Home > Your Personal Side > City Guides > Philadelphia > Neighborhoods > Near North Philadelphia

Near North Philadelphia

Photo Credit: La Salle College High School

The northeast area of Philadelphia is divided into two major sections, the Far Northeast and the Near Northeast. The Near Northeast is home to such places as Fox Chase, Frankford, Holmesburg Lawndale, Lexington, Mayfair, Oxford Circle, Tacony and Wissinoming.

Primarily a residential area with numerous strip malls and shopping centers, Northeast Philadelphia is home to most of what would be considered the "middle-class" residents of the city. It is also home to numerous small businesses as well as several major industrial corporations primarily along the stretch of I-95 that runs through this area of the city.

Fox Chase
The Fox Chase area is full of history and was established around the 1600's. Before 1946, the area was little more than farming country. After the depression the residential communities grew. Thousands of homes were built and sold.

By 1950, the area on the Northeast became a small city. The expansion grew even more in the 1960's, 1970's and the 1980's. The Northeast section today is the largest residential area in the city.

The Fox Chase community was named for the fox hunts and fox chases that went on in the area in those early years.

Frankford
Situated on Tacony, since called Frankford Creek, in the lower part of the township of Oxford. The name of the village was very likely derived from the title of the Franckfort Company, which took up ground there. This village was incorporated into a borough by act of March 2, 1800. By act of April 4, 1831, the boundaries of the borough were extended.

Today, Frankford is a residential area and home to Frankford Hospitals. The story of Frankford Hospitals began in 1902, when a resident of the Frankford section of Philadelphia contracted typhoid fever. The patient's physician, Dr. Joseph Ball, couldn’t find a single hospital in the city to admit his seriously ill patient. Not one of the downtown hospitals had an available bed.

When Dr. Ball learned other Northeast physicians were also having their patients turned away, he began an effort to establish a community hospital that would provide convenient, high-quality medical care to his neighbors.

Named after the neighborhood it would first serve, Frankford Hospital - Frankford opened its doors on July 4, 1903.

Mayfair
During the 1920's a substantial housing boom began in the farm area bordering the industrial district of Tacony. The Mayfair community offered the advantages of city services with suburban amenities. The new homes were attractive with wide streets and rear alley garages. The schools had large playgrounds and Frankford Avenue was developing into a major commercial center.

The population of Mayfair in 1950 had a median age of 30.5 years. At that time the community consisted of a mix of white collar and blue collar families which were larger than the average Philadelphia household. By 1980, the percentage of the population over 65 had grown to 16.4%. In the 2000 census, some census tracts had over 20% of the population over 65. This is compared to only 14.1% citywide. Clearly many of the residents of Mayfair have lived in the neighborhood for many years.

Over the last 60 years many families have grown up in Mayfair. Today over 75% of the children from Mayfair graduate from high school and, in some tracts over 50% have attended college. Many of the young people obtain jobs outside the city and the region. So the new homebuyers in Mayfair often come from other areas of the city. They are attracted by the good accessibility to jobs and regional attractions as well as the neighborhood institutions - schools, churches, and local businesses.

Tacony
When William Penn arrived in 1682 to establish the city of Philadelphia, a vast area presently known as Tacony was already in existence along the Delaware River. Swedish farmers, millers, furriers, and artisans lived in harmony with the native Lenni Lenape American Indians. The name "Tacony" was derived from the Indian word "Tawacawonick," meaning "forest," "wilderness," or "uninhabited land."

Henry Disston, owner of Disston Saw Works, which eventually became the world's largest saw manufacturer, was the man basically responsible for building the community of Tacony. Disston visualized an ideal working class community where workers would not only be given a chance to live in homes with ample open space, but also given a chance to own their own houses. This paternalistic outlook, exemplified by Disston's eagerness to fulfill his workers economic, social, and cultural needs, had its roots in Victorian England.

Examples of Henry Disston's paternalistic views were evident as time progressed. Tasteful homes were constructed for workmen who were brought from England. Funds to purchase these homes were made available through a Building and Loan Association established by the Disston Firm. Henry Disston was ready to grant any assistance needed to see to it that his workers could purchase a home, even if advances needed to be made.

Disston’s fatherly influence was visible everywhere in Tacony. He made sure residents had the purest drinking water. His built Tacony Hall to meet the cultural needs of his employees. And in 1885 he constructed the Tacony Music Hall. Today, the music hall is the only Tacony property listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
In conclusion, although many persons are responsible for the present day community, most credit is still owed to the foresight of Henry Disston. His creation of a "Utopian Victorian Village" is still evident in the many attractive homes, public buildings and churches that line Tacony's streets today. Increasing pride of ownership, which has been evident over the past few years, would truly make Henry Disston proud. For the greatest tribute Tacony's residents could give its founder is through the preservation of the structures and ideals upon which the community was founded.