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.
41-693: Society Hill Historic District may refer to: Society Hill Historic District (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) , listed on the NRHP in Pennsylvania Society Hill Historic District (Portage, Wisconsin) , listed on the NRHP in Wisconsin Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Society Hill Historic District . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
82-428: A crosstown buffered bike lane pilot project, bike lanes were installed that run eastbound along Pine Street and westbound along Spruce Street. Society Hill is served by Indego bike-share stations at 9th and Locust Streets, 4th and Walnut Streets, Dock and Front Streets, 2nd and Lombard Streets, and 6th and Locust Streets. Society Hill contains pathways that connect the residential neighborhood with historic areas to
123-428: A few adjacent streets. It remains a popular hangout area for teens, college students, and twentysomethings with its assortment of bars, take-out eateries, sex shops , gift shops, and retailers catering to hip hop fashion , punk fashion , and/or urban culture . A few restaurants and independent boutiques targeting a slightly more mature clientele are interspersed with these businesses, such as Accent on Animals,
164-446: A grid, the new Dock Street's arc connecting Chestnut and Spruce Streets between 2nd and 3rd, owes its uncharacteristic shape to the path of the former creek as it ran to the river. In the 19th century, the city expanded westward and the area lost its appeal. Houses deteriorated, and by the 1940s, Society Hill had become a slum neighborhood, one of the worst in the city. In the 1950s, the city, state and federal governments began one of
205-550: A hub of Beat subculture and, later, 1960s counterculture , bohemianism , and the hippie movement in Philadelphia, establishing a lasting association of South Street with avant-garde and alternative subcultures . Artist Isaiah Zagar has made South Street his home since the late 1960s and his mosaic work can be seen in multiple places along South Street including his large installation Philadelphia's Magic Gardens between 10th Street and 11th Street. Starting mainly in
246-555: A neighborhood that is walkable, rather than a disjointed collection of historic buildings. Society Hill has long been a popular neighborhood for numerous notable people. Past and present notable residents include: Some of the most notable points of interest within Society Hill are listed below and marked on the adjacent map. Points of interest just north of Society Hill are the Liberty Bell , Independence Hall , Carpenters' Hall ,
287-405: A notable plaza with various shops and restaurants. From the mid- to late-1970s into the 1980s, South Street's reputation as a musical, artistic, and countercultural hub was further solidified as it became the center of Philadelphia's punk scene and punk and alternative rock music communities, with venues such as JC Dobbs and stores such as Zipperhead catering to the burgeoning scene. In
328-568: A pet supply store, and South Street Souvlaki, a Greek restaurant. On June 4, 2022, three people were killed and eleven others were injured during the 2022 Philadelphia shooting . From west to east, South Street traverses the following neighborhoods: South Street begins at 33rd and Spruce Streets in University City , heading east-southeast past the University of Pennsylvania 's Franklin Field and
369-517: Is St. Mary Interparochial Grade School. The Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Independence Branch at 18 South 7th Street. The Athenaem is a private library and museum with collections including architecture and interior design history, particularly for the period from 1800 to 1945. Society Hill's many historically significant congregations reflect the fruition of William Penn's Quaker maxim of religious toleration. Society Hill
410-444: Is a neighborhood known for its bohemian , punk , and alternative atmosphere and its diverse urban mix of shops, bars, and eateries. South Street is one of Philadelphia's largest and most prominent tourist attractions. Originally the southern border of William Penn 's 1682 city plan and officially named Cedar Street until 1854, eastern South Street had been originally the center of local Swedish and Dutch populations, then Irish in
451-425: Is accessible via several forms of public transportation . The Market–Frankford subway line stops at 2nd Street and 5th Street , which are two blocks north of Society Hill's Walnut Street boundary. The PATCO Speedline , a rapid transit system connecting Philadelphia and southern New Jersey stops at 8th and Market Street station, two blocks north of Society Hill, and at the 9th and Locust Street station, which
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#1733093217300492-413: Is one block west of Society Hill's 8th Street boundary. The SEPTA 9 and 21 buses run westbound along Walnut Street. The 12 and 42 run westbound along parts of Spruce and Walnut Streets. The 12 also runs eastbound along Pine Street. The 47 runs northbound along 7th Street and southbound along 8th Street. The 57 runs northbound along 3rd Street and southbound along 4th Street. Since 2009, as part of
533-1025: The First Bank of the United States , the Second Bank of the United States , the Merchants' Exchange Building , and the Museum of the American Revolution . South Street Headhouse District South Street in Philadelphia , originally named Cedar Street in William Penn 's original street grid, is an east–west street forming the southern border of Center City and the northern border for South Philadelphia in Pennsylvania , United States. The South Street Headhouse District between Front and 7th streets
574-481: The Old Pine Street Church . Society Hill is named after the 17th-century Free Society of Traders, which had its offices at Front Street on the hill above Dock Creek . The Free Society of Traders was a company of elite merchants, landowners, and personal associates of William Penn who were granted special concessions in order to direct the economy of the young colony. Society Hill was initially known as
