West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia: “West Philly” is the area of Philadelphia that reaches from the Schuylkill to City Line Ave. The population began to expand in the late 19^th into the 20^th centuries due to their early usage of street cars.

Neighborhoods:

Belmont Village: Belmont Village is the area from City Avenue to the north, Fairmount Park to the south, the Bala Golf Club to the west, and Belmont Avenue to the east. Belmont Village is part of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 194. Belmont Village’s northern border is the City Avenue Business District, which is home to several stores and restaurants. The Bala Shopping Center is across City Avenue from Belmont Village and contains a large grocery store, shops, and restaurants. Belmont Village’s southern border is Fairmount Park, which contains the Carousel House and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.

Carroll Park: Located Lansdowne Avenue to the north, West Girard Avenue to the south, North 63rd Street to the west, and North 52nd Street to the east. Along major streets of the neighborhood, the Carroll Park Community Council, Inc. has placed banners that say “Carroll Park: Where our neighbors become friends.” The 10 trolley runs along Lansdowne Avenue and the 15 trolley runs along Girard Avenue. There is a park by the name of Carroll Park between North 59th and North 58th Streets and West Thompson Street and West Girard Avenue.

Cathedral Park: North 52nd Street to the west and north, West Girard Avenue and the Old Cathedral Cemetery to the south, and the SEPTA regional rail tracks to the east. A prominent landmark in the neighborhood is the former St. Gregory Roman Catholic Church, located at North 52nd Street and Warren Street which is now the Greater Bible Way Temple. Across the street is the former George Institute Branch Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Cedar Park: Located north to Larchwood Ave., south to Kingsessing Ave., east to 46th Street, and west to 52nd Street. A racially and ethnically diverse part of the city, with much of the historic architecture preserved. Cedar Park is located in the western portion of the larger University City neighborhood. Originally outlying farmland, with the construction of trolley lines linking West Philadelphia to Center City in the late 19th century, Cedar Park soon developed into a suburb of Philadelphia marked by Queen Anne style architecture.

Dunlap: Dunlap is in the vicinity of Haverford Avenue and Market Street and stretches from 46th to 52nd streets, situated in between the neighborhoods of Mill Creek and Haddington and north of Walnut Hill. The neighborhood is named after the former historic Thomas Dunlap School that was restored into senior homes in 1991.

Garden Court: Located west of Spruce Hill, north of Cedar Park, east of Cobbs Creek, and south of Walnut Hill, Garden Court has been referred to as “the most exclusive location in West Philadelphia” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Garden Court was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984. The neighborhood has a diverse mix of housing types, including the 116-unit garden apartment complex recently converted to condominiums. It is a racially mixed neighborhood. Income and property values are greater than those of the whole West Philadelphia.

Haddington: Located between 52nd Street and 63rd Street, bounded by Chestnut Street and Girard Avenue. Haddington’s Historic District is located on the 6000 blocks of Market, Ludlow, and Chestnut Streets, displaying colonial and classical revival styles of architecture built from 1909 to 1915 listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Mantua: Located north of Spring Garden Street, east of 40th Street, south of Mantua Avenue, and west of 31st Street. It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 college-aged students are living in Mantua. Mantua is currently undergoing revitalization, in part to the organizational leadership provided by the MCIC and services provided by the city and university systems.

Mill Creek: Located north of Market Street, south of Girard Avenue, between 44th and 52nd Streets. It is named for the eponymous creek which was covered by a cistern in the 1880s.

Overbrook: Located in the northwestern portion of West Philadelphia, the boundaries for the Overbrook neighborhood are North 63rd Street to the west, Lansdowne Avenue to the south, and the SEPTA regional rail tracks to the northeast.

Overbrook Farms: Bounded by City Avenue (US Route 1), 58th Street, Woodbine Avenue, and 66th Street at Morris Park. Originally settled by Welsh immigrants who purchased land from William Penn, Overbrook Farms is not to be confused as part of Overbrook. Overbrook Farms, founded first in 1892 as the first planned community on the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Overbrook Farms Company (OFC) was the neighborhood’s developer with links to directors of the Girard and Drexel Banks and the Pennsylvania Railroad. This planned community includes some of the first residential projects of the first graduating class of the University of Pennsylvania’s architectural program. Overbrook Farms maintains the oldest continually operating neighborhood association in America, the Overbrook Farms Club (OFC). OFC sponsors an annual house tour each spring.

