Southwest Center City ( SWCC ), also known as Graduate Hospital , is a neighborhood that is located in South Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States, bordering Center City Philadelphia . The neighborhood is bordered on the north by South Street , on the south by Washington Avenue , on the west by the Schuylkill River , and on the east by Broad Street .
25-660: Schuylkill may refer to: Places [ edit ] Schuylkill, Philadelphia , neighborhood in South Philadelphia Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Expressway , portion of I-76 in Philadelphia Schuylkill Gap , water gap through Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania Schuylkill Parkway , Pennsylvania Route 23 Schuylkill River ,
50-702: A Victorian-era fountain which flows most of the year. Prior to 2010, this fountain, like many in Philadelphia , flowed fresh water from the main directly into the sewer system. In 2010, the Fitler Square Improvement Association engaged a large project at a cost of approximately $ 40,000 funded by neighborhood donations and a $ 7,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to change the fountain into one that recirculates all of its water with
75-642: 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 Grays Ferry Avenue is the former Philadelphia Naval Asylum or Naval Home, designed in 1826 by William Strickland . This National Historic Landmark , first constructed in 1833, closed in 1976, and has been developed into condos
100-848: A river in Pennsylvania Schuylkill River Bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Schuylkill River Park , Philadelphia Schuylkill River Trail Schuylkill Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Other [ edit ] Le Schuylkill , a high-rise residential building in Monaco Schuylkill Branch , rail line in Pennsylvania Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company , (1791-1811) navigation system connecting
125-684: A six region area that also includes University City all the way to the Philadelphia International Airport that is part of a revitalization plan to stimulate the region. The proposal for three new Schuylkill Avenue towers proposed by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is for the towers to take the place of the Springfield Beer Distributor, and the former JFK Vocational School , with each tower being 26 stories high. Every year since 1975,
150-597: A surrounding neighborhood of the same name. The square is bounded on the east by 23rd Street, on the west by 24th Street, on the north by Panama Street, and on the south by Pine Street. The neighborhood encompasses much of southwest Center City west of Rittenhouse Square and east of the Schuylkill River . Fitler Square was named for late 19th century Philadelphia mayor Edwin Henry Fitler shortly after his death in 1896. The square lies on land owned by
175-698: A train operated by Amtrak as part of the Clocker (train) service See also [ edit ] Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania , borough in Schuylkill County Schuylkill Valley School District , Berks County, Pennsylvania Southwest Schuylkill , neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania All pages with titles containing Schuylkill Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
200-504: Is an area adjacent to the Fitler Square and Rittenhouse Square neighborhoods to the north and Point Breeze to the south, and is home to community service organizations, restaurants, churches, retail establishments, and some light industry. The neighborhood has many nicknames. The Philadelphia Planning Commission refers to it as Southwest Center City . Since the 1980s, it has been often referred to as Graduate Hospital , after
225-519: Is now known as Naval Square . The Schuylkill Arsenal was originally built at the edge of this neighborhood, but has since been demolished. Prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 , this neighborhood was part of Moyamensing Township . Moyamensing was originally chartered by the Dutch governor Alexander d'Hinoyossa, and in 1684, William Penn confirmed the title. The neighborhood began taking shape after
250-463: Is sometimes referred to as "Rit-Fit" after the two parks. Before the 1950s, the neighborhood was a prime example of the urban blight that had overcome much of the city. The park itself was described as a "mudhole inhabited by drunks and empty bottles". In the mid-1950s, The Center City Residents' Association successfully petitioned Mayor Clark to do something about the decline of the neighborhood. Working together, they freed up mortgage money for
275-479: The National Register of Historic Places . In recent years, the area has experienced growth and gentrification . Hundreds of single family homes and condominium units have been built or refurbished. As a result of the neighborhood's proximity to Center City and increasing desirability, a variety of new businesses catering to the increasingly gentrified population have opened. Despite the improvements,
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#1732772352875300-869: The 1960s a crosstown expressway running along South Street was planned. This would have created a barrier between Center City and the neighborhoods to the south. The result was widespread abandonment of properties in SWCC and the decay of the South Street business corridor. The loss of jobs and residents caused the neighborhood to decline as buildings were abandoned and left to deteriorate. The Marian Anderson House , Franklin Hose Company No. 28 , William S. Peirce School , Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Freight Shed , Royal Theater , St. Anthony de Padua Parish School , Edwin M. Stanton School , and Tindley Temple United Methodist Church are listed on
