Frankford is a neighborhood in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

section 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. Sinc ...

situated about six miles (10 km) northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of

Frankford Creek Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from the nearby town of Frankford, Philadelphia County. The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meand ...

on the south to Castor Avenue on the southwest, to Cheltenham Avenue on the north and to the Torresdale Avenue on the east. Adjacent neighborhoods are Bridesburg,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, Juniata,

Oxford Circle Oxford Circle is a neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its namesake is the much used traffic circle at Roosevelt Boulevard and Oxford Avenue. The Oxford Circle neighborhood has traditionally ...

, Summerdale, and Wissinoming. Historically, Frankford had an unofficial division separating Frankford (proper) from East Frankford encompassing the area east of Frankford Avenue. The division divided the community first along racial lines, with African Americans on the east of Frankford Avenue and Caucasians to the west. As the community has become less homogeneous, the division is more of a vestige of the past. In 2005, the 19124 ZIP code, which roughly contains Frankford and Juniata, had a median home sale price of $81,075, an increase of 22% over 2004.

History

The village of Frankford was established by the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in about 1682 in an area already occupied by

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

and

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. The land known as the Manor of Frank was purchased by the Society of Free Traders, a group of Quaker businessmen in England. The original settlers were Henry Waddy, Thomas Fairman, Robert Adam and Edward Seary. The village very likely took its name from the title of the Frankfurt Company, which took up ground there, along what is now known as

, in the lower part of Oxford Township. Frankford Creek's upper tributaries were the

Tacony Creek Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from the nearby town of Frankford, Philadelphia County. The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meand ...

and the

Wingohocking Creek Wingohocking Creek was once a major tributary of another Philadelphia, Pennsylvania stream, Frankford Creek, which flows into the Delaware River. Frankford Creek was formed by the confluence of Wingohocking Creek and Tacony Creek (sections of wh ...

. Frankford was an early suburb of the town of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

forged a trail through the village running from the original town (now Center City) to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, passing through

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 ...

near the site of his home,

Pennsbury Manor Pennsbury Manor is the colonial estate of William Penn, founder and proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania, who lived there from 1699 to 1701. He left it and returned to England in 1701, where he died penniless in 1718. Following his departur ...

. That trail came to be known as "Frankford Pike" (later Frankford Avenue) and was the town's main street. The village was incorporated into a borough on March 2, 1800, bounded by Leiper Street on the northwest, Little Tacony (or Tackawanna) Creek on the south and east, and

on the west.William Bucke Campbell, ''Old Towns and Districts of Philadelphia'', City History Society of Philadelphia, 1942.
/ref> By an act on April 4, 1831, the boundaries of the borough were extended to include land to the northwest of Leiper Street, the line running along Harrison and Horrocks Streets, to a point on Frankford Creek below Wyoming Avenue. In 1853, the part of Whitehall Borough lying between Torresdale and Frankford Avenues below what is now Whitehall Common was added, to encompass a total of 1.468 square miles. In 1854, the borough was annexed by the city of Philadelphia through the

Act of Consolidation, 1854 The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 (P.L. 21, No. 16), is legislation of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that created the consolidated City and County of Philadelphia, expanding the city's territory to ...

. Frankford was historically a manufacturing center, beginning with a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

constructed in the 1660s. This same mill became famous during the American Revolutionary War due to the heroics of

Lydia Darrah Lydia Darragh (1729 – December 28, 1789) was an Irish woman said to have crossed British lines during the British occupation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War, delivering information to George Washington and the ...

. Before and during the Revolution, two lesser-known grist-mills operated on the creek above the town of Frankford. In 1771, Robert Morris (a miller) purchased a mill at the junction of the

and Frankford Creek. On November 25, 1773, after receiving permission to dam the creek from a Quaker named Nicholas Waln, a feme-sole trader named Mary Peters established a small grist mill. She was in a partnership with Richard Whitman of Oxford Township, Philadelphia County. Frankford also has the distinction of having played a role in the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

"There is also a tradition that on the afternoon of that day, or possibly a day or two earlier, there was a joyful private celebration of the great event, by Jefferson and others, at the garden-house of a country-seat in Frankford (near Philadelphia), then occupied by Dr. Enoch Edwards, a leading patriot of that time."

Frankford was also the site of a gunpowder mill that became famous because of its association with

Oswald Eve Oswell Eve, sometimes referred to as Oswald. (c. 1715 – 1793, New Providence Island, The Bahamas) was a mariner, ship chandler, gunpowder manufacturer and member of the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, elected in 176 ...

and

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

. In the 19th century, the town became a center for textile production. Other

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

industries also flourished. An early description of industry in 1837:

The borough of Frankford, on the Delaware, is the seat of numerous manufacturing establishments, including several cotton-mills, calico print-works and bleacheries, woollen-mills, iron-works, & etc. Here are also an Arsenal of the United States, and a
Lunatic Asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...
belonging to the
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
.

The

Frankford Arsenal The Frankford Arsenal is a former United States Army ammunition plant located adjacent to the Bridesburg neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, north of the original course of Frankford Creek. History Opened in 1816 on of land p ...

rivaled the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It provided over 22,000 jobs and at its peak, produced 8 million bullets per day. In 1922, the Frankford Elevated Line opened, connecting to the Market Street Elevated to provide rapid-transit access to Center City and

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

. The terminus of today's

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 ...

Market-Frankford Line, now known as the

Frankford Transportation Center Frankford Transportation Center (also known as Frankford Terminal and Bridge-Pratt station) is a transportation terminal in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was once known as the Bridge Street terminal before a complete re ...

, became a major transit hub, with connections to bus and trolley routes extending into

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...

. Residents of Frankford live within walking distance of the terminal. SEPTA's elevated train (the "El") runs through the neighborhood above Frankford Avenue. Although the Frankford Line helped to catapult Frankford Avenue into a major shopping district in the early 20th century, the traditionally working-class neighborhood saw decline in the 1950s as many Philadelphians moved to the suburbs.

White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

eventually took its hold on the neighborhood throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By 1990, over 30% of the storefronts on Frankford Avenue were vacant. Since this time, Frankford has seen a push for improvement. In 1993, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission adopted the ''Frankford Plan'' as a blueprint for revitalizing the neighborhood. Although many vacant storefronts remain, businesses catering to new customers have opened in recent years. Many business owners hope that

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of neighborhoods such as Fishtown and

will spread north into Frankford. Others worry that previous attempts at improving Frankford have not been as effective as hoped, with most areas of the neighborhood still suffering from

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. The difference between street crime and white-collar crime is that street crime is often violence that occurs in a public area whereas white-collar crime is non-violent crime ...

and open-air drug sales. Between 1985 and 1990, a serial killer known as the "

Frankford Slasher The Frankford Slasher is the name given by the media to a possible serial killer who operated in and around the neighborhood of Frankford in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1990. Leonard Christopher was convicted in the murder of one of ...

" murdered several women in the neighborhood. Although several suspects were taken into custody, the actual killer has never been identified.

Notable sites

Museums

* Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library, 4278 Griscom St. *

Historical Society of Frankford The Historical Society of Frankford is a historical society and museum is a 501(c)3 corporation located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Frankford neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia. It was a founding member of the Pennsylv ...

, established 1905, 1507 Orthodox St.

Churches

*The Baptist Worship Center, 4355 Paul St. *St. Bartholomew R.C. Church, 5600 Jackson St. *By Grace Alone Christian Reformed Church, 1300 Dyre Street
Campbell African Methodist Episcopal Church
1657 Kinsey St., founded 1804 *Central United Methodist Church, 4620 Griscom St. *Christ Independent Baptist Church, 1618 Womrath St. *The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4610 Frankford Ave. *Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, 4720 Leiper St. *Crossroads Community Church, 4624 Leiper St. *Faith Assembly of God, 5049 Charles St. *Faith Tabernacle, 1744 Foulkrod St. *

Frankford Friends Meeting House Frankford (Preparative) Friends Meeting House is a historic Quaker meeting house in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its oldest parts having been built in 1775–1776, it is significant as the oldest surviving meeting hous ...

, 1500 Orthodox St., established 1684
Frankford Memorial United Methodist Church
1300 Dyre St. *Hermon Presbyterian Church, 4835 Frankford Ave. *Holy Cross Church of Christ, 1822 Orthodox St. *International Druidic Society, 4455 Frankford Ave.
St. James Lutheran Church
Pratt St. and Castor Ave. *

St. Joachim Church, Philadelphia St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church was the first Roman Catholic church founded in Northeast Philadelphia. Established in 1845 in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, the parish was closed on July 1, 2013, part of a wide-ranging re-organi ...

, 1527 Church St., established 1845 *St. John Apostolic Church, 4404-06 Paul St. *

St. Mark's Church, Frankford St. Mark's Church is a historic church in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1832 and continues today. History The church was founded along traditional lines through the mission work of Trinity Church, O ...

