Rhawnhurst is a residential

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

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 sepa ...

section of Philadelphia, named for George and William Rhawn by area real estate developers. Roughly bordered by Cottman Avenue to the south, Pennway Street to the west, the Pennypack Creek to the north, and Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, Rhawnhurst encompasses ZIP codes 19152 and part of ZIP code 19111. The geographic center of Rhawnhurst is at the intersection of Castor Avenue and Rhawn Street.

History

By 1940, development in Philadelphia had almost reached Cottman Avenue, but large areas of the Northeast, including Rhawnhurst, were still farmland. Though much development had taken place in neighboring

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, the area between Pennypack Park and Cottman Avenue west of the Roosevelt Boulevard had not been subdivided. The

baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds of defined national and cultural populations. People born during these periods are often ca ...

after World War II caused a demand for housing that continued into the 1960s. The new housing stock was built in the open areas of Northeast Philadelphia. Most homes in Rhawnhurst are twins, along with some ranchers and duplexes, largely built by local home builder A.P. Orleans.

Transportation

The two major modes of transportation in Rhawnhurst are private car and public transportation. Major roads include Cottman Avenue ( PA 73), Bustleton Avenue ( PA 532), Castor Avenue, Rhawn Street, and the Roosevelt Boulevard (

U.S. 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, ...

). The intersection of Cottman Avenue and the Roosevelt Boulevard is one of the most dangerous in the city; recently

red light cameras A red light camera (short for red light running camera ) is a type of traffic enforcement camera that photographs a vehicle that has entered an intersection after the traffic signal controlling the intersection has turned red. By automatically p ...

were installed there to reduce traffic violations. (In a ranking done by

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

Insurance in 2001, 2 of the 10 most dangerous intersections in the U.S. were on the Roosevelt Boulevard.) Several SEPTA bus lines serve Rhawnhurst, with connections to the Market-Frankford Line elevated train (the ''"El"''), the Broad Street Line, and regional rail lines.

Infrastructure and government

The United States Postal Service operates the Roosevelt Mall branch at 2311 Cottman Avenue. This post office serves the communities in 19152. Residents in the portion of Rhawnhurst in 19111 get mail from the Fox Chase post office, located on 7232 Rising Sun Ave.

Education

There are five primary and secondary schools in Rhawnhurst. The School District of Philadelphia operates four schools in Rhawnhurst. Farrell Elementary School, a K-8 school, opened 1960s during the buildup of the Bell's Corner section of Rhawnhurst. Rhawnhurst Elementary School, which serves another section of the area, opened in 1948 during a period of growth in the neighborhood. Woodrow Wilson Middle School, which predates the neighborhood and though on the south side of Cottman Avenue, is the middle school serving those zoned to Rhawnhurst Elementary. Northeast High School is the zoned high school.Northeast High School Geographic Boundaries
." School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on December 11, 2016. The current building is a replacement for the old Northeast High School building at 8th Street and Lehigh Avenue, opened in 1957. A parochial school
Resurrection of Our Lord Catholic School
opened in 1929 and is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Houses of worship

Rhawnhurst is home to people of several faiths
Resurrection of our Lord Church
is the only Roman Catholic church in Rhawnhurst. Major Protestant churches include Redemption Lutheran Church (1929), the Rhawnhurst Baptist Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, the Rhawnhurst Presbyterian Church (1929), the Philadelphia First Church of the Nazarene and th
Philadelphia Boulevard Seventh-day Adventist Church
There are several synagogues and Jewish congregations in Rhawnhurst includin
Ahavas TorahB'nai Israel – Ohev Zedek
The Lubavitcher Center, Mesillat Yesharim an
Congregation Dibrot Eliyahu

Shopping

There is very little industry in Rhawnhurst. There is, however, commercial development. Major shopping centers include the Bell's Corner Shopping Center, the Cottman Bustleton Center, and the

Roosevelt Mall Roosevelt Mall is a medium-sized outdoor shopping mall, located along Pennsylvania Route 73 (Cottman Avenue) between Bustleton Avenue west end and U.S. Route 1 ( Roosevelt Boulevard) in the east end, or Rhawnhurst neighborhood, of Northeast Phil ...

, which opened in 1964 at Cottman Avenue and the Roosevelt Boulevard. Many smaller storefronts also line Castor Avenue, Bustleton Avenue, and Cottman Avenue.

Recreation

The major recreation attraction in Rhawnhurst is Pennypack Park, one of the largest urban parks in the U.S., and the northern border of the neighborhood. Bradford Park, a smaller park popular as a dog park is located near the Roosevelt Mall. The Pelbano Recreation Center (colloquially called ''"Solly"'' because of its location on Solly Avenue), is a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

operated by the City of Philadelphia. Other recreational destinations include the Northeast Regional Library.

Notable persons

Rubén Amaro Jr. Rubén Amaro Jr. (born February 12, 1965) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and General manager (GM). Amaro played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . He was named the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies on November 3, ...

, MLB baseball player, general manager, and coach *

Ralph Garman Ralph Garman (born November 17, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, saxophonist, drummer and radio host best known as the host of ''The Joe Schmo Show'', for his voice work on the Fox animated series ''Family Guy'', former entertainment reporte ...

, impressionist and radio on-air personality * Duane Swierczynski, crime writer *Dennis Duffy, stunt double for Timothée Chalamet * Howard Eskin, radio and TV sports commentator. * brian. (from the future), artist www.brianfromthefutureart.com

References

External links

Historic Photographs of Rhawnhurst
''Philly''History.org {{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Chabad in the United States Jews and Judaism in Philadelphia Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia