Morrell Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Morrell Park is a neighborhood
located in the Northeast
section of Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. It is located on the eastern side of the Far Northeast, north of Grant Avenue and east of Northeast Philadelphia Airport
.
, which flows through and about the development before its confluence with Poquessing Creek
.
and owned extensive land in Torresdale
. His wife Louise was the daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel and Francis's second wife Emma Bouvier, related [first cousin twice removed] to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Louise's uncle was Anthony J. Drexel, founder of Drexel University
, and her two older half-sisters were Elizabeth Drexel and Saint Katharine Drexel
. The Morrells built their summer homehttp://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/wh/ne/more.jpg, one of the five homes they maintained, near what is now Morrell and Frankford Avenues, not too far from Francis Drexel's summer homehttp://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/wh/ne/dref.jpg, which was itself near what is now the emergency room of Aria Health's Torresdale Campus.
The Morrells entertained extensively, maintained a horse track, established the first telephone line north of Frankford
, built the electric-light plant in the area, and conducted an amusement park called Torresdale Park, located by Poquessing Creek
behind the trolley barn at Frankford Avenue and Knights Road. The park ran from 1880 to 1906. After Torresdale Park closed, it donated many of its rides to Willow Grove Park
, once located at the site of the present-day Willow Grove Mall.
The Morrells had no children. Edward Morrell served on Philadelphia's board of education from 1912 to 1916, and died in Colorado Springs, CO (where he had gone for health reasons) in September 1917; he is interred in a family crypt at Eden Hall in Torresdale. Louise died twenty-six years after her husband, in 1943, and the area was planned for development by the Korman Corporation in the late 1950s.
Morrell Park was settled in earnest during the 1960s by families moving from other areas of Philadelphia. Children attended the Aloysius Fitzpatrick Elementary School at Knights Rd & Chalfont Dr until the John Hancock Elementary School opened at West Crown & Morrell Ave in the autumn of 1964. The population of its postal Zip Code
, 19114, which covers more territory than Morrell Park alone once did, was approximated at 31,000 inhabitants in 1990.
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
located in the Northeast
Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
section of Philadelphia
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,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located on the eastern side of the Far Northeast, north of Grant Avenue and east of Northeast Philadelphia Airport
Northeast Philadelphia Airport
Northeast Philadelphia Airport is a public airport located just north of the intersection of Grant Avenue and Ashton Road in the Ashton-Woodenbridge neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia. It is part of the Philadelphia Airport System along with Philadelphia International Airport, and is the...
.
Characteristics
Morrell Park is primarily a residential district, with only a handful of small industries, all of which are located within one and a half miles of the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The residences themselves consist mostly of rowhouses, but Morrell Park is distinctive in that most of its row homes have garages in front, facing and with access to the street, something quite different from the traditional Philadelphia rowhouse design. (An exception is one side of one block of Wessex Lane and Churchill Lane, where houses have garages in the back with access to a shared driveway. The duplexes along Frankford Ave. are also set up in this manner.) Later rowhouses followed this form of having garages in the front, but this was first seen in Morrell Park in the very late 1950s. Most homes have kitchens that face the front, living rooms that face the rear of the property, three or four bedrooms, and about 1200 sq ft (111.5 m²) of living space. The street pattern of the development is also quite distinctive, as a view of an aerial photo will confirm, consisting of a few through streets that curve through many looping side streets with only one culs-de-sac, Pitt Pl. The streets curve to conform to the natural topography of the area, for years avoiding development right along the stream valley of Byberry CreekByberry Creek
Byberry Creek is a tributary of Poquessing Creek in northeastern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.Byberry Creek is formed from two branches that flow through Northeast Philadelphia, Wilsons Run and Waltons Run....
, which flows through and about the development before its confluence with Poquessing Creek
Poquessing Creek
Poquessing Creek is a creek, a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County and the northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has been part of the boundary between Bucks and Philadelphia counties since 1682.The creek arises in Trevose and...
.
History
The land area of Morrell Park was originally the 300 acres (1.2 km²) summer home estate of Edward and Louise Morrell. Colonel Edward deVeaux Morrell (1863-1917), a lawyer, was a US congressman from 1900 to 1907. Born in Newport, Rhode Island, he was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1885. He was a colonel and afterward a brigadier general in the National Guard. He was a member of the First Troop Philadelphia City CavalryFirst Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
thumb|right|300px|Captain [[Joseph Lapsley Wilson]] of the First City Troop circa 1894The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.-History:...
and owned extensive land in Torresdale
Torresdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This article is about a place in Pennsylvania; for the United Kingdom locations, see Torrisdale Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. His wife Louise was the daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel and Francis's second wife Emma Bouvier, related [first cousin twice removed] to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Louise's uncle was Anthony J. Drexel, founder of Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
, and her two older half-sisters were Elizabeth Drexel and Saint Katharine Drexel
Katharine Drexel
Saint Katharine Drexel, S.B.S., was an American Religious Sister, heiress, philanthropist and educator, later canonized as a Roman Catholic saint.-Life and religious work:...
. The Morrells built their summer homehttp://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/wh/ne/more.jpg, one of the five homes they maintained, near what is now Morrell and Frankford Avenues, not too far from Francis Drexel's summer homehttp://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/wh/ne/dref.jpg, which was itself near what is now the emergency room of Aria Health's Torresdale Campus.
The Morrells entertained extensively, maintained a horse track, established the first telephone line north of Frankford
Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Frankford is a large and important neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankford Creek, now roughly Adams to Aramingo...
, built the electric-light plant in the area, and conducted an amusement park called Torresdale Park, located by Poquessing Creek
Poquessing Creek
Poquessing Creek is a creek, a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County and the northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has been part of the boundary between Bucks and Philadelphia counties since 1682.The creek arises in Trevose and...
behind the trolley barn at Frankford Avenue and Knights Road. The park ran from 1880 to 1906. After Torresdale Park closed, it donated many of its rides to Willow Grove Park
Willow Grove Park
Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania , United States, that operated for eighty years from 1896 until the 1975 season. The park operated under the name Six Gun Territory from 1972...
, once located at the site of the present-day Willow Grove Mall.
The Morrells had no children. Edward Morrell served on Philadelphia's board of education from 1912 to 1916, and died in Colorado Springs, CO (where he had gone for health reasons) in September 1917; he is interred in a family crypt at Eden Hall in Torresdale. Louise died twenty-six years after her husband, in 1943, and the area was planned for development by the Korman Corporation in the late 1950s.
Morrell Park was settled in earnest during the 1960s by families moving from other areas of Philadelphia. Children attended the Aloysius Fitzpatrick Elementary School at Knights Rd & Chalfont Dr until the John Hancock Elementary School opened at West Crown & Morrell Ave in the autumn of 1964. The population of its postal Zip Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, 19114, which covers more territory than Morrell Park alone once did, was approximated at 31,000 inhabitants in 1990.