, 4442 Frankford Ave., is an Episcopal Church, established 1832 *Mar Thoma Church
St. Mary's Malankara Orthodox Syrian Cathedral
1424 Orthodox St. *Mizpah Seventh-day Adventist Church, 4355 Paul St. *Church Of Christ (Iglesia Ni Cristo), 1676 Ruan St. *By Grace Alone Frankford Fellowship, 4730 Oxford Ave.
New Beginning Church of Philadelphia, 4200 Roosevelt Blvd, 19124
*Northeast Baptist Church, 4744 Tackawanna St.
Christ Fellowship Christian Church
1639 Harrison St., was begun as NORTHEAST BIBLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH *The

Presbyterian Church of Frankford Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, 4302 Frankford Ave., dating to 1605, was begun as a German-speaking reformed church *Rehoboth United Methodist Church, 4229 Paul St. *Second Baptist Church of Frankford, 1801 Meadow St. *Second Spanish Baptist Church, 4917 Frankford Ave. (began as North Frankford Baptist Church – given to Second Spanish Baptist in the early 1990s) *Strait Gate Church of Faith and Deliverance, Inc., 4265 Frankford Ave. *St. Thomas United Methodist Church, 4701 Tackawanna St.
St. Valentine's Polish National Church
2330 Margaret St. *Word of Faith Christian Center, 4355 Paul St.

Schools

*The Charter School of Arts & Science: String Theory (formerly Henry R. Edmunds School), 1197 Haworth St.
First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy
4300 Tacony St.
Frankford Friends School
1500 Orthodox St. * Frankford High School, 5000 Oxford Ave.
Frankford Hospital School of Nursing
4918 Penn St. * Warren G. Harding Middle School, 2000 Wakeling St. * John Marshall School, Sellers and Griscom Sts.
Northwood Academy Charter School
4621 Castor Ave.
Smedley Elementary School
Bridge and Mulberry Sts.
Allen M. Stearne Elementary School
1655 Unity St.

Historic sites

* Garden-House, owned by Dr. Enoch Edwards, where Jefferson and others celebrated the passage of the Declaration is present-day Womrath Park. (Demolished) * Cedar Hill Cemetery, established 1849 *

's gunpowder mill, built 1774. (Demolished) * Frankford Community Memorial Stadium, opened 1922, site of several games of the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won ...

professional football team. (Demolished) * Greenwood Cemetery, established 1869, where Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

kept a summer home in the late 18th century. * The Comly Rich House (built 1826), 4276 Orchard Street, was the first house in the United States to receive a mortgage (1831) * Frankford Avenue, formerly Main Street, and before that the

King's Highway King's Highway or Kings Highway may refer to: Roads Australia * Kings Highway (Australia), connecting Queanbeyan to Batemans Bay Canada * King's Highways, an alternative designation for the primary provincial highway system in Ontario * King's ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

* William W. Axe School *

Friends Hospital Friends Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1813 by Quakers as The Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason, the institution was later renamed the Frankf ...

, the first private psychiatric hospital in the U.S., founded 1813 *

Warren G. Harding Junior High School The Warren G. Harding Middle School is an historic, American middle school that is located in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia. The building was added to the National Reg ...

* Henry Longfellow School * John Marshall School * The

John Ruan House The John Ruan House is a historic mansion in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1796 as the home of Dr. John Ruan (June 9, 1771, St. Croix, West Indies – July 2, 1845, Bristol, Pennsylvania), a physician ...

, built 1796 * Franklin Smedley School * James J. Sullivan School * David Wilmot School

Others

Frankford Hospital
*Eastern Regional Medical Center, a facility of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (formerly Parkview Hospital)

Northwood

Within the bounds of Frankford exists an enclave known as Northwood. Northwood is made up almost entirely of pre-World War II twin and single-family dwellings. Northwood is bounded by Harrison Street to the south, Roosevelt Boulevard to the west and Oxford Avenue to the east, its northernmost point being Sanger Street, just below the intersection of Castor Avenue, Roosevelt Blvd ( U.S. 1) and Oxford Avenue. However, a more broad definition of Northwood would extend to Adams Avenue on the south, including the location of Northwood Park and the larger mansions on Castor Avenue south of Harrison Street. Three of Frankford's schools lie within Northwood. Other facilities in Northwood include Frankford High School's War Memorial Stadium, built in honor of area residents who served in World War I, and Baldwin Field, named for local businessman and philanthropist E. A. Baldwin, who had a milk business in Northwood. The field was dedicated on June 3, 1938. The neighborhood is home to a mostly middle-class population. The neighborhood was also home to former Philadelphia mayor and Representative from the 5th (then 3rd) Congressional District William J. Green, III, and the late

Edward R. Becker Edward Roy Becker (May 4, 1933 – May 19, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pen ...