Overbrook Park: Founded around the 1940s on the site of a former farm, Overbrook Park is bounded by Overbrook on one side, Penn Wynne on another side, Indian Creek park land on a third side, and a golf course on the fourth side. The main artery is Haverford Avenue which goes into Penn Wynne across City Line Avenue where it becomes Haverford Road. The neighborhood spans for approximately four city blocks west to east along City Avenue, and approximately ten smaller blocks north to south on either side of 76th Street.

Parkside: The majority of the Parkside neighborhood was built during the Centennial Exhibition in 1876. It is a National Register of Historic Places Historic District with many examples of Victorian architecture. Parkside is also the location of Senator Vincent Hughes’ District office.

Powelton Village: Extends north from Market Street to Spring Garden Street, east to 32nd Street, west to 40th and Spring Garden Streets, and to 44th and Market Streets. Powelton Village takes its name from the Powel Family, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Welsh colonialists who held extensive estates in the area. The southern end of Powelton Village includes property owned by Drexel University. Many students from Drexel live off-campus in Powelton’s urban-structured row-house apartments because of the short walk to campus.

Saunders Park: Saunders Park is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is bounded by Powelton Avenue, 38th Street, Lancaster Avenue, and 40th Street. It is west of Powelton Village and north of Spruce Hill. It is named for the park at the northeast corner of 39th and Powelton Avenue. The Presbyterian Medical Center is next to the park. Saunders Park is often considered to be a part of West Powelton, which extends out to 42nd Street.

Spruce Hill: Spruce Hill is a neighborhood located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located between 40th and 46th streets, and it stretches from Market Street south to Woodland Avenue. It has a population of over 16,000. It was built as a streetcar suburb for Center City between 1850 and 1910. It is a racially and ethnically diverse part of the city, where much historic architecture is preserved. Spruce Hill is considered to be within the boundaries of University City.

Squirrel Hill: Squirrel Hill is a neighborhood in West Philadelphia, south of Baltimore Ave and west of Clark Park. It shares a border with the Spruce Hill and Cedar Park neighborhoods. By some accounts, this neighborhood is within the boundaries of the University City district.

University City: The easternmost region of West Philadelphia, with boundaries of the Schuylkill River to the east; Spring Garden Street, Powelton Avenue, and Market Street to the north; 52nd Street to the west; and Woodland Avenue, University Avenue, and Civic Center Boulevard to the south. The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name University City as part of a 1950s urban-renewal effort. Today, Drexel University and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia also call University City home.

Walnut Hill: Walnut Hill is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 northeast of Cedar Park and northwest of Spruce Hill. As 52nd Street is often considered to be the geographic and psychological “heart” of West Philadelphia, those living in the western reaches of Walnut Hill may be less likely to identify with the neighborhood and more likely to describe their neighborhood as simply “West Philly.”

Woodland Terrace: Woodland Terrace is a street name and a small neighborhood of Italianate twin mansions in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1972.

Wynnefield: Also known as “The Field”, Wynnefield  is a predominantly African-American, middle-class neighborhood in West Philadelphia. Its borders are 53rd Street at Jefferson to the south, Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park to the east, City Avenue (commonly referred to as “City Line”) to the north and the Amtrak Main Line tracks to the west.

Wynnefield Heights: Wynnefield Heights is a middle class neighborhood located in the greater West Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. This suburban neighborhood bordering on City Avenue is also known as Woodside Park or Balwynne Park. “Woodside Park” is the name of an amusement park that was constructed in 1897 by the Fairmount Park Transportation Company, and that continued in operation until 1955. Wynnefield Heights is the home of the Presidential City Apartments, WPVI-TV Channel 6, the City Line shopping center, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hilton Hotel, TGI Friday’s, Target (opened on July 29, 2007 on the former Adam’s Mark Hotel site), the Belmont Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir, and the Pennsylvania State Police Barracks (Troop K). It is also the home of The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, or PCOM, a school of some 1,300 medical and graduate-level students, which also serves as the Philadelphia 76ers practice facilities.

Schools

Elementary

Middle/ Jr High

William Shoemaker Middle School

High School

Universities

Other Attractions:

Houses of Worship: