Fairmount, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
neighborhood in the North Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The name "Fairmount" itself derives from the prominent hill on which the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
now sits, and where William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
originally intended to build his own manor house. Later, the name was applied to the street originally called Hickory Lane that runs from the foot of Fairmount hill through the heart of the neighborhood. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Art Museum Area," for its proximity to and association with the Art Museum.
Definitions of the boundaries of Fairmount vary. The broadest definition of the boundaries of the neighborhood place it roughly between Vine Street to the south, Girard Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill River to the west, and Broad Street to the east. This definition places the neighborhood in Lower North Philadelphia, encompassing the neighborhoods of Spring Garden, Franklintown, and Francisville. Some definitions also include the area of Girard College which lies north of Girard Avenue.
A more intimate definition of the neighborhood, and the one most commonly used, places the boundaries at Fairmount Avenue to the south, Poplar Street to the north, the Schuylkill River to the west, and Corinthian or 19th Streets to the east.
History
A handful of European settlers farmed the area in the 17th century, 18th century and early 19th century, when Fairmount was still outside Philadelphia's city limits. Prominent city families established countryseats there as well, including Bush Hill, White Hall, and Lemon Hill, the last of which still stands overlooking the Schuylkill. Fairmount was originally in Penn TownshipPenn Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Penn Township is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.-History:...
, which was subsequently divided, putting the future neighborhood in the newly created Spring Garden District
Spring Garden District, Pennsylvania
Spring Garden District is a defunct district that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The district ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. It corresponds largely with today's Spring Garden neighborhood...
until 1854 when it was incorporated
Act of Consolidation, 1854
The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 , was enacted by General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and approved February 2, 1854 by Governor William Bigler...
into the City of Philadelphia.
During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, British soldiers occupying Philadelphia built defensive works starting on the hill of Fairmount and continuing several miles along a line just south of present-day Fairmount Avenue to the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. Their purpose was to prevent American troops under George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
from attacking them from the north - the only side of the city not protected by water.
Signs of urban expansion appeared in the early 19th century, when three large, innovative, and internationally recognized institutions were located in the district. The first of these was the Fairmount Dam and Water Works
Fairmount Water Works
The Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks. Designed in 1812 by Frederick Graff and built between 1812 and 1872, it operated until 1909, winning praise for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction...
at the foot of Fairmount hill. Beginning in 1822, the Water Works used waterpower to pump water from the Schuylkill River into reservoirs on the top of Fairmount hill, from where it flowed by gravity into city homes and businesses.
An engineering wonder, it was also an architectural and scenic attraction. Its buildings, which included a restaurant, are among the earliest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. Protection of the municipal drinking water that the Water Works pumped was the impetus for the purchase of lands along the Schuylkill that later became Fairmount Park, one of the world's largest municipal park systems. Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
listed the Water Works as one of the two things he particularly wanted to see while in Philadelphia.
The other was Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971...
, less than half a mile away on Fairmount Avenue. The prison opened in 1829, the first prison in the country built specifically with the intention of reforming rather than simply punishing criminals. The prison's hub-and-spoke layout was also a first, and became the model for hundreds of prisons around the world (it was often called the "Pennsylvania Model
Separate system
The Separate system is a form of prison management based on the principle of keeping prisoners in solitary confinement. When first introduced in the early 19th century, the objective of such a prison or "penitentiary" was that of penance by the prisoners through silent reflection, as much as that...
"). Its unique system of solitary confinement for all prisoners did not, however. Intended to provide prisoners relief from the overcrowding and squalor of other prisons and give them time to reflect on their crimes, it led instead to intense despair and sometimes insanity among the inmates and was roundly condemned by Dickens when he visited.
In 1831, these two innovative institutions were joined by a third: Girard College
Girard College
Girard College is an independent boarding school on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Girard is for academically capable students, grades one through 12, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $42,000 to every child admitted to the...
. This school was founded in accordance with the will of Stephen Girard
Stephen Girard
Stephen Girard was a French-born, naturalized American, philanthropist and banker. He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812, and became one of the wealthiest men in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the...
, possibly the wealthiest man in America at the time of his death. Himself an orphan, he wanted to create a model institution for educating poor orphaned white boys at a time when universal public education did not yet exist.
The executor of Girard's estate was another prominent and wealthy Philadelphian, Nicholas Biddle
Nicholas Biddle (banker)
Nicholas Biddle was an American financier who served as the president of the Second Bank of the United States.-Ancestry and early life:...
, former US Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
, who commissioned the building of Founders Hall in honor of Girard. The Hall is the first example of true Greek Revival architecture in the United States and is, like both the Water Works and Eastern State Penitentiary, a National Historic Landmark. In 1968 Girard College entered the nation's awareness again when the United States Supreme Court altered Girard's will by striking the words "poor, male, white, orphan" and set a major precedent for equal access to education for all Americans.
These three institutions were built when Fairmount was still a rural suburban district of Philadelphia. Beginning in the 1830s, the city itself began to grow beyond its original boundaries, and a mixture of homes and factories sprang up on the district's southern fringes. The Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
, the nation's largest maker of locomotive engines, was located on the southeastern edge of the future Fairmount neighborhood and was a major factor in development of the neighborhood south of Fairmount Avenue in the 1840s, 50s, and 60s.