, former justice on the

Third Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * E ...

for the United States.

Burk Deed Restriction

In 1881, Alfred and Louis Burk founded Louis Burk, Inc., Philadelphia meat packers, and also built the original Atlantic City Steel Pier in 1898. Several other brothers were engaged in this family-run business. (Another brother, Henry Burk, was a well-known local politician.) As real-estate investors and developers in Philadelphia, they bought and sold large parcels of land in Northwood. To protect the integrity of the neighborhood, Louis Burk placed several various deed restrictions upon many of the tracts he sold. One variant form:

BURK DEED RESTRICTION, AS TO THE 900 BLOCK OF HERBERT STREET –
RESTRICTIONS as in Deed Book J.M.H. 317 page 63
UNDER AND SUBJECT nevertheless that no bldg. shall be erected or built or permitted to be erected or built upon any of the hereby granted tract of land or any part thereof except for the use as a private dwelling or a private garage in connection with a dwelling nor shall any bldg. thereon erected be converted or used for any other purpose that there shall be wooden division fences between subdivision of the hereby granted tracts of land that divisions may be made by an iron fence not to exceed 4' in height or a suitable hedge not to exceed that height and that no dwelling shall be erected which shall cost less than $2500 to construct that no garage shall be built within 75' of the bldg. line of either sd. (said) Herbert Street or sd. Ramona Avenue nor shall any garage be erected except of stone, brick or concrete that no lots fronting on sd. Herbert Street shall be erected within 25' of sd. Bldg. line and that on lots fronting on the sd. Ramona Avenue no dwelling shall be erected within 30' of the bldg. line of sd. Ramona Avenue though enclosed porches (temporary enclosures by screens and glass sashing excepted) may extend to within 20' of sd. bldg. line and that as to the tracts first, second and third hereinbefore desc.(described) resp. (respectively) no dwelling shall be erected on any lot having less than 25' front by 100' in depth nor shall any garage be erected on any lot having less than 35' front by 100' in depth that on the lots fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh desc., resp. not more than one dwelling shall be erected on each.

Northwood Civic Association

The Northwood Civic Association received its charter of incorporation as a Pennsylvania not-for-profit corporation during a meeting held in City Hall, Room 577, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, July 25, 1963, at 3:00 P.M., E.D.S.T., there being present: ISRAEL STIEFEL, ESQ., THE MASTER: BECKER & BECKER BY

EDWARD R. BECKER Edward Roy Becker (May 4, 1933 – May 19, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pen ...

, ESQ., For Petitioners. J. WALTER KLINE testified:

''This corporation was originally started in the spring of 1954, and the main purpose was to try and uphold the quality of the neighborhood – to keep real estate from being depreciated, to promote and preserve the civic, social and moral welfare of the community known as Northwood in the City of Philadelphia, to maintain and elevate the quality of land usage therein, to maintain and elevate the value of real estate therein, to prevent the infiltration of degrading and inharmonious land use therein, to do all other things necessary to preserve and maintain the amenities and high standards of the community, to engage in any peaceable activities including the institution of legal proceedings necessary for the promotion of the purposes, and this is a corporation which does not contemplate pecuniary gains or profit, incident or otherwise, to its members.''

CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS NORTHWOOD CIVIC ASSOCIATION Adopted October 19, 1976. Effective February 15, 1978 (Amended May 19, 1981) CONSTITUTION ARTICLE I. NAME and PURPOSE Section 1. The name of the Association shall be Northwood Civic Association. Section 2. The purpose of the Association shall be to promote civic, social, and moral welfare of the community: to preserve and maintain the amenities of the community and to peaceably protest inharmonious land uses which tend to detract from and reduce property values in the community and adjoining areas. Section 3. For the purposes of the Association, the boundaries of the community shall run along the East side of the Roosevelt Boulevard from the Southern line of Friends Hospital to Castor Avenue and Sanger Street; Sanger Street to Oxford Avenue; West side of Oxford Avenue to proximity of Leiper Street; proximity of Leiper Street to Orthodox Street; South side of Orthodox Street to Castor Avenue, Castor Avenue to Wyoming Avenue; Wyoming Avenue to Ramona Avenue; Ramona Avenue to Fishers Lane, Fishers Lane to the Southern line of Friends Hospital North to East side of Roosevelt Boulevard. Note: The historical records of the Northwood Civic Association are now dispersed in several state, local & private archives.

Crime

Frankford was the hunting ground for the "

", who stalked victims between 1985 and 1990. The intersection of Bridge Street and Hawthorne Street was listed number six in a 2007 list of the city's top ten

recreational drug Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

corners according to an article by ''

Philadelphia Weekly ''Philadelphia Weekly'' (''PW'') is a website based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a newspaper in 1971 as ''The Welcomat'', a sister publication to the ''South Philadelphia Press''. In 1995, the paper became ''Philadelphia Weekl ...

'' reporter Steve Volk.

Demographics

Frankford is a diverse working-class neighborhood, containing a wide variety of ethnic groups, including a large number of

Irish Americans , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

Polish Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...

Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

Portuguese Americans Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship. Americans and ...

Brazilian Americans Brazilian Americans ( pt, brasileiros americanos or ) are Americans who are of full or partial Brazilian ancestry. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the Brazilian American population to be 1,775,000, the largest of any Brazilia ...

Arab Americans Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Inst ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

, specifically from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and

West Indian American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...

s, mainly from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, the racial makeup of Frankford is 31.8% African American, 30.8% White, 29% Hispanic, and 8.4% other. The population of Frankford grew by 3% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses.

Notable residents

Butch Ballard George Edward "Butch" Ballard (December 26, 1918 – October 1, 2011) was an American jazz drummer who played with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Biography Ballard was born in Camden, New Jersey and grew up in the Frankfo ...

, jazz drummer and band leader *

, Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * Ea ...

. * Stephen Decatur Sr. for a time kept a home here. * Dr. Enoch Edwards, first medical student of Dr.

, attending physician to General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, also a correspondent to France for Jefferson and Monroe, kept a summer home here. *

Earl G. Harrison Earl Grant Harrison (April 27, 1899 – July 28, 1955) was an American attorney, academician, and public servant. He worked on behalf of displaced persons in the aftermath of the Second World War, when he brought attention to the plight of Jewish ...

, Dean of the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

; Commissioner of the

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

, 1942–44 *

William Walker Foulkrod William Walker Foulkrod (November 22, 1846 – November 13, 1910) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography William Walker Foulkrod was born in Frankford, then a borough outside Philadelph ...

, US Congressman *

Jeanette DuBois Meech Jeanette DuBois Meech ( Dubois; August 10, 1835 – February 6, 1911) was an American evangelist and industrial educator. She was well known as an evangelist, who married a Baptist clergyman. For many years, Meech taught school in Philadelphia ...

(1835–1911), evangelist and industrial educator * James T. Nulty, Pennsylvania State Senator for the 8th district from 1911 to 1914 *Dr.

, Continental Congressman and signer of the

American Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

, had a summer home here.

Education

Frankford, like all areas of Philadelphia, is served by the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

. In particular Frankford High School has been the community's public high school since 1910. In addition to public schools
Frankford Friends School
a private

Pre-Kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through 8th grade school, is in Frankfor

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 ...

also operates th
Frankford Branch
in the neighborhood.

Sports

The community was the home of the

, a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

team that won the championship in 1926 but folded in 1931. Frankford is also home to the N.E. Frankford Boys and Girls Club American Legion Post 224 Drill Team, who won the AMA Nationals Championship in 2005 and 2006. Also part of the community for decades was the Frankford Boys Club. It was an organization that gave Frankford youth an opportunity to learn how to play football, baseball and basketball as part of NESAC. The Boys Club was one of NESAC flagship organizations and participated in many playoff games and championship victories.

References

External links

"Under the El"
Duane Swierczynski, Philadelphia ''City Paper''

Tom Waring, ''

Northeast Times The ''Northeast Times'' is an American newspaper, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that primarily targets the Northeast Philadelphia community. Philadelphia Newspapers, parent of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', bought the ''Northeast Times'' in 19 ...

''
"Fond of Frankford"
Diane Villano, ''Northeast Times''
"Lydia Darragh"
frankfordgazette.com
“Frankford Chronicles Agent Lydia Darragh - Intelligence Operative”
Joseph J. Menkevich, "self publication"
"House and ground where the 1st "4th of July" was celebrated." Enoch Edwards, Womrath property; 4216 Frankford Ave."
ca 1870, P.9062.53b (Brenner) 7⅛" × 9½" Notes: Reduced image in HSP: Bd 862 N447, 6th Series with printed label. *Dripps, M
''Map of the Township of Oxford, Boroughs of Frankford and Bridesburg, 1849.''
*Hopkins, G. M
''City Atlas of Philadelphia, 23rd Ward, 1876''
(includes Frankford)

"Map of The Various Deed Restricted Tracts of Northwood" * {{Authority control Frankford, Philadelphia, Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 Populated places established in 1800 Populated places established in 1684 1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania German-American history Irish-American neighborhoods 1682 establishments in Pennsylvania 1684 establishments in Pennsylvania