615-668: The School District of Philadelphia . Society Hill residents are zoned to the General George A. McCall School , located at 325 S. 7th Street, for kindergarten through eighth grade, and all persons zoned to McCall are assigned to Benjamin Franklin High School . Previously Furness High School was the zoned high school for Society Hill. The McCall School serves Society Hill and the Chinatown areas. A construction contract for
656-545: The Society Hill Towers . In 1957, Edmund Bacon , the executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, awarded developer-architect firm Webb and Knapp the competition for the redevelopment of Society Hill. Architect I. M. Pei and his team designed a plan for three 31-story Society Hill Towers and low-rise buildings. The Towers and townhouses project was completed in 1964, while
697-621: The University Museum . It crosses the Schuylkill River on the South Street Bridge , a fixed bridge built in 2010 to replace a former double bascule bridge dating from 1923. South Street then heads east (relative to the city grid ), and becomes one-way eastbound from 27th Street all the way to Front Street. South Street marks the 600 South block (from Market Street ) in the city's gridiron street system. In West Philadelphia ,
738-632: The 5th Ward no longer correspond to Society Hill's boundaries. The land area of Society Hill is approximately 0.254 square miles (163 acres). Bordering the Delaware River just south of Old City and Independence Hall , Society Hill is loosely defined as bounded by Walnut , Lombard, Front and 8th Streets. The Society Hill Civic Association further subdivides Society Hill along Spruce Street and 4th Street into quadrants by intercardinal directions : northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). Across different sources, variation in
779-545: The 600 South is delineated between 45th and 63rd Streets by Cedar Avenue , the name being a relic of the original name for South Street (Cedar Street) in the original plan for Philadelphia as drafted by William Penn . South Street and Cedar Avenue are discontinuous with each other due to Woodland Cemetery , the University of Pennsylvania (the former Blockley Township ), and the Schuylkill River. The historic district spans
820-453: The Dock Ward, an appropriate designation until the post- World War II period when the shipping industry declined and relocated. The Dock Ward, first defined in 1705, was one of the ten original wards that the city used to subdivide land east of 7th Street. As part of the 1854 Act of Consolidation , the Dock Ward was renamed the 5th Ward. The wards were realigned in 1965 and the boundaries of
861-583: The Jewish and Italian Fabric Row , while the more western areas around South Street served as a cultural and commercial center for South Philadelphia 's African American community. Real estate values plummeted after city planner Edmund Bacon and others proposed the Crosstown Expressway , a short limited-access expressway connecting the Schuylkill Expressway and I-95 that would have required
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#1733093217300902-511: The McCall school building was awarded on October 26, 1909 and the official opening occurred in February 1911. Russell Scott Smith of Edutopia wrote that in 2004, compared with other schools in Philadelphia, "McCall already had a fairly good reputation for academic rigor and safety" and that by 2009 it had improved even more. In 2012 Kristen A. Graham of The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that McCall
943-697: The colonial atmosphere. Empty lots and demolished buildings were replaced with parks, walkways, and modern townhouses. From 1957–1959, the Greater Philadelphia Movement, the Redevelopment Authority and the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation bought 31 acres (130,000 m ) around Dock Street. They demolished and relocated the Dock Street market, setting aside 5 acres (20,000 m ) of land that would become
984-526: The demolition of many buildings on South Street and Bainbridge Street (an east–west street one block south of South Street). The suddenly cheap property attracted artists and counterculture -types. The proposed expressway was never built due to public opposition . By the late 1950s and early 1960s, and especially following the Crosstown Expressway proposal and the resulting drop in rent and property prices, South Street served as an artists' haven and
1025-412: The early 1960s to the 1970s, South Street was filled with clubs and bars that fostered a live local music community. It was not uncommon for South Philadelphians to " bar-hop " across the clubs, listening to live bands along the way. This community of fans helped attract recording contracts for many artists, including Kenn Kweder, the bard of South Street, George Thorogood , and Robert Hazard . In 1976,
1066-451: The early to mid 1800s, and, many decades later, Jewish and Italian immigrant culture as well as a vibrant African-American neighborhood . Because Quaker doctrine opposed live performances within the city limits, the first permanent theater in the United States was built on the south side of the street at Leithgow Street, giving birth to a tradition of Philadelphians seeking out entertainment on South Street that continues today. In 1854,
1107-615: The entire plan was completed in 1977. Architect Louis Sauer designed dozens of rowhouse projects for the area around Society Hill, including Waverly Court and Penn's Landing Square. Historic buildings in Society Hill include the Society Hill Synagogue , built in 1829 as a Baptist church by Philadelphia architect Thomas Ustick Walter , one of the architects of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The synagogue
