Fairhill, Philadelphia
Fairhill | |
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Coordinates: 39°59′40″N 75°08′42″W / 39.99444°N 75.14500°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Philadelphia |
City | Philadelphia |
Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
Fairhill is a neighborhood on the east side of the
History
The area that is now the Fairhill neighborhood was at one time home to the
Fairhill began to develop its urban character in the 1880s. Many of the new residents at this time were German immigrants, particularly German Catholics.[5] With the approval of the Archdiocese and the help of Fr. Henry Stommel of Doylestown, the German Catholic families in the area established Saint Bonaventure Parish (also known as Saint Bonaventura) in 1890. The original parish building was at Ninth and Auburn Streets. After establishing the parish, Fr. Stommel turned over its leadership to Fr. Hubert Hammeke, a German immigrant priest. In 1894, the parish began building a Gothic style church. Fr. Hammeke served as the project manager for the church's construction and construction on the new church finished in 1906. The finished church at Ninth and Cambria Streets included an impressive clock tower and spire. Fr. Hammeke would lead the parish until his death in 1937.
In the 1950s, the demographics of the Fairhill area began to change.[5] The German-American families began leaving the neighborhood with African-Americans and Latinos – mainly Puerto Ricans – taking their place. By 1975, the parish had initiated a Spanish mass and a Carino Center for Spanish-speaking children. The parish, including the school, closed in 1993; St. Bonaventure Parish church was demolished in 2013–14.[6]
Geography
El Centro de Oro
El Centro de Oro ("The Golden Downtown"), also known as "El Bloque de Oro," ("Golden Block"), is a commercial district located at 5th Street and Lehigh Avenue.[7][8] It includes notable Puerto Rican businesses and organizations such as Taller Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Workshop), Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (Association of Puerto Ricans on the March), and Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos (Latin American Artists and Musicians).[9][10][11][12]
El Centro de Oro was established in the 1970s by community leaders from an older Latino community that was in the process of being displaced from the Spring Garden area as a result of
Demographics
As of the census
Fairhill, among other areas of eastern North Philadelphia, is known for having some of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the United States outside Puerto Rico (which is a US territory).[17][18] Furthermore, the area west of 5th street is over two-thirds Hispanic, with the remaining nearly one-third being black, while areas of the neighborhood east of 5th street are nearly 100 percent Hispanic.[17][18][19][20]
In 2002 23.5% of the houses in Fairhill were occupied by the owners. 85% of the housing in Fairhill consists of
Crime
Steve Lopez's novel
Philadelphia Badlands
The Philadelphia Badlands is a section of North Philadelphia and Lower Northeast Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania that is known for an abundance of open-air recreational drug markets and drug-related violence.[25] It has amorphous and somewhat disputed boundaries, but is generally agreed to include the 25th police district.[26]
Usually, it is widely understood to be an area between Kensington Avenue to the east and Broad Street to the west, and between Hunting Park Avenue to the north and York Street to the south, mostly coinciding with the neighborhoods of Fairhill,
.The term "The Badlands" was popularized in part by the novel
The term Badlands was first used by Lt. John Gallo, who headed the East Division Narcotics Task Force[
At one time a center of
The Philadelphia Badlands contain a diverse mix of ethnicities.
Aside from less-organized gang activity, the Badlands is also known as the founding location and current turf of the Irish-American organized crime group known as the K&A Gang (also known as the Northeast Philly Irish Mob). Circa 2012, Irish Americans constitute more than 12% of the population of the Badlands.[33]
The area's reputation has been countered by community activists and nonprofit organizations such as Centro Nueva Creación, which in 2010 conducted a summer children's program, "The Goodlands Photographers", aimed at helping young people photograph and display positive images of their neighborhood.[26]
Government and infrastructure
The
Education
School District of Philadelphia operates public schools. Fairhill School, a K-8 school, serves Fairhill.[35] Residents zoned to Fairhill School are also zoned to Thomas Alva Edison High School / John C. Fareira Skills Center.[36] Fairhill Community High School (FCHS), an alternative charter high school for dropouts and students at risk for dropping out, is located in Fairhill.[37]
The
See also
- History of Philadelphia
- History of the Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia
- List of Philadelphia neighborhoods
References
- ^ "Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names, A-K." City of Philadelphia. Retrieved on January 20, 2009. "Front to 10th Streets, Cumberland Street to Allegheny Avenue."
