Whitman is a neighborhood in the

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It is bounded on the west by Sixth Street, on the east by Front Street, on the south by Bigler Street, and on the north by Snyder Avenue. The name "Whitman" was adopted when the nearby Walt Whitman Bridge, named after poet

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

, was being constructed in the 1950s.

Demographics

According to the 2000 Census, Whitman, combined with Queen Village and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, has 26,300 inhabitants. The racial makeup of the community is White, 60 percent; Black, 27 percent; Asian, 8 percent; Latino, 5 percent. About 40 percent of the population is under 18. Whitman has a very large population of Irish Catholics. The 2010 Census showed progressive changes in demographics, including an increase in total inhabitants, with a marked increase in Asian American and young professional population.

Major landmarks

*Whitman Plaza shopping center, Fourth Street and Oregon Avenue. * YPC Shari-Eli synagogue, 728 W Moyamensing Avenue * Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple on the southeast corner of Mifflin Square The George Sharswood School and SS United States are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Playgrounds

Lawrence E. Murphy Recreation Center, 300 W. Shunk St. This 4.9-acre park has playground equipment, a pool, a basketball court, and sports fields. The five-room building has a gymnasium and multi-purpose rooms. The site was renamed in honor of Lawrence E. Murphy in 1964. He was an employee of the recreation department for 37 years. He worked at this site when it was known as "Greenwich Recreation Center." Mifflin Square, 500 Wolf St. This 4.2-acre park in South Philadelphia has large trees, walkways, playground equipment and a basketball court. Reverend Edward P. Burke Playground, 200 Snyder Ave. A 1.7-acre site with playground equipment, a basketball court and hockey court. Located adjacent to the Whitman branch of the Free Library. The site was named in honor of Reverend Edward P. Burke in 1963. Burke was pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church from 1950 until his death in 1960. He was a vocal opponent of housing and expressway construction projects that threatened to destroy homes in the area. He was ordained in 1922 and served as a U.S. Army chaplain in WWII, retiring with the rank of major.

Education

Schools

The

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

operates public schools in the Whitman neighborhood. * George Sharswood Elementary, 2300 S. Second St. *John H. Taggart Elementary, 400 Porter St. Neighborhoods assigned to Sharswood are also assigned to Furness High School.A Directory of High Schools for 2009 Admissions

Archive
.

. p. 15 (PDF p/ 17/40). Accessed November 6, 2008.Horace Furness High School Geographic Boundaries

Archive
.

. Retrieved on October 4, 2011.

Public libraries

The

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...

Whitman Branch serves the community.Whitman Branch
"

. Retrieved on October 19, 2012.

Notable people

* Joey Coyle, who stole $1.2 million that fell from an armored truck in 1981. His story was developed into a 1993 movie, '' Money for Nothing'', starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

* Jim Kenney, the 99th mayor of Philadelphia, grew up in the Whitman neighborhood and once served as a board member of Whitman Council Civic Association * Mark Squilla, city councilman

District and local organization

State Senate district

* First,

Nikil Saval Nikil Saval (born December 27, 1982) is an American magazine editor, writer, organizer, activist, and politician. A member of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he represents the Pennsylvania Senate, District 1, 1st district in ...

(D)

State House district

* 184th, Elizabeth Fiedler (D)

City Council district

* First, Mark Squilla (D)

Ward

* 39th

Police district

* Third

Civic groups and town watches

* Whitman Plaza Community * Pennsport/Whitman Town Watch *Mifflin Square Patrol * Whitman Council, which holds monthly meetings and distributes bimonthly newsletters

References

{{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Irish-American neighborhoods Little Italys in the United States South Philadelphia