Dickinson Narrows, Philadelphia

Dickinson Square West
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia County
City	Philadelphia
Area code(s)	Area code 215

Dickinson Narrows, Philadelphia is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia and is partially a sector of larger existing areas, Pennsport and Passyunk Square.^[1] It is bound by Washington Avenue to the North, Mifflin Street to the South, 4th Street to the East, and 6th Street to the West. Dickinson Narrows is called "Dickinson Square West" by the neighborhood association located within its boundaries.^[2]

Boundaries

Washington Avenue to Mifflin Street, Fourth to Sixth streets

History

Dickinson Narrows adjoins some of the earliest settled land in the City of Philadelphia to the east. Lenni Lenape Indians initially inhabited the overall area, until Swedish settlers arrived in 1638. However, upon William Penn's arrival in 1682, the area was deemed 'Southwark'. It quickly grew and the area was then divided into two townships but retained their original American Indian names, Moyamensing (pigeon droppings) and Passyunk (in the valley). The area grew mainly due to the busy port at Washington Avenue and the Delaware River served as immigration entrance point and train transfer point for Civil War soldiers.

There were many iron foundries scattered in the northern portion of Dickinson Narrows, including the present-day Sacks Playground and Mount Sinai Hospital. The population of new immigrants, many Jewish, spilled beyond the traditional borders of Southwark, westward beyond 4th Street, as well as southward below Washington Avenue away from the city center. A lively commercial market developed along 7th Street where Jewish merchants sold a variety of goods, becoming the main commercial corridor in South Philadelphia. Important community centers, such as the Workmen’s Circle on 6th Street and Tasker Street, established. This group worked to preserve and promote Yiddish culture and support members involvement in the labor movement.

To provide for the medical needs of the burgeoning Russian Jewish population, the Beth Israel Hospital formed in 1899 to treat the area's poor Jewish population, later absorbed by the Franklin Free Dispensary, which then merged with similar groups to form the Mount Sinai Hospital Association in 1900. Jacob D. Lit of Lit Brothers fame would be their president. In 1903, the Association was able to buy an old lumber yard at the 1400 block of South 5th Street, central to the neighborhood that was the most in need. The $25,000 purchase included the yard’s four-story building, which would become the first Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital opened to the public in March 1905. Though created to serve the immediate neighborhood, Mount Sinai Hospital was the only hospital south of Pine Street and east of Broad (100,000 potential patients). The 33-bed hospital served a large geographic area, all eligible for free treatment (mainly paid for by Lits). Expanding and growing, additional buildings were constructed. Late Victorian homes, known as Doctor's Row, were constructed along 5th Street south of Wharton in 1865 to accommodate the hospital personnel. By the end of the 1980s, it extended nearly all the way across the square block, having eliminated St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church (1865) and two small residential streets. The hospital struggled financially and after a series of owners, it closed in 1997 and has remained vacant.^[3]

Landmarks

• Mt. Sinai Hospital at 5th & Reed, (Louis Magaziner, Colonial Revival, 1905), National Palace Theatre at 1332 S. 5th Street (Medoff, Late Victorian, 1909), George Washington Elementary School at 5th & Federal (Irwin T. Catherine, Art Deco, 1935), former Southwark Branch Library at 5th & Washington (Boyd, 1911).
• U.S. Congressional District: 1st, Bob Brady (D)^[4]
• U.S. Senators: Bob Casey (D);^[5] Pat Toomey (R)^[6]
• Pennsylvania Governor: Tom Corbett (R)^[7]

State Senate District: Lawrence M. Farnese Jr. (D)^[8] State House District: 175th, Michael H. O'Brien (D);^[9] 184th, William F. Keller (D)^[10] City Council District: 1st, Mark Squila (D)^[11] Ward:1st, 2nd

• Police District: 3rd, Capt. Michael Ryan,^[12] Community Relations Officers Ace Delgado and Gary Harkins
• Libraries: closest libraries include: Whitman,^[13] 200 Snyder Ave., in Whitman; Santore,^[14] 932 S Seventh St., in Bella Vista
• Schools: George Washington Elementary School, 1198 S. Fifth St.^[15]
• Places of Worship: Mount Moriah Temple Baptist Church, Russell Tabernacle C.M.E. Church, Breath of Life Christian Academy, Prophetic Church of Christ.
• Recreation Centers: Ford P.A.L. Center,^[16] 609 Snyder Ave.
• Parks and Playgrounds: Sacks Park, Manton Street Park & Community Garden, Moore Street Community Garden, Moore Street Family Garden

References

Coordinates: 39°55′34″N 75°10′05″W / 39.926°N 75.168°W / 39.926; -75.168