- ^ "[press.visitphilly.com/releases/philly-s-el-centro-de-oro-neighborhood-radiates-latino-flavor-culture El Centro de Oro1]." City of Philadelphia. Retrieved on January 1, 2016.
- ^ "Fairhill Archived August 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Plan Philly – University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ [1]. "Fair Hill Burial Ground." Retrieved on February 23, 2011.
- ^ a b [2] Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. "History of a Fairhill Block." Retrieved on February 23, 2011.
- ^ "St. Bonaventure | Philadelphia Church Project — Philadelphia Church Project". Phillychurchproject.com. November 9, 2008. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Mandell, Melissa. "El Centro de Oro — The "Golden Block"". philaplace.org. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ Michael Green, Michael (September 17, 2012). "Fairhill: Hispanic Culture and Business Shine on El Bloque de Oro". philadelphianeighborhoods.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ Taller Puertorriqueño. Official website. Accessed 2015-11-08.
- ^ "PlanPhilly | Taller Puertorriqueño closer to building new cultural center on North 5th". Archived from the original on July 4, 2014.
- ^ Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha. "About", on official website of APM. Accessed 2015-11-08.
- ^ AMLA Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos. Official website. Successor organization (2006) to Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos (Association of Latin American Musicians), which was also known as AMLA. Accessed 2015-11-08.
- ^ Far, Gail E. "Spanish Merchants Association of Philadelphia 1970-1988". Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Balch Institute. Archived from the original on August 31, 2007.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Logan Redevelopment Area Plan Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Philadelphia City Planning Commissiom. May 2002. 1 (document page 3). Retrieved on August 2, 2011. "The neighborhood is generally defined as including the area from Wingohocking Street north to Olney Avenue and from Broad Street east to the railroad right-of-way east of Marshall Street. Logan extends west to 16th Street north of Lindley Avenue, where Wakefield Park forms the boundary."
- ^ a b "2010 Census". Medgar Evers College. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ a b "Congreso _ Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ a b "2010 Census Philadelphia, PA 19133". Zip-codes.com. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Figueroa, Cynthia (May 17, 2013). "Health disparities in Philadelphia's Latino community". Philly.com. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ "Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Volk, Steve. "Neighborhoods." Philadelphia Weekly. August 14, 2002. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Philadelphia 2015: The State of the City" (PDF). The Pew Charitable Trusts. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Volk, Steve. "Trouble Spots: Third and Indiana." Philadelphia Weekly. May 24, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
- ^ a b Volk, Steve. "Top 10 Drug Corners"; Archived September 7, 2012, at archive.today. Philadelphia Weekly. May 2, 2007. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ a b Volk, Steve (May 24, 2006). "Trouble Spots: Third and Indiana". Philadelphia Weekly. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
- ^ Philadelphia Inquirer. August 13, 2010. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
- ^ Volk, Steve. "Top 10 Drug Corners Archived September 7, 2012, at archive.today". Philadelphia Weekly. May 2, 2007. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ISBN 9781602391932. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ISBN 9780226894324. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Deeney, Jeff (October 26, 2009). "Ambien for Coke Heads - The Daily Beast". The Daily Beast. thedailybeast.com. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Pray, Rusty. "Against Odds, They Take On Drugs In Badlands On Every Corner, Dealers Sell. With Small Numbers, A Task Force Presses On Despite Risks". Philly.com. Philly.com. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ISBN 9780807753583. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- United States Post Office. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
- ^ "Fairhill School Archived July 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "A Directory of High Schools for 2009 Admissions Archived November 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Bienvenidos and Welcome." Fairhill Community High School. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Lillian Marrero Branch." Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved on October 19, 2012.
- ^ Woodall, Martha. "Librarians Clicking On A Future In Cyberspace." The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 29, 1999. Retrieved on January 16, 2013.
External links
- Fairhill and St. Hugh Redevelopment Area Plan, City Planning Commission, 2003