Andalusia is a historic neighborhood and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Bensalem Township,

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It borders

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

along the

Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County and ...

. The ZIP Code is 19020. The area is the southernmost part of the township and of the county. Its boundaries are: Woodhaven Road (

Pennsylvania Route 63 Pennsylvania Route 63 (PA 63) is a state highway located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The western terminus of the route is at PA 29 in Green Lane, Montgomery County. The eastern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I ...

) to the northeast, the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

to the east and south, and

to the north and west.

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

runs through its southeastern section near the

. The neighborhood takes its name from

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, the estate of Philadelphia financier

Nicholas Biddle Nicholas Biddle (January 8, 1786February 27, 1844) was an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States (chartered 1816–1836). Throughout his life Biddle worked as an editor, diplomat, au ...

(1786–1844), now preserved as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. In 1922, the unincorporated village was named Torresdale Manor, after the neighboring

Torresdale Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County. The adjacent ...

section of Philadelphia, and some developments in the area are still associated with that name. Today, Andalusia is a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

, mainly typical of the area. Many of its grid-style streets contain small single-family homes that date back to the 1920s. Andalusia is also home to many historic buildings, some dating back to the early nineteenth century, owned and inhabited by some of Philadelphia's wealthiest families. Architectural styles include

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, Romanesque, and

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

. The neighborhood's main thoroughfare, Bristol Pike (US Route 13, formerly King's Highway), reveals various homes and churches that have been preserved, while the most esteemed buildings, including Biddle's estate, the Pen Ryn mansion, and

State in Schuylkill The Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, also known as the State in Schuylkill, was the first angling club in the Thirteen Colonies and remains the oldest continuously operating social club in the English-speaking world. History The club wa ...

, are hidden along the banks of the Delaware. Saint

Katharine Drexel Katharine Drexel, SBS (born Catherine Mary Drexel; November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American heiress, philanthropist, religious sister, educator, and foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She was the second person born i ...

is buried at the Katharine Drexel Shrine, which is also in the area on Bristol Pike. The Red Lion Inn was located here, at the Red Lion Bridge, along King's Highway (Bristol Pike), at the

. The area contains several shopping areas and abuts the

Philadelphia Mills Philadelphia Mills (formerly and still referred to as Franklin Mills) is an enclosed shopping mall in Northeast Philadelphia, bordering Bensalem in Bucks County and from Center City. Formerly named for Benjamin Franklin, the mall is home to 1 ...

mall. The neighborhood students attend the Bensalem Township School District. The

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

for ''

Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

'', starring

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama '' NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

filmed here March 22–23, 2010. Rita's Water Ice opened their first store in the area.

References

External links

Living Places - Andalusia

The Andalusia Foundation - Official site of the Biddle Estate
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania