The area east of Fairmount Park in the northwestern part of Philadelphia finds the neighborhoods of Chestnut Hill, Germantown and Mt. Airy.
Each of these three neighborhoods are very distinct in character.
Situated along cobble-stoned Germantown Avenue in the northwestern part of the city, Chestnut Hill is an official Historic District, and home to more than 100 architecturally significant residences, parks and gardens, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the renowned Morris Arboretum. It is also the home to more than 200 boutique shops, art galleries, antique stores, cozy cafes and fine restaurants. Chestnut Hill is the highest point within the city limits of Philadelphia.
The Germantown area of Philadelphia is one of Philadelphia's oldest settlements. It was originally settled by German émigrés attracted to Philadelphia by William Penn's promises of religious tolerance. It is home to many of the city's historic homes. Unfortunately, however, much of the area is now fairly run down.
The Mt. Airy area of northwest Philadelphia, with a population of more than 40,000 people, has gained national distinction for its richly diverse population. A comfortable and welcoming place to live, it is home to people of many racial and ethnic backgrounds, economic levels, occupations, family life-styles and age groups. The greatest concentration of Jewish households in the Northwest is in Mt. Airy. The area boasts a wide range of housing, from apartments to mansions.
Over 100,000 people live in these areas of northwest Philadelphia. Of that total about one-third are white and two-thirds are black.
Manayunk and Roxborough
Nestled along the east bank of the Schuylkill River in northwest Philadelphia are the neighborhoods of Manayunk and Roxborough.
Named for the Lenape Indian
word "manaiung" meaning, "where we go to drink", Manayunk
developed due to its proximity to the river and the completion of the Manayunk
Canal. Manayunk was once home to numerous textile and paper mills and served as
a major transportation link to the port of Philadelphia and inland to the
farmlands of Pennsylvania.
Named a National Historic District in 1983, Manayunk has over 65 chic boutiques
and galleries and about 30 restaurants. It has become a major destination for
shopping and dining enthusiasts.
In the days of heavy industry, company executives would live at the top of the famous hills of this area. The workers lived at the bottom of the hill. Roxborough Avenue was the dividing line. Those houses on the uphill side of Roxborough Avenue were said to be in the Roxborough neighborhood. Those houses below the Avenue were said to be in Manayunk.
Though Roxborough Avenue still is a postal division, it is no longer a class divider. The area is predominantly a middle class, white (94%) enclave.
Northeast Philadelphia
The area generally referred to as Northeast Philadelphia consists of two major sections, the Far Northeast and the Near Northeast. Within the Far Northeast are places with names like Bustleton, Byberry, Upper Holmesburg, Pennypack, and Torresdale. The Near Northeast is home to such places as Foxchase, Frankford, Holmesburg Lawndale, Lexington, Mayfair, Oxford Circle, Tacony and Wissinoming.
Over 400,000 people reside in this area of Philadelphia. The population is overwhelming white (92%).
Primarily a residential area with numerous strip malls and shopping centers, Northeast Philadelphia is home to most of what would be considered the "middle-class" residents of the city. It is also home to numerous small businesses as well as several major industrial corporations primarily along the stretch of I-95 which runs through this area of the city.
North Philadelphia
An expansive area of the city north of Center City and south of Olney-Oak Lane, North Philadelphia consists of numerous places with names like Fairmount, Hunting Park, Ludlow, Nicetown, Northern Liberties, Spring Garden, Strawberry Mansion, Temple University, Tioga and West Kensington.
The area is almost entirely black in composition with several distinct exceptions. There is a heavy Hispanic concentration in eastern North Philadelphia, and heavily white populated areas in the Fairmount-Spring Garden and southern Kensington areas.
While most neighborhoods in Philadelphia are characterized by households with no children present, North Philadelphia contains a variety of all types of households, with non-children households concentrated in the west of Broad neighborhoods, and female-headed households with children appearing in the eastern segment of North Philadelphia, for the most part.
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