Throughout June, we will be highlighting neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia, the people and places that make our city unique and strong. By the close of the nineteenth century, Philadelphia was recognized as both the "Workshop of the World" and a "City of Neighborhoods." Since that time, waves of economic and social change have continually re-shaped the city into the metropolis we know today. We look forward to sharing the backstory of several of our city's neighborhoods in the weeks ahead.
Powelton Village
Bounded by Spring Garden Street to the North, Lancaster Avenue to the South, Amtrak Rail Yards to the east and 38th Street to the West.
1790 – 1860
Lancaster Avenue, formerly known as the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, was constructed in 1792 as the first private toll road in the United States, and served as a major transportation route to link Philadelphia with points west. This was followed by the construction of the Market Street Bridge in 1805 and the Spring Garden Street Bridge in 1813 to facilitate passage over the Schuylkill River.
The land that makes up present day Powelton Village was largely that of the Powel and the Bingham-Baring estates, both wealthy families. This land was once that of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, which was given to William Penn by King Charles II. In 1854, the West Philadelphia District was annexed by the City of Philadelphia. By 1860 speculative residential development took off in Powelton Village with the first twin homes erected along Baring and Hamilton Streets.
1860 – 1900
Many of the early homes developed in Powelton Village were large, and met the needs of upper-class residents looking to escape city life. The area’s popularity surged after the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which brought thousands of visitors through this part of West Philadelphia. By the 1890s, electrified streetcars served the neighborhood, thereby making Center City easily accessible and increasing the desirability of the neighborhood even further.

In 1870, the University of Pennsylvania moved to West Philadelphia from their campus at 9th & Market Streets. Before 1880, the majority of single and twin Italianate and Second Empire homes were built. Later development tended to be in the form of row houses and larger apartment buildings.

The Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry was founded in 1891 at 32nd and Chestnut Streets and its first dormitory was constructed at 34th and Powelton Avenues in 1931.
1900 – 1985
Adjacent to, and intersecting with, Powelton Village was a community known as “Black Bottom” or sometimes just “the Bottom.” This community was predominantly lower-income African Americans, some of whom settled in the area following the Great Migration. Black Philadelphians faced difficulty finding housing as racial discrimination and redlining were rampant. 

By 1940, Powelton Village’s demographics were increasingly changing. The existing housing stock was aging and considered out of fashion. As was happening in cities nationwide, white families were moving out of the urban environment and into the suburbs. This shift led to a steep decline of tax revenues and disinvestment of neighborhoods. During the 1950s, many of the large houses were transformed into rooming houses and apartments.
In the 1960s, Powelton Village would come to be home to many cooperative houses. Soon the neighborhood would become known as the center of the counterculture movement in Philadelphia, shifting the character of the neighborhood again. Black Bottom was largely cleared in the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, displacing countless residents. One of the first displacements of the Black Bottom community was to make room for the University City High School which operated from 1972 to 2013 and was demolished in 2015. 

Unfortunately, throughout the 1970s and 1980s dozens of historic structures and homes throughout Powelton Village were demolished as part of Philadelphia’s urban renewal efforts. This was protested by local residents. By 1985 Powelton Village was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the 1970s, John Africa (born Vincent Leaphart) founded a religious and political organization named MOVE. Africa’s “philosophy of life” centered around the belief that “the system” — man-made constructions of law, government, and industry — was the source of all problems. Mayor Frank Rizzo regarded MOVE as a terrorist organization and was determined to remove them from Powelton Village. Increasing tensions between the organization and Rizzo’s administration led to a violent conflict resulting in police destruction of the house, a gun battle, deployment of tear gas, and the death of police officer James Ramp. Angered by Ramp’s death, members of Philadelphia police beat MOVE member Delbert Africa--an incident that was filmed by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. The three officers charged in this attack on Mr. Africa were acquitted at trial. In 1980, nine members of the organization were sentenced to prison terms of 30-100 years.
1985 – Present
Today, Powelton Village is a compact, historic neighborhood comprising approximately 30 square blocks. Lancaster Avenue is the primary commercial corridor. Grand semi-detached homes with well-tended front gardens occupy many of the tree-lined streets and give Powelton Village the unique character that it retains to this day.

Powelton Village has a high student population, due to its proximity to Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania. There is however a core Powelton Village community that remains predominantly owner-occupied and committed to maintaining the small town charm and reputation for cultural diversity for which the neighborhood is known.
These neighborhood descriptions are not meant to represent the comprehensive story of these neighborhoods and places. They are more so vignettes, intended to highlight and recognize the varied places across Philadelphia that contribute to our shared built environment. The places which have been intentionally or unintentionally preserved in the past and which deserve further preservation today.

Some additional sources of Powelton Village history:




NEW VIRTUAL LECTURES
Watch from the safety and
comfort of your own home! 
Tuesday, June 23, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
The part and the whole: Wilson Eyre and a quiet architectural revolution in 1880s Philadelphia
Presented by Jeffrey Cohen, Professor of the History of Architecture and the Urban Form in the Growth & Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College.

The heroically inventive work of the 1870s, led in Philadelphia by Frank Furness and George Hewitt, Henry Sims, and Willis Hale, ran headlong into a different regime of design values toward that decade’s close. Virtues suddenly became vices, and the expressed material and spatial truths of the part yielded to a stronger emphasis on visual harmony in the whole. This was especially evident in buildings by a younger generation of architects working in what was nominally a wide array of styles. Notable among this group were Wilson Eyre, Frank Miles Day, the firm of Cope & Stewardson, and others who followed their lead into the mid-1890s. Join us for an exploration of their work.
TICKETS COMING SOON

Sally Elk - Eastern State Penitentiary
Tuesday, June 30, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM