Packer Park
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Packer Park | ||
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Community area | ||
| Packer Park | ||
 Meadow Lake with baseball fields behind it. Interstate 95 borders the park, with the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard behind it. Above an airplane begins its landing at Philadelphia International Airport. | ||
  Packer Park | ||
| Coordinates: 39°54′32″N 75°10′42″W / 39.9088°N 75.1782°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Pennsylvania | |
| County | Philadelphia | |
| City | Philadelphia | |
| Neighborhoods | list
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| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.01 sq mi (5.21 km2) | |
| Elevation | 20 ft (6 m) | |
Zip Codes | parts of 19145 | |
Packer Park is a
Overview
The area was a section of Passyunk Township, a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County and originally occupied by settlers from New Sweden. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. The American Swedish Historical Museum located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park on the southern border of the Packer Park community memorializes the Swedish ethnic history.
To the immediate east is the South Philadelphia sports complex consisting of
Packer Park
Packer Avenue itself was named in honor of
The Packer Park urban townhouses distinguish themselves in South Philadelphia by departing from the Philadelphia grid of streets and blocks of dense rowhouses. This included cul-de-sacs that were designed with a greater emphasis on a green park setting with common green spaces and accommodation for driveways and off street car parking. The community soon became populated by a large third -generation Italian and Italian Americans.
Geary Estates
Most recently, 10 new townhomes have been built on the block of 1900 Geary Street at the site of the former Holy Spirit convent. Geary Estates in Packer Park are three-story, new-construction homes with luxury amenities, including two-car parking, decks, skyline views, a finished basement, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, luxury cabinetry, ten-year tax abatements, etc.
West (The Reserve)
The Packer Park community name expanded in 2003–2007 adjacent to the original footprint became known as the "Reserve" at Packer Park, a separate housing development of 230 homes built on a triangular land area to the west of 20th Street, north of Pattison, east of Penrose Avenue. The Reserve was built on what was formerly a United States naval housing site, built in 1962 and abandoned in 1995 after the Cold War. The Capehart property, a designated ACT II site, housed nearly 400 naval families in two-story townhouse structures separated using a cul-del-sac street design. Upon the Military Base Closing Act in 1995, the United States government deeded the 27+1⁄2-acre Brownfield property to the city of Philadelphia. New luxury townhouses were built on the site by a private developer, John Westrum and Real Estate agent, daughter of the original Packer Park developer, Barbara Capozzi, who styled these homes for families. The colonial-styled architecture incorporated the "green technology" of environmentally adaptive re-use of existing piles and foundations, infrastructure, and materials previously built by the Navy. The existing street layout preserved green areas augmented with large back yards, open area pocket parks and tot lots. The streets and cul-de-sacs were renamed to memorialize sections of Italy to reflect the Italian-American population.
West (Siena Place)
The Packer Park community expanded in 2008 with the groundbreaking of a new townhouse community composed of 313-luxury-townhomes named Siena Place. The development is set on a 30-acre land parcel in South Philadelphia and uses the Packer Park neighborhood name in its marketing program. The newly created neighborhood preserves open green spaces, and provides private garages and ample street parking. The home designs are traditional three-story brick town homes, each with distinctively unique features which enhances the streetscape. Close proximity to major highways, as well as the Philadelphia International Airport allow residents easy access to anywhere they wish to go. The community is home to several prominent Philadelphia professional athletes, including members of the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and Wings because of the convenience and security the neighborhood offers.
East (Stella Maris Homes)
The Packer Park community name extended for a separate 1950s development of about 500 homes, commonly associated with the "Stella Maris" parish housing on 13th street for the priest and nuns until the buildings were completed on 10th and Bigler Street. Thereafter, the area took on the name of the 1960s Stadium built on vacant land to the south border and later demolished to make way for a baseball stadium and known as Veterans Stadium Homes. located west of Broad Street from Packer Avenue south to Geary Street and bordering the expansive parking lots of the Baseball Stadium. The parking lot border includes a large raised buffered zone of green space with dense trees and grass.
South (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park)
This graceful parkland is amenity to Packer Park in non-residential parkland that was established in the late 1800s. It was originally named
Education
The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools.
The Free Library of Philadelphia Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. Branch (formerly the Passyunk Branch) serves Packer Park. The library received its current name in 2004.[1]
See also
- Aquarama Aquarium Theater of the Sea
- Naval Hospital Philadelphia
- Sesquicentennial Exposition
- FDR Park
References
- ^ "Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr.." Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved on October 19, 2012.