute of Architects. The firm specialized in churches, hotels and palatial residences, especially crenelated mansions, such as Maybrook (1881), Druim Moir (1885–86) and Boldt Castle (1900–04).
Callowhill Depot is a bus and trolley barn operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), located in West Philadelphia, near the Delaware County border. It was built in 1913 by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) and was later operated by the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) before being taken over by SEPTA. The depot was constructed as part of the Thomas E. Mitten modernization program. Since its construction, the depot has suffered fire damage and reconstruction in 1949, 1950, and 1995.
Clarence Howard Clark Sr. was an influential banker, land owner, and developer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ten years after his death, The New York Times called him one of the city's "most prominent men of his day."
Clarence Clark Zantzinger (1872-1954) was an architect and public servant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
