Wynnefield, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Wynnefield is a predominantly African-American, middle-class
neighborhood
in West Philadelphia
. Its borders are 53rd Street at Jefferson to the south, Philadelphia's Fairmount Park
to the east, City Avenue (commonly referred to as "City Line") to the north and the Amtrak
Main Line
tracks to the west.
Surrounding neighborhoods include Bala Cynwyd to the north, Wynnefield Heights
and Belmont Village to the east, Parkside
to the south, and Overbrook
to the west . Its main commercial arteries are North 54th Street, Bryn Mawr Avenue (2200 block), and City Avenue. It is the home of St. Joseph's University, a Catholic
Jesuit University of some 7,000 students and the television station WPHL-TV
(MY PHL 17). It also has a connections to the motion picture industry
. Wynnefield is the childhood home of actor
Will Smith
, film producer
Lee Daniels
("Monster's Ball
" and "The Woodsman
"), film director
Charles Stone III
, politico and former "Big Brother"
reality-TV
contestant Will Mega and documentary
filmmaker Tigre Hill
.
As of 2006, changes to the neighborhood include the expansion of St. Joseph's University, and an influx of students and new residents of non-African descent moving into the area.
Local politicians with Wynnefield ties include Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, former mayor Wilson Goode, city councilman Curtis Jones, Jr, and councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown.
an community of Wynnewood
, Wynnefield takes its name from William Penn
's physician, Thomas Wynne
, who built his home "Wynnestay" at 52nd Street and Woodbine Avenue in 1690. It has previously been known as a part of Delaware County
, later annexed by Philadelphia and known as Balwynne Park or Woodside Park. The Woodside Park portion is now the separate community of Wynnefield Heights
.
Woodside Park was an amusement park
constructed by the city's Fairmount Park Transportation Company that operated from 1897 to 1955.
From about 1900, Wynnefield was an upscale and predominately Jewish-American community, consisting largely of immigrants from Russia, Germany, and elsewhere. Until the 1960s, Wynnefield was known as a safe and upscale shopping district. Small, local boutiques thrived alongside of The Blum Store, Bonwit Teller, and Lord & Taylor
. Betty's hat shop was a popular destination for the Main Line
elite and Jackie Kennedy
fans. Suburbanites would bring their families to spend the day shopping and to enjoy a meal at local haunts such as Pub Tiki and Williamson's Restaurant. Women from areas such as nearby Bucks County would ride into Wynnefield on SEPTA buses, donning their best garb and wearing their white gloves.
In the mid-1960s, the neighborhood began the transition into being largely African American, and in the mid-1980s, the community became a victim of the crack epidemic, during which violent crimes surged throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and even today in its southern portion, where gangs operate.
Much of the development of Wynnefield after the 1960s is due to the influence of the late Katie B. Jackson (1929–1993). Known by the African-American community as "Queen of Wynnefield," Jackson founded the Wynnefield Academy, a private, co-educational PK-4 elementary school in 1975. The Katie B. Jackson Development Corporation and Katie B. Jackson Senior Citizens Complex bear her name.
Har Zion Synagogue was a longtime resident of the area, built at 54th & Wynnefield Ave in 1924, before moving to larger facilities in Penn Valley, PA
in 1976.
.
Elementary schools:
Middle schools:
High schools:
In addition, The Laboratory Charter School of Communications and Languages is an area charter school
.
operates the Wynnefield Branch http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/branch.cfm?loc=WYN.
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
neighborhood
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 West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
. Its borders are 53rd Street at Jefferson to the south, Philadelphia's Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...
to the east, City Avenue (commonly referred to as "City Line") to the north and the Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Main Line
Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
The Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line is an electrified rail line owned and operated by Amtrak in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Zoo Interlocking in Philadelphia, where it meets the Northeast Corridor, west to Harrisburg , where electrification ends, along the former...
tracks to the west.
Surrounding neighborhoods include Bala Cynwyd to the north, Wynnefield Heights
Wynnefield Heights, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wynnefield Heights is a middle class neighborhood located in the greater West Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. This suburban neighborhood bordering on City Avenue is also known as Woodside Park or Balwynne Park...
and Belmont Village to the east, Parkside
Parkside, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Parkside is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Much of the Parkside neighborhood was built during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. It is a National Register of Historic Places Historic District with many examples of Victorian architecture, some...
to the south, and Overbrook
Overbrook, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overbrook is a neighborhood northwest of West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The area contains an assortment of housing from large, old homes to row homes to 3-4 story apartment buildings.-Physical setting:...
to the west . Its main commercial arteries are North 54th Street, Bryn Mawr Avenue (2200 block), and City Avenue. It is the home of St. Joseph's University, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Jesuit University of some 7,000 students and the television station WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
(MY PHL 17). It also has a connections to the motion picture industry
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
. Wynnefield is the childhood home of actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels
Lee Louis Daniels is an American actor, film producer, and director. He produced Monster's Ball and directed the film Precious, which received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director; the film won two of the awards.-Early years:Daniels was born on Christmas Eve, 1959, in...
("Monster's Ball
Monster's Ball
Monster's Ball is a 2001 romantic drama film directed by Marc Forster, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, and Heath Ledger, and written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. It was produced by Lionsgate and Lee Daniels Entertainment....