Fairmount continues to be one of Philadelphia’s most desirable neighborhoods owing its location near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, its famous “Rocky Steps” (immortalized in the 1976 Academy Award film, “Rocky”) and its new Perelman Annex, Fairmount is located at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a broad 1.5 mile tree and flag-lined avenue that connects City Hall to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This stretch is known as the “Museum District” since most of the city’s cultural attractions and museums are located here. Along the Parkway are the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia’s Central Library, the Franklin Institute of Science, the Academy of Natural Sciences and the soon to be relocated Barnes Museum. The city’s panoramic skyline is best viewed from the steps of the Art Museum. Street parking is currently a problem due to the high demand for real estate in the neighborhood.
Based upon the famous Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
in Paris in its design and owing to its ability to hold vast amounts of people, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is also where most of Philadelphia’s large outdoor events, parades, concerts, and races are held.
Behind the Philadelphia Museum and along the Schuylkill River are the historic Fairmount Water Works and picturesque Boat House Row. These 10 boathouses and rowing clubs host several regattas each year. Kelly Drive parallels the river and winds through scenic Fairmount Park. Atop one of the bluffs overlooking the river is the historic Lemon Hill Mansion.
Eastern State Penitentiary located on Fairmount Avenue has become another main draw for the neighborhood. Tours of this historic 1829 facility, now abandoned, are offered. It is also annually converted into a massive haunted house during the Halloween season and because of its resemblance to the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
, it has become the focus of Philadelphia’s Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
celebration. The local restaurants join the Penitentiary in this fun event. Actors reenact the storming of the Bastille. The crowds on the street outside the Penitentiary exchange taunts with a costumed Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. After her shout of "Let them eat cake!" a shower of Tastykakes
Tastykake
Tastykake is the brandname for a line of snack foods manufactured by the Tasty Baking Company, currently headquartered at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1914 by Philip J. Baur and Herbert T...
, a local Philadelphia brand of cupcake, is dropped onto the crowds. She finally surrenders and is “executed” by a mock guillotine.
The neighborhood’s Fairmount Avenue contains many diverse restaurants, bars and shops. Fairmount Avenue is the dividing line between Fairmount and the Spring Garden neighborhoods. Spring Garden has many large houses built for the managers of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, other professionals, and brewery owners which date back to the 1840s. Green Street is particularly impressive and recalls the area’s past and proud industrial legacy.
Fairmount’s homes were generally smaller row or town houses and the residents were generally working class. Here row houses were interspersed with lumber yards, coal yards, lime yards, iron foundries, bakeries, dry goods stores, as well as several wagon works and stables. Many of these were built in the second half of the 19th century to support small factories and later the large breweries that located there in the late 19th century and reached their zenith in the early 20th century. One of these breweries with its many ancillary buildings has been painstakingly preserved and turned into fashionable condominiums. Of architectural note is Aspen Street’s “Centennial Block”.
Irish and German immigrants and their descendants made up the most significant part of the population of Fairmount. In 1839, St. Francis Xavier Church (and its elementary school in 1922) was built to serve Catholics in the community, while a variety of Protestant churches, particularly on the eastern end of the neighborhood, served a variety of denominations. St Francis Xavier Church and school continues to serve the community located at 24th and Green Streets, its spire being clearly visible from the steps of the Art Museum. Early in the 20th century, Polish and Ukrainian immigrants moved into the neighborhood where they became a significant presence in its northernmost sections. St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, serves those communities today. St. Hedwigs, a Roman Catholic church for Polish Catholics, closed in 2005 and was demolished in February 2007.
The neighborhood is predominantly still white but is undergoing gentrification as younger professional families, graduate students and singles - including many gay and lesbian households - began to move into the neighborhood, attracted by its location adjacent to Center City (downtown), the Art Museum, and Fairmount Park. Long-time families make up an important but shrinking part of the neighborhood's population, and the tone of the neighborhood is increasingly that of a more cosmopolitan, downtown district.
Infrastructure and government
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Fairmount Post Office at 900 North 19th Street.
Demographics
Fairmount enjoys a multiethnic mix from all socioeconomic strata. Its southern half has become increasingly gentrifiedGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
in recent years, with newcomers to the city settling in the neighborhood for its proximity to Center City.
As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, the racial makeup of Fairmount, Spring Garden
Spring Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spring Garden is a neighborhood in the central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, bordering Center City on the north. Spring Garden is a neighborhood that combines diverse residential neighborhoods and significant cultural attractions...
, and Francisville
Francisville, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Francisville is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its boundaries are Fairmount Avenue to the south, Girard Avenue to the north, Broad Street to the east, and Corinthian Avenue to the west. In 2000, it had a population of about 4,500...
is 65.23% White, 24.24% African American, 3.93% Asian, and 4.09% from other races. 7.63% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The population of Fairmount grew by 3% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses.
Education
Fairmount is zoned to schools in the School District of PhiladelphiaSchool District of Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia is a school district based in the School District of Philadelphia Education Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that includes all public schools in the city of Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the eighth largest school district in the nation.The School...
.
Fairmount is divided between two attendance zones for Kindergarten through 8th grade http://www.centercityschools.com/enrollment.php:
- Bache-Martin School
- Laura Wheeler Waring School
The neighborhood Catholic grade school is St. Francis Xavier School.
All residents are zoned to Benjamin Franklin High School
Benjamin Franklin High School (Philadelphia)
Benjamin Franklin High School is a public high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.The school, located north of Center City, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. Franklin serves several areas, including Fairmount, Spring Garden, the section of Northern Liberties...
for high school but many residents attend Roman Catholic High School or Roxborough Public High School located in the Roxborough section of the city.
Philadelphia Mennonite High School
Philadelphia Mennonite High School
Philadelphia Mennonite High School is a private Mennonite high school in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has approximately 100 students in 9th through 12th grades, and focuses on college preparation.-History:...
is a private Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
high school with about 100 students at 860 North 24th Street in Fairmount.