East Passyunk Crossing is a neighborhood in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.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, ...

, United States. Its location is considered to be from Tasker Street to Snyder Avenue and Broad Street to 6th Street. The address range of southbound and northbound streets is 1600 to 2099, and of eastbound and westbound streets it is 600 to 1399. The name and boundaries of East Passyunk Crossing originated when the East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association (EPX), a Registered Community Organization of the

City of 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. Since ...

, was formed. The neighborhood is bounded by the neighborhoods of Newbold to its west,

Passyunk Square Passyunk Square is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia bounded by Broad Street to the west, 6th Street to the east, Tasker Street to the south and Washington Avenue to the north. Passyunk Square is bordered by the Bella Vista, Hawthorne, Centra ...

to its north, Dickinson Square West and Greenwich to its east, and Lower Moyamensing to its south.

Demographics

The neighborhood has a population of over 12,000 residents, with the majority being homeowners, and the median age is about 35. The rowhouse is the primary type of home construction, most built over 100 years ago. The increasing

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

population in the area, along with LGBT-owned or friendly businesses in the area has led some to name the area the "New

Gayborhood A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...

". Joseph F. Marino, co-chair of the East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association and Town Watch said, "When I was a boy, there were maybe three

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

men in the neighborhood. Now there are three on every block."

Shopping district

The East Passyunk Avenue Shopping District encompasses over 150 independently owned businesses, including many restaurants, along Passyunk Avenue from 9th to Broad Streets. The City of Philadelphia designated Passyunk Avenue from the south side of Federal Street to the east side of Broad Street as the East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District, and collects levies from the approximately 300 commercial properties there, in order to promote the Avenue, for sidewalk sweeping and beautification, economic development, and personnel and general operation expenses. The Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation, a non-profit real estate development and management company, owns and leases many properties and maintains the public space along the East Passyunk Avenue corridor. Regularly spaced along the sidewalks of East Passyunk Avenue, from Broad to Tasker Streets, are embedded 88 cast iron medallions, round, displaying the name East Passyunk Avenue and the face and headdress of an indigenous person. The logo has been used in promotional materials for the shopping district since around the turn of the 21st century. The design was called out in 2018 for its "casual racism" and inaccurate portrayal of the headdress worn by the Lenni-Lenape people who lived in the area, and in October 2020 the East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District began the process to replace the logo.

Major landmarks

The East Passyunk Gateway Park is a landscaped triangle bounded by Passyunk Avenue, McKean and Broad Streets, located at the traffic entrance to the East Passyunk Avenue shopping district. The

Joey Giardello Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whil ...

Statue park, situated in the triangle formed by Passyunk Avenue, Mifflin and 13th Streets, is a tree covered relaxation space with tables and benches. It features a statue, installed May 21, 2011, honoring the 1963 world middleweight boxing champion Joey Giardello. The History of Italian Immigration Museum, 1834 East Passyunk Avenue, celebrates Italian-Americans represented throughout U.S. society, the Supreme Court, sports, show business, politics, science, art, and music. On the northwestern border of the neighborhood can be found The Singing Fountain, situated in the triangle formed by Passyunk Avenue, Tasker and 11th Streets. Besides being a popular relaxation spot, with tables and benches, and hidden speakers that play music, it is used by the Shopping District for planned events throughout the year. During warmer months the triangle hosts a Farmers Market every Wednesday afternoon. The

Free Blockbuster Free Blockbuster is a nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood movie exchanges. There are over 160 Free Blockbuster Boxes across the United States. Typically, Free Blockbuster Boxes are made by upcycling abandoned newspaper distribution ...

Box is located outside of

South Fellini South Fellini is an American film, graphic novel and apparel studio established by Tony Trov and Johnny Zito in 2010. History Starting in the comic book industry with DC Entertainment's Zuda Comics, South Fellini has also developed graphic novels ...

1507 E. Passyunk Avenue, a public movie exchange where people can take or leave a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, VHS or

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

Education

Schools

Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School (''Ss.'' ''Neumann Goretti'' for short) is a private Roman Catholic high school located at 1736 South Tenth Street in the South Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United State ...

, a Roman Catholic high school for 9th to 12th grade, 1736 South 10th Street. *

Southwark School Southwark School is a public K-8 school located in the Central South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of Philadelphia Public Schools. Students zoned to Francis Scott Key School (K–6) are zoned to Southwark ...

, a Philadelphia Public School for Pre-K to 8th grade, 1835 S. 9th St. *St. Anthony of Padua Regional Catholic School, for Pre-K to 8th grade, 913 Pierce Street.

Public libraries

The

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gove ...

's South Philadelphia Library branch, at 1700 South Broad Street, serves this neighborhood.

Recreation and community centers

*East Passyunk Community Recreation Center, 1025 Mifflin Street *United Communities Houston Center, 2029 South 8th Street *James Otis Ford Playground and Recreation Center, 631 Snyder Avenue

Postal facility

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates its Castle Branch at 1713 South Broad Street.

Public transit

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

stations of the

Broad Street Subway The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line r ...

are located at Tasker-Morris (with entrances on both Tasker Street and Morris Street) and Snyder Avenue. It also operates several bus routes: *Broad Street Route 4, northbound and southbound *12th Street Route 45, southbound *11th Street Route 45, northbound *9th Street Route 47M, northbound *8th Street Routes 47 and 47M, southbound *7th Street Route 47, northbound *Snyder Avenue Route 79, eastbound and westbound *Morris Street Route 29, eastbound *Tasker Street Route 29, westbound

Houses of worship

*St. Nicholas of Tolentine Roman Catholic Church *St. John's Baptist Church *Indonesian Light Church Philadelphia *International Bethel Church *Bethany Indonesian Church of God *Abundant Life Chinese Church *Prophetic Church of Christ *First Christian Assembly *Abundant Harvest House of Prayer *Little David Baptist Church *St. George Coptic Orthodox Center *Indonesian Full Gospel Fellowship Church *

South Philadelphia Shtiebel The South Philadelphia Shtiebel ( he, סאוט פילאדעלפיא שטיבל) is an active synagogue and center of Jewish life in the East Passyunk neighborhood of South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the sectio ...

*Zhen Ru Temple Zhen Buddhist temple *Iglesia De Cristo Misionera

District and local organization

State Senate district

* First,

Nikil Saval Nikil Saval (born December 27, 1982) is an Indian-American magazine editor, writer, organizer, activist, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represents the 1st district in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Early life and educatio ...

(D)

State House district

* 184th, Elizabeth Fiedler (D)

City Council district

* First,

Mark Squilla Mark F. Squilla is a Democratic politician and member of the City Council of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Political career Squilla is active in Philadelphia Democratic politics, having held a variety of positions. In the 2004 Democratic primary, ...

(D)

Ward

* 1st * 39th

Police district

* Third

Civic groups and town watches

The East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association and Town Watch, Inc. aims to "advance the civic pride and preserve the historic integrity" of the area. The organization's activities are directed by five standing committees: Beautification (Clean and Green), Public Safety/Town Watch, Zoning/Planning, Community Relations (Marketing and Events) and Membership. Activities include monthly street clean-ups, neighborhood fairs, weekly Town Watch patrols and representation at local Zoning Board Commission hearings.East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association and Town Watch
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References

{{American gay villages Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Gay villages in Pennsylvania Little Italys in the United States South Philadelphia