Southwest Center City / Schuylkill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Southwest Center City (SWCC), or Schuylkill, is a neighborhood in the southern section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood is bordered on the north by South Street, on the south by Washington Avenue, on the west by the Schuylkill River, and by Broad Street on the east. Southwest Center City, especially the area closest to the Schuylkill River, is often known simply as the Schuylkill neighborhood by residents. A transitional area between Center City and Point Breeze, it is home to several community service organizations, many churches, a few retail establishments and light industry.

Names

The neighborhood has had many names. In the 1980s and 1990s, It was referred to as the Graduate Hospital after the medical facility in the northern half of the neighborhood. This name has become obsolete since the hospital closed in 2007. It is also sometimes referred to as South of South, [http://www.phillyskyline.com/hoods/gho/>] although this name is disfavored by some residents.

Composition

The neighborhood consists primarily of nineteenth and twentieth-century rowhomes interspersed with corner stores, 22 churches and a few larger architectural landmarks. On the eastern half of the neighborhood is the Scottish Rite affordable housing complex which consists of two multi story apartment buildings that cater mostly to elderly and low income individuals. The former buildings of Graduate Hospital lie on South Street, the northern border of the neighborhood. Along Greys Ferry Avenue is the former Naval Asylum or Naval Home, designed in 1826 by William Strickland. This National Historic Landmark first constructed in 1833 and closed in 1976.

History

The neighborhood began taking shape after the Civil War. In 1870, it was predominantly an Irish American community; however, the neighborhood was in a transitional period, and by 1920, a majority of its residents were African Americans. It continued to experience significant in-migration from the south prior to, during, and immediately after World War II. It remained a solid working-class neighborhood for most of the first half of the twentieth century.

After the 1950s, the loss of jobs and residents caused the neighborhood to decline as buildings were abandoned and left to deteriorate. Due to city development restoring many abandoned houses in the area, Schuylkill is currently experiencing a period of resurgence. The Grammy Award winning musician and local resident Kenneth Gamble founded "Universal Companies" in Southwest Center City to revitalize the neighborhood. Universal Community Homes, a division of the company, began the Universal Court housing project in the neighborhood in the 1990s. Originally, some tension existed between the company and the local South of South Neighborhood Association, but this was soon resolved as the project was deemed a success. [Kromer, John, "Neighborhood Recovery: Reinvestment Policy for the New Hometown" p44, Rutgers University Press NJ, 2000. ISBN 0-8135-2716-3] "Universal Companies" has since opened several small neighborhood businesses, low-income housing, and a charter school.

Culture

In recent years the area has experienced growth and gentrification with hundreds of single family homes and condominium units and dozens of new retail establishments.

Unfortunately, the neighborhood is still plagued by much abandoned and dilapidated housing, especially towards the south. The Schuylkill area has long been one of South Philly's most crime stricken areas due to murders, drug dealing, poverty, and inadequate public schools.

Every year, Southwest Center City is host to Philadelphia's Odunde festival. The festival is a tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. This African celebration of the new year is held at the intersection of Greys Ferry Avenue and South Street. It was founded in 1975 by Lois Fernandez the local community activist and frequently hosts African performers.

References

External links

* [http://www.southphillyblocks.org/ Northwest South Philly]
* [http://www.phillyrealestateguy.com/node/3 Philadelphia's Neighborhoods: A Video Tour of Southwest Center City]
* [http://www.southofsouth.org/ SOSNA - The South of South Neighborhood Association]
* [http://www.odundeinc.org Odunde Feastival]
* [http://www.phillyskyline.com/hoods/gho/index1.htm Photo Essay]
* [http://www.navalsquare.com Naval Square]
* [http://www.pacscl.org/shows/navalhome/index.html Philadelphia Naval Home]
* [http://www.design.upenn.edu/his_pres/student/studio2003/ Schuylkill-Southwest neighborhood / University of Pennsylvania’s Historic Preservation Program]
* [http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=39.94846~-75.183086&style=o&lvl=1&scene=1923723 interactive aerial perspective from Visual Earth]
* [http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=39.945312~-75.180068&style=o&lvl=1&scene=1924070 interactive aerial perspective photo from Virtual Earth]