325-475: The Center City Residents' Association and the Fitler Square Improvement Association. The neighborhood is mostly residential, composed of single-family homes , and within a short walk of the commercial areas of Center City. A sculpture of three turtles adorn the park made by Philadelphia artist Eric Berg along with sculptures of a Grizzly Bear and a Ram. The center of the park is dominated by
350-521: The City of Philadelphia, via the Department of Parks and Recreation, and is cared for through a public private partnership between the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Fitler Square Improvement Association. The name Fitler Square is also used to describe the neighborhood surrounding the square, bounded roughly by 21st Street on the east, the Schuylkill River on the west, Locust Street on
375-482: 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. In
400-480: The Springfield Beer Distributor and the former JFK Vocational Center (earlier the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies ), which were demolished. The Philadelphia Inquirer states that the area will be undergoing gentrification to the point that the area may no longer be known by its current name "Devil's Pocket." Furthermore, the area is expected to become a major contributor to Philadelphia's economy with
425-590: The area hosts Philadelphia's Odunde festival , a one-day festival and mostly a street market catered to African-American interests and the African diaspora . It is derived from the tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria , in celebration of the new year. It is centered at the intersection of Grays Ferry Avenue and South Street. Fitler Square, Philadelphia Fitler Square is a 0.5 acre (0.20 ha) public park in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States and
450-488: The company and the local South of South Neighborhood Association, but this was soon resolved as the project was deemed a success. Universal Companies has since opened several small neighborhood businesses, low-income housing, and a charter school. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is expanding in the western part of the neighborhood and opened its first facility in 2017 along the Schuykill River. It replaced
475-455: The construction of new homes and rehabilitation of the neighborhood. Also threatening the neighborhood was the proposed Crosstown Expressway . The threat of its construction, which would demolish much of the neighborhood, was enough to reduce property values and add to the neighborhood's blight. The Residents' Association was successful in changing these plans and in the following years the neighborhood drastically improved largely due to efforts of
500-485: The medical facility on the northern edge of the neighborhood. This name has become merely historical in nature since the hospital closed in 2007. Despite this, it is still used and is sometimes shortened to G-Ho . The area is also referred to as South of South or So-So. A small corner of this area is sometimes known as Devil's Pocket . The neighborhood consists primarily of nineteenth and twentieth-century rowhouses interspersed with corner stores, 22 churches and
525-571: The neighborhood still contains some abandoned and dilapidated housing, especially towards the south. 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
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#1732772352875550-614: The north, and South Street on the south. To the east of this neighborhood is the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood; to the west is the University City neighborhood, home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University ; to the south is Southwest Center City (also known as "South of South" or the "Graduate Hospital Area"). The portion of Center City surrounding Fitler Square and nearby Rittenhouse Square
575-408: The potential of $ 63 billion pumped into the economy as well as a job generator. The hospital has hired a consultant to plan the traffic patterns around the area as they did for Delaware Waterfront and New York's Battery Park . The plan is for "... three towers, of about 26 stories each, would be lined up along Schuylkill Avenue." The plans unveiled by the city show that Schuylkill Avenue is part of
600-467: The rivers Schuylkill Canal , (1815-1931) navigation system along the river from Port Carbon to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Schuylkill College , now Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Institute of Business and Technology , Pottsville, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Mall , Frackville, Pennsylvania Schuylkill Regional Medical Center , Pottsville, Pennsylvania Schuylkill River , Pennsylvania, United States USS Schuylkill (AO-76)
625-505: The title Schuylkill . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schuylkill&oldid=1015987078 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Schuylkill, Philadelphia It
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