Riverside–11th Street Bridge is a district in the northeastern section of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

Geography

Riverside–11th Street Bridge lies north of Brandywine Creek and south off the city line with Edgemoore. The western border is formed by Northeast Boulevard (

U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. ...

), the other side of which is Price's Run and East Lake neighborhoods, which include the Brandywine Village Historic District. The

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

(carrying

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

and

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

Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, a ...

) runs alongs the district's eastern side, separating it from the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Gander Hill, Amtrak's Wilmington Maintenance Facility, and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

Shellpot Branch The Shellpot Branch (also called the Shellpot Secondary) is a former Pennsylvania Railroad/ Penn Central through-freight railroad owned and operated by Norfolk Southern since its acquisition, along with CSX Transportation, of Conrail in 1999. The ...

. It roughly corresponds to

census tract A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exi ...

30.2

History

A wooden bridge built in the 1860s over Brandywine Creek was replaced by a steel drawbridge known as the Eleventh Street Bridge in 1882. The current Northern Boulevard Bridge was built in 1932. The neighborhood was the site of the junction of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) Brandywine Branch and its main line at a point called Landlith and ran parallel with the creek on city streets and what has become

Brandywine Park Brandywine Park was the first city park established by the city of Wilmington, Delaware. It is located on the banks of Brandywine Creek, between Augustine Road and North Market Street. The park was established in 1886, and was designed by Samuel ...

. The junction lends its name to the Landlith

Interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively ...

. In conjunction with the construction of the

Wilmington Rail Viaduct The Wilmington Rail Viaduct is a series of fills and bridges, about long, that carries the Northeast Corridor through the city of Wilmington, Delaware, above street level. Constructed between 1902 and 1908, the structure consists principally of ...

and the Wilmington Shop complex in the early 20th century, developers started building modest workers’ housing in the vicinity of Vandever Avenue at the southern end of the property. St. James A. U. M. P. Church church site was purchased on Jan. 13, 1872 and the corner-stone laid on October 12, 1884. The cornerstone of Kingswood Methodist Episcopal Church was laid in 1891. The Kingswood Community Center started in 1946, when a group of residents came together to create a space for youth afterschool activities, which they found at the Kingswood United Methodist Church. By 1956, the church space became too small for the program, and with financial help of foundations and local philanthropists the current 12-acre (4.9 ha) site on Bowers Street was purchased. The E.D. Robinson Urban Farm, also known as the Brandywine Urban Farm, is at Brandywine Street and East 12th Street. Once a debris-covered lot, it was transformed at the initiation of a local bartender, Adrienne Spencer. Named after Eric Robinson, a former City Councilman and neighborhood activist, the farm, has 600 square feet of community gardening and 1,400 square feet of commercial garden space. It has been recognized by the Delaware Center for Horticulture as a model of success in

urban agriculture Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and f ...

. In 2018, Riverside was designated the 19th location to participate in

Purpose Built Communities Purpose Built Communities is a non profit organization founded by Tom Cousins, Warren Buffett, and Julian Robertson to replicate Cousin's East Lake model of community redevelopment within other cities and areas throughout the United States. As of ...

, a public-private initiate to re-invigorate neighborhoods. In 2020, the stakeholders announced a townhouse development which includes affordable housing.

DART First State The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and a ...

operates buses through the district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riverside-11th Street Bridge Neighborhoods in Wilmington, Delaware