1148-488: The exact border includes extending the eastern boundary to the Delaware River, the southern border to South Street , the northern border to Chestnut Street, or limiting the western border to 7th Street, making the boundaries coterminous with U.S. Census tracts 10.01 and 10.02. With prime access to the Delaware River and Philadelphia's civic buildings, including Independence Hall, the neighborhood quickly became one of
1189-401: The famous cheesesteak restaurant Jim's Steaks of West Philadelphia expanded to South Street, becoming the restaurant's first franchise. The restaurant has since split from the original franchise and is now separately owned and renamed as Jim's South Street . Starting in the late 1990s, the street saw the establishment of various chain stores . South Street is adjacent to Headhouse Square ,
1230-484: The first urban renewal programs aimed at the preservation of historic buildings. While most commercial 19th-century buildings were demolished, historically-significant houses were restored by occupants or taken over by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and sold to individuals who agreed to restore the exteriors. Replicas of 18th-century street lights and brick sidewalks were added to enhance
1271-564: The following areas: The neighborhood significantly overlaps with Queen Village , Washington Square West , Bella Vista , and Society Hill . In 2014, the area's population was 27,805. The average age for the neighborhood is 34.9, with 57.44% of the population between the ages of 18 and 44 and 62.3% of the population are renters with the average income of $ 71,856. South Street is traversed over its entire length by SEPTA 's Route 40 bus , running eastbound on South and westbound on Lombard Street through Center City. During evenings and weekends,
Society Hill Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-513: The largest concentrations of original 18th- and early 19th-century buildings in the United States. Society Hill is noted for its Franklin street lamps , brick sidewalks, cobblestone and Belgian block streets bordered by two- to four-story brick rowhouses in Federal and Georgian architecture , and public buildings in Greek Revival architecture such as the Merchants' Exchange Building and
1353-504: The late 1980s, South Street became one of the city's main tourist attractions. Tourists flocked to the nightlife that South Street had accumulated over the years, and the "neighborhood" community aspect was gradually stripped from it. Many of the South Street clubs have closed, replaced by chain stores and shops to cater to tourists. The name South Street is popularly attached to an eight-block stretch of South extending after 8th Street and
1394-460: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Society_Hill_Historic_District&oldid=262252003 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Society Hill Historic District (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The neighborhood hosts one of
1435-476: The most populous areas in colonial Philadelphia. Several market halls, taverns and churches were built alongside brick houses of Philadelphia's affluent citizens. After the Revolutionary War , the polluted Dock Creek—which had been used as a public sewer—became Dock Street when the city filled in the creek and created a new food distribution market. Though the streets of Philadelphia were carefully laid out in
1476-590: The nearby Italian businesses in the Italian Market area , and the influx of visitors from other parts of the city looking for entertainment all combined to eventually create a place described by William Gardner Smith in his 1954 book South Street as a lively zone of contact between many different ethnicities. Until the 1950s, South Street was known mainly as a multiethnic entertainment and garment district, with an abundance of stores for men's suits and other clothing. The eastern end of South Street comprised part of
1517-601: The north. These paths are known as greenways and were designed specifically for pedestrian travel to minimize interaction with automobile traffic. The landscaped greenways were conceived by Edmund Bacon, who hired John Collins of Adleman, Collins & DuTot to design small-scale greenway parks and pedestrian connections woven mid- block between buildings. St. Joseph's Way, St. Peter's Way, and Lawrence Court Walk are greenways that connect community places including St. Peter's, Old Pine, Three Bears Park, and Bingham Court. The greenways feature public art and are designed to create
1558-407: The same year that South Street officially became South Street, the city boundaries were redrawn to expand the area of Philadelphia to 130 square miles. Despite no longer being a literal border, South Street remained a liminal space where cultures collided. The African American theater district of western South Street, the later Jewish and Italian immigrant shops and theaters on eastern South Street,
1599-606: Was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Another notable building is St. Peter's Church , constructed between 1758 and 1761 by Robert Smith . Congregation Kesher Israel occupies and has renovated the building constructed by the Universalist Church in 1796 at 412 Lombard Street. The Society Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1999, it
1640-499: Was listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 6,215 people residing in Society Hill, which accounts for 0.4% of Philadelphia's total population. With 22,281 people per square mile, Society Hill's population density is about twice that of Philadelphia's 11,497 people per square mile. Residents of all neighborhoods in Philadelphia are assigned to specific public schools by
1681-504: Was one of "the district's stronger neighborhood schools". St. Peter's School , located on Lombard Street between 3rd and 4th, is an independent, coeducational, non-sectarian day school, serving students in preschool (age 3) through eighth grade. The school was founded in 1834. The designated parochial grade school of Old St. Mary's Church and Old St. Joseph's Church , of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia ,