Washington Square West, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
The Gayborhood is a neighborhood
in downtown, or Center City
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. The neighborhood roughly corresponds to the area between 7th and Broad Streets and between Walnut and South Streets, bordering on the Independence Mall tourist area directly northeast, Market East
to the northwest, Old City
and Society Hill
to the East, Bella Vista directly south, Hawthorne
to the southwest, and mid-town Philadelphia and Rittenhouse Square
to the west. In addition to being a desirable residential community, it is considered a hip, trendy neighborhood that offers a diverse array of shops, restaurants, and coffee houses. The area takes its name from Washington Square
, a historic urban park in the northeastern corner of the neighborhood.
Philadelphia's Antique Row lies in the area as does the nation's oldest hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital
. Educational and medical facilities associated with, Thomas Jefferson University
, a leading regional medical university and health care center, are located within the neighborhood. The one-time headquarters of the former Curtis Publishing Company
and the University of the Arts
lie at the edges of the neighborhood.
The Gayborhoods's real estate is characterized by two, three, and four-story townhouse
s interspersed with condominiums, mid-rise apartments, and offices with ground-floor retail. The neighborhood follows William Penn
's original grid layout for the city, with many one-lane and pedestrian side streets added later as the population became more dense. In addition to the block sized Washington Square Park to the East, the neighborhood contains the smaller Kahn Park, named after the Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn
.
) and Washington Square West. Both neighborhoods were scheduled for urban renewal
by Philadelphia's City Planning Commission and Redevelopment Authority. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, city officials hoped that redevelopment would clean up the neighborhood and clear blighted areas.
After large-scale renewal of Washington Square East/Society Hill in the early 1960s, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
turned to Washington Square West. In the late 1960s, the Redevelopment Authority bought and demolished buildings and, by the mid 1970s, owned one fifth of the neighborhood . By this time, however, federal money available for urban renewal had declined and the city was no longer able to fund the renewal of Washington Square West. Buildings razed by the city in the 1960s and 1970s were left as empty lots and the neighborhood was left in a state of decline.
Through the late 1970s and 1980 began a slow recovery without the aid of the large-scale redevelopment that had occurred in Society Hill. The 1990s saw a shift in the neighborhood as Mayor Ed Rendell
encouraged investment in Center City and gentrification
began to take hold. By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, the neighborhood had transformed into an economically vital community.
The Washington Square West Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984. The 61 acres (246,858.5 m²) area comprises 450 contributing properties.
The area approximately bounded by Chancellor, Pine, 13th, and 11th streets within Washington Square West is known as The Gayborhood. It is so-named because of its large concentration of gay
and lesbian
friendly small businesses, restaurants, and gay bar
s. It was also a red light district
and center of Philadelphia's gay bathhouse
culture in the 1970s and 1980s. The area is the location for Philadelphia's annual OutFest: National Coming Out Day celebration. On 18 April 2007, the city of Philadelphia officially recognized the area by adding 36 gay pride rainbow flag symbols to street signs bordering the Gayborhood area.
Its success as a city neighborhood has led to several attempts at large scale private development in the Gayborhood in the 2000s. In 2002, developer Tony Goldman attempted to change 13th street and its surroundings into the "Blocks Below Broad" or "B3", with the launch of several new retail establishments. The attempt failed, but was repeated in 2006 by a merchants association organized by James McManaman. The organization has attempted to re-brand the neighborhood as "Midtown Village". The association has been successful in launching several new retail establishments along 13th streets, but the name "Midtown Village" has been met with ambivalence by locals.
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...
in downtown, or Center City
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
, Philadelphia, 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...
. The neighborhood roughly corresponds to the area between 7th and Broad Streets and between Walnut and South Streets, bordering on the Independence Mall tourist area directly northeast, Market East
Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Market East is part of the downtown district known as Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Market East corresponds to the area along Market Street between Arch Street to the north, Chestnut Street to the south, Juniper Street to the west, and 6th Street to the east...
to the northwest, Old City
Old City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Old City is a neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in the area near e Delaware River where William Penn and the Quakers first settled...
and Society Hill
Society Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Society Hill is a neighborhood in the Center City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood, loosely defined as bounded by Walnut, Lombard, Front and 7th Streets, contains the largest concentration of original 18th- and early 19th-century architecture of any place in...
to the East, Bella Vista directly south, Hawthorne
Hawthorne, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hawthorne is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located between Broad Street and 11th Street, and extends from South Street to Washington Avenue.-Background:...
to the southwest, and mid-town Philadelphia and Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...
to the west. In addition to being a desirable residential community, it is considered a hip, trendy neighborhood that offers a diverse array of shops, restaurants, and coffee houses. The area takes its name from Washington Square
Washington Square (Philadelphia)
Washington Square, originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's Southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. It is part of both the Washington Square West...
, a historic urban park in the northeastern corner of the neighborhood.
Philadelphia's Antique Row lies in the area as does the nation's oldest hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital is a hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System . Founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, it was the first hospital in the United States...
. Educational and medical facilities associated with, Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University is a private health sciences university in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The university consists of six constituent colleges and schools, Jefferson Medical College, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies, Jefferson School of Health...
, a leading regional medical university and health care center, are located within the neighborhood. The one-time headquarters of the former Curtis Publishing Company
Curtis Publishing Company
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, The American Home,...
and the University of the Arts
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...
lie at the edges of the neighborhood.
The Gayborhoods's real estate is characterized by two, three, and four-story townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
s interspersed with condominiums, mid-rise apartments, and offices with ground-floor retail. The neighborhood follows 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...
's original grid layout for the city, with many one-lane and pedestrian side streets added later as the population became more dense. In addition to the block sized Washington Square Park to the East, the neighborhood contains the smaller Kahn Park, named after the Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
.
History
The name "Washington Square West" came into official use in the late 1950s and early 1960s as part of Edmund Bacon's comprehensive plan for Center City. In this plan, the south-east quadrant of center city was split into Washington Square East (more commonly known as Society HillSociety Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Society Hill is a neighborhood in the Center City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood, loosely defined as bounded by Walnut, Lombard, Front and 7th Streets, contains the largest concentration of original 18th- and early 19th-century architecture of any place in...
) and Washington Square West. Both neighborhoods were scheduled for urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
by Philadelphia's City Planning Commission and Redevelopment Authority. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, city officials hoped that redevelopment would clean up the neighborhood and clear blighted areas.
After large-scale renewal of Washington Square East/Society Hill in the early 1960s, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, with the legal name of "Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia", was created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945...
turned to Washington Square West. In the late 1960s, the Redevelopment Authority bought and demolished buildings and, by the mid 1970s, owned one fifth of the neighborhood . By this time, however, federal money available for urban renewal had declined and the city was no longer able to fund the renewal of Washington Square West. Buildings razed by the city in the 1960s and 1970s were left as empty lots and the neighborhood was left in a state of decline.
Through the late 1970s and 1980 began a slow recovery without the aid of the large-scale redevelopment that had occurred in Society Hill. The 1990s saw a shift in the neighborhood as Mayor Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
encouraged investment in Center City and gentrification
Gentrification
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...
began to take hold. By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, the neighborhood had transformed into an economically vital community.
The Washington Square West Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984. The 61 acres (246,858.5 m²) area comprises 450 contributing properties.
The Gayborhood
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
friendly small businesses, restaurants, and gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s. It was also a red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
and center of Philadelphia's gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
culture in the 1970s and 1980s. The area is the location for Philadelphia's annual OutFest: National Coming Out Day celebration. On 18 April 2007, the city of Philadelphia officially recognized the area by adding 36 gay pride rainbow flag symbols to street signs bordering the Gayborhood area.
Its success as a city neighborhood has led to several attempts at large scale private development in the Gayborhood in the 2000s. In 2002, developer Tony Goldman attempted to change 13th street and its surroundings into the "Blocks Below Broad" or "B3", with the launch of several new retail establishments. The attempt failed, but was repeated in 2006 by a merchants association organized by James McManaman. The organization has attempted to re-brand the neighborhood as "Midtown Village". The association has been successful in launching several new retail establishments along 13th streets, but the name "Midtown Village" has been met with ambivalence by locals.
Notable residents
- Louis KahnLouis KahnLouis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
(1901–1974), architect - Christopher MorleyChristopher MorleyChristopher Morley was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.-Biography:Christopher Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania...
(1890–1957), author - M. Night ShyamalanM. Night ShyamalanManoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
(b. 1970), director - William StillWilliam StillWilliam Still was an African-American abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, writer, historian and civil rights activist....
(1819–1902), abolitionist