Powelton Village
Powelton Village is a neighborhood on the west side of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is adjacent to University City, extending north from Market Street to Spring Garden Street, east to 32nd Street, west to 40th and Spring Garden Streets, and to 44th and Market Streets.
Powelton Village takes its name from the Powel Family, 17th century Welsh colonialists who held extensive estates in the area. Like other parts of West Philadelphia, in the late 1800s trolley lines opened the area up to urbanization. Powelton soon became a choice residential spot for Philadelphia industrial tycoons. Powelton's luster began to wain by the 1920s, and by the 1940s the neighborhood was populated by low income families and infested with "bottom" gangs. This began to change with the emergence of the 1960s counter-culture movement, and Powelton today enjoys a strong political activism and anarchist tradition, as well as a healthy multiethnic pluralism.
Powelton Village was home to the organization known as MOVE during the 1970s until neighbors complained of their uncleanly habits. In August of 1978, a stand-off between MOVE and police ended in gunshots and violence and forced MOVE to leave the neighborhood. The MOVE house in Powelton Village was demolished the next day.
The southern end of Powelton Village includes property owned by Drexel University. Many students from Drexel live off-campus in Powelton's urban-structured rowhouse apartments because it is walking distance to and from the college campus. The Powelton community has had a love-hate relationship with Drexel University. The Powelton Village Civic Association voices the neighborhood's concerns to local authorities. One of the residents' concerns included losing their view of Center City, prompting Drexel University to limit the height of their new buildings. Drexel also had interest in making an exchange of land with the Powelton community--an empty concrete lot at the corner of 32nd and Powelton Avenue for a community garden on 33rd and Race Street. As of yet, no agreement has been reached despite years of negotiating.
Many local businesses benefit not only from local Powelton residents, but college students as well. Lou's Restaurant, Powelton Pizza, Village Pizza, California Pizza, and Ed's are all popular eating places.
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Categories: Philadelphia neighborhoods