" and "The Woodsman
The Woodsman
The Woodsman is a 2004 drama film directed and co-written by Nicole Kassell, based on Fechter's play of the same name. The movie stars Kevin Bacon as a convicted child molester who must adjust to life after prison.-Plot:...
"), film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Charles Stone III
Charles Stone III
Charles Stone III is a film director, known for films such as Drumline starring Nick Cannon, Mr. 3000 starring Bernie Mac, and Paid in Full....
, politico and former "Big Brother"
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
reality-TV
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
contestant Will Mega and documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaker Tigre Hill
Tigre Hill
Tigre Hill is a filmmaker known for tackling controversial subjects. He is perhaps best known for his first documentary, The Shame of a City.-Background:Tigre Hill was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the western Philadelphia neighborhood of Wynnefield...
.
As of 2006, changes to the neighborhood include the expansion of St. Joseph's University, and an influx of students and new residents of non-African descent moving into the area.
Local politicians with Wynnefield ties include Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, former mayor Wilson Goode, city councilman Curtis Jones, Jr, and councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown.
History
Like the nearby suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an community of Wynnewood
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania is a suburban community located outside of Philadelphia in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Wynnewood was named in 1691 for Dr. Thomas Wynne, William Penn's physician and the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania General...
, Wynnefield takes its name from 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 physician, Thomas Wynne
Thomas Wynne
Dr. Thomas Wynne was personal physician of William Penn and one of the original settlers of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania. Born in Ysceifiog, Wales, where his family dated back seventeen generations to Owain Gwynedd,...
, who built his home "Wynnestay" at 52nd Street and Woodbine Avenue in 1690. It has previously been known as a part of Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
, later annexed by Philadelphia and known as Balwynne Park or Woodside Park. The Woodside Park portion is now the separate community of Wynnefield Heights
Wynnefield Heights, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wynnefield Heights is a middle class neighborhood located in the greater West Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. This suburban neighborhood bordering on City Avenue is also known as Woodside Park or Balwynne Park...
.
Woodside Park was an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
constructed by the city's Fairmount Park Transportation Company that operated from 1897 to 1955.
From about 1900, Wynnefield was an upscale and predominately Jewish-American community, consisting largely of immigrants from Russia, Germany, and elsewhere. Until the 1960s, Wynnefield was known as a safe and upscale shopping district. Small, local boutiques thrived alongside of The Blum Store, Bonwit Teller, and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
. Betty's hat shop was a popular destination for the Main Line
Pennsylvania Main Line
The Main Line is an unofficial historical and socio-cultural region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, comprising a collection of affluent towns built along the old Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad which ran northwest from downtown Philadelphia parallel to Lancaster Avenue , a road...
elite and Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
fans. Suburbanites would bring their families to spend the day shopping and to enjoy a meal at local haunts such as Pub Tiki and Williamson's Restaurant. Women from areas such as nearby Bucks County would ride into Wynnefield on SEPTA buses, donning their best garb and wearing their white gloves.
In the mid-1960s, the neighborhood began the transition into being largely African American, and in the mid-1980s, the community became a victim of the crack epidemic, during which violent crimes surged throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and even today in its southern portion, where gangs operate.
Much of the development of Wynnefield after the 1960s is due to the influence of the late Katie B. Jackson (1929–1993). Known by the African-American community as "Queen of Wynnefield," Jackson founded the Wynnefield Academy, a private, co-educational PK-4 elementary school in 1975. The Katie B. Jackson Development Corporation and Katie B. Jackson Senior Citizens Complex bear her name.
Har Zion Synagogue was a longtime resident of the area, built at 54th & Wynnefield Ave in 1924, before moving to larger facilities in Penn Valley, PA
Penn Valley, Pennsylvania
Penn Valley is a town in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Penn Valley residents share a zip code with either Narberth or Wynnewood because the town does not have its own post office. However, Penn Valley is its own distinct community with its own civic association.-Notable residents:*M...
in 1976.
Public schools
Wynnefield is served by 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...
.
Elementary schools:
- Samuel Gompers Elementary School
- William B. Mann Elementary School. However, this school is now a Mastery Charter School.
Middle schools:
High schools:
- The neighborhood feeder school for Wynnefield is Overbrook High SchoolOverbrook High School (Philadelphia)Overbrook High School is an inner-city, public, four-year secondary school in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.-School:...
.
In addition, The Laboratory Charter School of Communications and Languages is an area charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
.
Private schools
- Wynnefield Academy
- Woodbine Academy
- St. Rose of Lima Catholic School
- Settlement Music SchoolSettlement Music School (Philadelphia)Settlement Music School is a community music education organization with branches in and around Philadelphia. Founded in 1908, it is the largest community school of the arts in the United States serving 15,000 students each year, regardless of age, race, or financial means through outreach and at...
, West Philadelphia Branch
Public libraries
Free Library of PhiladelphiaFree Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr...
operates the Wynnefield Branch http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/branch.cfm?loc=WYN.
Places of worship
- Wynnefield Presbyterian Church
- Pinn Memorial Baptist Church
- West Side Baptist Church
- Wynnefield Baptist Church
- St. Barbara Catholic Church
- Bethel Holiness Pentecostel Church
- Overbrook Avenue Gospel Hall
- New Testament Church of God
- Endtime Zion Church of Jesus
- Community Bible Tabernacle Church
- International Church of God
- Church of the Advocate
- Evelyn Graves Ministries Church
- Baha'i Community of Phila
- Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Mosque