Greenbelt Knoll is a residential development in the

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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 ...

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, ...

. Planned and built from 1952 to 1957, it is notable as the first planned racially integrated development in Philadelphia and among the first in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The developer, Morris Milgram, a leader of the

open housing Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typical ...

movement, required that 55 percent of the homes be sold to whites, and 45 percent to non-whites."Black, White and Golden. Greenbelt Knoll residents celebrate 50 years of historical significance,"
by Gwen Shaffer, ''Philadelphia Weekly'', June 20, 2007. The first house sold in 1956 for $20,000. The isolated little neighborhood included its own swimming pool, which was filled in circa 1985, leaving no trace above ground.Greenbelt Knoll Historic District nomination
/ref>

Design

Eighteen (originally nineteen) one-story single-family homes are arranged in a heavily wooded

cul de sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

on Longford Street off Holme Avenue, surrounded on three sides by

Pennypack Park Pennypack Park is a municipal park, part of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation system located in Northeast Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Established in 1905 by ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, it includes about of woodlan ...

. The simple wood-frame homes were designed in a

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style by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

ural firm of Montgomery & Bishop in consultation with architects

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

and Harry Duncan and

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Margaret Lancaster Duncan. Greenbelt Knoll won several awards for design excellence. For example, the American Institute of Architects, ''House and Home'', ''Better Homes and Gardens'', and the National Broadcasting Corporation bestowed its Homes for Better Living award on the development. Also, Philadelphia Mayor

Richardson Dilworth Richardson K. Dilworth (August 29, 1898 – January 23, 1974) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 91st mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He twice ran as the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in 1 ...

, an ardent advocate of exceptional planning and design, conferred a City of Philadelphia Tribute on Montgomery & Bishop; he gave the tribute "for the design of Greenbelt Knoll Homes, which ... brought new standards of contemporary residential architecture to Philadelphia."

Notable residents

The original residents included Milgram himself; Robert N.C. Nix, Sr., the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in

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;

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–winning African-American playwright

Charles Fuller Charles H. Fuller Jr. (March 5, 1939 – October 3, 2022) was an American playwright, best known for his play ''A Soldier's Play'', for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2020 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Ea ...

, who grew up here; the Rev.

Leon Sullivan Leon Howard Sullivan (October 16, 1922 – April 24, 2001) was a Baptist minister, a civil rights leader and social activist focusing on the creation of job training opportunities for African Americans, a longtime General Motors Board Member, an ...

, the civil rights activist who developed the Sullivan Principles and hastened the end of

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; Fire Captain Roosevelt Barlow, a civil rights activist who was one of a group of African-American firefighters to integrate the Philadelphia Fire Department; and

Beverly Glenn-Copeland Beverly Glenn-Copeland (born 1944) is an American singer and songwriter. He has spent most of his life and career in Canada. His albums include '' Keyboard Fantasies'' (1986). Glenn-Copeland began publicly identifying as a trans man in 2002. Ea ...

, a celebrated new age folk-jazz musician.

Historic designation

Greenbelt Knoll was listed as a historic district on the

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (PRHP) is a register of historic places by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts can be added to the list. Criteria According to the Phila ...

in 2006 and in the

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 ...

in 2010. The site is marked with a plaque placed by the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

.New Pennsylvania Historical Markers Include Native American Archeological Sites in Lancaster and a Masonic Temple in Philadelphia Among Others
/ref> Seventeen of the existing homes are considered contributing properties; one home was completely rebuilt following a c. 1980 fire and is considered non-contributing. An additional lot (#17) is now open space, as the house was demolished 1997. Including the 5 detached garages, a studio, and the 2-acre community park that was part of the original neighborhood design, there are 26 resources: 22 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site (park), 2 non-contributing buildings and 1 non-contributing site (Lot #17). The development remains heavily wooded, and both the houses and landscape retain integrity.

References

External links

by Lawrence Van Gelder, ''The

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'', June 26, 1997.
Greenbelt Knoll
at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.
"Neighbors and Nature in Harmony"
documentary video at youtube.com, March 9, 2009.
"Greenbelt Knoll – Philadelphia’s Newest Historic District"
''Preservation Matters'', Fall 2006. *Th

which include materials on the history and creation of Greenbelt Knoll, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenbelt Knoll Houses in Philadelphia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Louis Kahn buildings Modernist architecture in Pennsylvania Planned communities in the United States Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Northeast Philadelphia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia History of racial segregation in the United States