Oxford Circle is a neighborhood in the lower

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 ...

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, ...

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. Its namesake is the much used

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection (road), intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The N ...

at Roosevelt Boulevard and Oxford Avenue. The Oxford Circle neighborhood has traditionally included the areas up to Rhawnhurst and

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. ...

but does not really have a fixed boundary other than in publications about Philadelphia which are of a public relations or informational nature. Oxford Circle is also the colloquial name for the nearby Summerdale neighborhood, which is located west of Roosevelt Boulevard, opposite the city's Frankford section. However, Summerdale is, for the most part, a different neighborhood than the one that is discussed in this article.

Geography/topography

Physical boundaries are: Roosevelt Boulevard on the southeast, Oxford Avenue on the west, and Cottman Avenue on the northeast. Oxford Circle's boundaries (including Castor Gardens) seem to have a general basis in the course of three creeks which were part of the landscape long before the development of the neighborhood. Most of Oxford Circle lies between these creeks. To the northwest was the Wissinoming Creek running from above Castor Avenue along Tyson Avenue and on towards Mayfair. To the east is the

Pennypack Creek Pennypack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 creek in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs southeast through lower Bucks Count ...

and to the southeast is the Tacony Creek (which is called "Tookany" north of the city and flows into

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 ...

). As late as 1928, a branch of the Tacony called the Little Tacony Creek still flowed from Castor Avenue past Levick Street and Large Street and on to Roosevelt Boulevard. This Little Tacony Creek connected into the main Tacony Creek which flows into 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 ...

near the site of today's

Betsy Ross Bridge The Betsy Ross Bridge, also known as the Ross Memorial Bridge, is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, du ...

History

Oxford Circle, along with Castor Gardens, Mayfair, and Tacony, was originally part of Oxford Township and was one of the early suburbs of Philadelphia. The area, which included waterways such as the Tacony Creek and Wissinoming Creek, had been mostly utilized for farming up until the time that the land was sold off to developers just prior to

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 ...

. Most of the brick and stone row houses which characterize this neighborhood today were built by the Hyman Korman Company starting in the early 1940s and continuing into the 1950s. During that time and in the 1960s and 1970s Oxford Circle was a relatively prosperous white middle-class neighborhood and the majority of its residents were Jewish – either first or second generation Americans whose parents were born in Eastern Europe (see

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 ...

). Rising crime rates have dramatically changed the neighborhood since the late 1990s to early 2000s. Today's Oxford Circle is inhabited by a diverse population, including

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

s (mostly Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Brazilians),

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

s (mostly Haitians), and

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 ...

s. Oxford Circle is about 31% Black, 25% White, 32% Hispanic, and 11% Asian. The Laura H. Carnell School, named for educator Laura H. Carnell, was added to 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 1988.

Demographics

According to the US Census of 2000 for the area of 19149. The demographics are as follows.
Source
U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 1 (SF 1) and Summary File 3 (SF 3)

Government

Oxford Circle is now predominantly represented in the state house by Jared Solomon. Others who represent parts of it in the legislature are Kevin Boyle and James Clay. In the state senate, it is represented by Christine Tartaglione and John P. Sabatina Jr. Its city council members are

Cherelle Parker Cherelle Lesley Parker (born September 10, 1972) is an American politician. She is currently the Democratic nominee in the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election. If elected, she will be the first woman to hold the position. Parker served in the P ...

Bobby Henon Bobby Henon is an American former politician. He was a Democratic member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2012 until 2022. Political career Henon, an electrician by trade, has worked as a steward, sub-foreman and foreman. The head of the l ...

and Maria Quinones-Sanchez.

Structures and landmarks

Old Trinity Church Old Trinity Church, also known as Trinity Church, Oxford, is a historic Episcopal church established in 1696 located in Oxford Township, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Philadelphia. Building history Church of England services were first hel ...

*Tarken Playground *Jardel Playground *Max Myers Playground *Northeast High School *Spruance, Carnell, and Moore Elementary Schools *Fels Senior High School *Woodrow Wilson Middle School *Castor Ave. (shopping district) *Bushrod Library *Oxford Circle (traffic circle) *Saint Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church *Flagship location of Steve's Prince of Steaks

Residents

*Jerry Shore - Photographer *Patrick Coleman - Philanthropist *George Matysik - Activist *Sr. Mary Scullion - Co-founder, Project H.O.M.E. *Phyllis Kaniss - Media scholar

Public libraries

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 ...

operates the Bushrod Branch at 6304 Castor Avenue at Stirling Street.Bushrod Branch
" ''

''. Retrieved on November 6, 2008.

References

{{NEPhila Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Jewish-American history Jews and Judaism in Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia