Torresdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County.

The adjacent confluence of the Poquessing Creek with the Delaware River had been favored by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme, as the site for the city that Penn planned to found. Although a more southerly site was finally selected, Holme and others acquired property there, where he is buried.

History

Torresdale was named by Charles Macalester for his Scotland home.

Before the Act of Consolidation, 1854, Torresdale had been part of Delaware Township of Philadelphia County, and before 1853, part of Lower Dublin Township of the same county.

In 1894, Torresdale was the site of the regatta of the Rowing Association of American Colleges. [ [http://www.rowinghistory.net/IRA.htm List of winners of the regatta of the Rowing Association of American Colleges] ]

Long before there was what is referred to today as the Pennsylvania Main Line, Torresdale, along with Holmesburg to its south and Andalusia to its north, had been Philadelphia's posh suburban neighborhood, as evidenced by, for example, Glenn Foerd on the Delaware, a luxurious riverside estate.

Notable sites

Torresdale is the site of Holy Family University.

The Frankford Avenue Bridge over Poquessing Creek is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[http://allsaintstorresdale.homestead.com/home.html All Saints' Episcopal Church] was established in 1772.

Eden Hall Chapel, built in 1849, was demolished in 2007.

The municipal Baxter Water Treatment Plant opened in 1909 as the Torresdale Water Treatment Plant.

Notable residents

Prominent former residents include Virginia Knauer, William J. Green, Jr., William J. Green, III, Francis Anthony Drexel, Saint Mother Katharine Drexel, 1930s news commentator Boake Carter and Gia Carangi.

References