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Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wissahickon is a neighborhood in the section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Wissahickon is located adjacent to the neighborhoods of Roxborough and Manayunk, and it is bounded by the Wissahickon Valley Park, Ridge Avenue, Hermit Street, and Henry Avenue. The name of the neighborhood is derived from the Lenni Lenape word wisameckham, for "catfish creek", a reference to the fish that were once plentiful in the Wissahickon Creek.
Wissahickon | |
|---|---|
Wissahickon neighborhood gateway sign | |
  Wissahickon | |
| Coordinates: 40°01′05″N 75°11′24″W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia County |
| City | Philadelphia |
| Zipcode | 19128 |
| Area code(s) | 215, 267 and 445 |
The village of Wissahickon was founded by officials of the Pencoyd Iron Works in the late nineteenth century.[1] Beginning in the 1880s, growing numbers of mill owners and wealthy business owners from neighboring Manayunk sought elegant homes on ample lots; they set their eyes on land previously owned by prominent Philadelphia families – including the Camac, Dobson, Salaignac, and Wetherill families – along the Wissahickon Creek. Grand single-detached and semi-detached homes with ample side and rear yards were built, creating "a unique park side Victorian wonderland."[2][3] The neighborhood was considered a highly desirable place to live as it had proximity to the Wissahickon Valley, tree-lined streets, new sewers and water services, and grand homes in high Victorian styling.[2]
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Taking into consideration the four Census Block Groups that mostly comprise the area (BG0209001, BG0209002, BG0209003, and BG0211001), as of the 2010 Census, the Wissahickon neighborhood had roughly 3,163 residents, 1,520 households, and 659 families. The racial makeup of Wissahickon was roughly 87.48% White/Caucasian, 6.32% Black or African-American, 2.84% Asian, 2.75% two or more races, .41% some other race, and .18% were American Indian/Alaska Native. Native or Latino people of any race were roughly 2.87% of the population.[39]
Of the roughly 1,520 households, 15% had children under the age of 18 living with them.[39]
Roughly 44.10% of the residents were between 18 and 34 years old, 33.10% between 35 and 64 years old, 12.64% are under 18 years old, and 10.14% are over 65 years old.[39]
The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools. Cook-Wissahickon School is a K-8 grade school located in the area.[40] The school was built in 1968 at the corner of East Salaignac and Righter Streets to replace the aging Cook Public School and the Wissahickon School.[41] The former Wissahickon School, built in 1887, was located at the north east corner of (then) Ridge Avenue and Kalos Street, now the site of LaNoche Park.[42]
Residents zoned to Cook-Wissahickon are zoned to Roxborough High School.[43]
Free Library of Philadelphia operates its Roxborough Branch, serving Wissahickon, at 6245 Ridge Avenue at Hermitage Street.[44]
A prior library, the Wissahickon Branch, located at Manayunk Avenue and Osborn Street, opened in 1909 and was built on land donated by the Pencoyd Iron Works.[45] It was the ninth Andrew Carnegie-funded Free Library branch designed by the architectural firm of Whitfield and King and featured a main reading room, a children's room which also served as a lecture room seating 100, and a basement consisting of a boiler room, coal bin, staff room, a small magazine room, and two toilets.[46] The Wissahickon Branch served the Wissahickon neighborhood until it closed in 1969. Sometime soon after, the building burned down.[47]
Along the perimeter of Wissahickon is one of the longest and oldest thoroughfares in Philadelphia, Ridge Avenue.[53]
One SEPTA Regional Rail line connects the neighborhood to Center City: the Manayunk/Norristown Line stops at the Wissahickon station. The station was once home to a building designed by the renowned architect Frank Furness; however, the building was later demolished.[54] Improvements were made to the existing station, and during Summer 2016, local artist and Moore College of Art & Design faculty member, David Guinn painted a mural on a retaining wall running along the outbound platform of the station, coordinated by the Wissahickon Interested Citizen's Association, Mural Arts Program, and Cook-Wissahickon School.[55][56][57][58]
The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 9, 27, and 65. The Wissahickon Transportation Center offers connecting service to routes 1, 9, 27, 35, 38, 61, 62, 65, 124, 125, & R. Plans for renovating the Wissahickon Transportation Center were released in 2018 by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.[59] Called the Wissahickon Gateway Plan, the plan's proposals to expand the transfer station, improve Ridge Avenue, extend the Schuylkill River Trail, and introduce new development (including shops, offices, and apartments) were met with mixed reviews.[60][61][62][63]
The local civic association is called Wissahickon Interested Citizen's Association (WICA). The association was instrumental in preparing and implementing a Neighborhood Conversation Overlay (NCO) to mitigate the impact of new development in the neighborhood as well as maintain the walkability and character of it.[64][65][66][67][68][69] Public meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month. Another area civic association, Wissahickon Neighbors Civic Association (WNCA), serves the community northwest of Ridge Avenue. Public meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at Pilgrim Church.[citation needed]
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