Does Philly have an answer to Bedstuy,Brooklyn? (Philadelphia, Erie: houses, neighborhoods)

[Antdawg1]

A large historically important black neighborhood in Philly?

[rotodome]

South Street and south-of-south street, west of broad would probably have been the closest Philly equivalent to a Harlem or Bed Stuy. But that area's history as a significant black neighborhood and cultural center has been largely eradicated by a variety of circumstances, from urban renewal, to cancelled cross-town expressway plans, to a drug epidemic, to now rapid gentrification.
Kenny Gamble had some plans to redevelop the Royal Theatre, but to my knowledge nothing has come of that.
Bed Stuy has weathered some similar issues, but has still remained a predominantly black neighborhood with a good portion of its historical character intact.

[OptimusPrime69]

To answer your question directly: No, it doesn't have what you're requesting.

That's really all there is to it. Sorry./

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

I don't think it's exactly what you're asking but:

Germantown is probably the most historically significant area of the city after Old City - playing a role in things such as early industrialization, the revolutionary war, abolitionism, railroads, and so on. It is majority black, - with some parts of the neighborhood being pretty diverse and some parts of the neighborhood being almost entirely black.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by Antdawg1

A large historically important black neighborhood in Philly?

Yeah, it was North Broad St. - it was full of black theaters and restaurants.

But Philadelphia was far more industrial than the NYC was. Harlem was home to a lot of black intellectuals and the black upper class. Philadelphia didn't have that to an extent anywhere near any NY neighborhood.

N. Broad started to decline when the factories started leaving and the final nail in the coffin was the riots.

[foo cities]

Northeast Philly

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by foo cities

Northeast Philly

Northeast Philadelphia grew in and prospered in the 60's.... it was primarily a white neighborhood until recently as it starts to segregate. There is little to no black history in Northeast Philadelphia

[Lenses & Lights.]

Originally Posted by foo cities

Northeast Philly

And.......THIS IS WHY you're going to have to do a little bit of intricate research on your own. I could probably go a bit into detail on some of "Philadelphia's Historic Black Neighborhoods" but I do not know much about Bedstuy "past or present." Although there can be a few comparisons made of both Philly & the 5 B's they both are uniquely their very own places with separate histories and identities across the board for all residents.

What I can mention is that West Philadelphia in the 52nd Street area during the 50's and also North Philadelphia along N Broad from Dauphin to Erie had tons of political, and arts & entertainment venues and events taking place. Even a quite a few political personalities resided there as well.
If you were to call 610 WIP on a Sunday morning at 8AM and ask Mr. Sonny Hill about these things "He" could very well point you in the right direction. He's 75 years of age and was one of Wilt Chamberlain's very best friends and is very articulate, well traveled, and politically connected in the city as well as New York.

Trust me Sonny loves to share info.....sometimes he'll talk through commercial air time. lol

[drive carephilly]

If you're looking for an ethnic history of Philadelphia go to the "1934 appraisal map" green is Italian, blue is Jewish, Pink is African-American.

PhilaGeoHistory Maps Viewer

It always cracks me up when people talk about how Society Hill was "historically African American" and that they were all forced out during the renewal project there. Society Hill and Queen Village were an infamous Russian/Jewish slum (for 80 years) home to lots of famous anarchists and other radicals.

[jtom605]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Northeast Philadelphia grew in and prospered in the 60's.... it was primarily a white neighborhood until recently as it starts to segregate. There is little to no black history in Northeast Philadelphia

There is not a lot of black history in Northeast, but large sections of the NE developed way before the 1960s. The old mills around Pennypack (most have been destroyed) actually produced a variety of goods in the 1800s and and contributed to Philadelphia's reputation as the "workshop of the world." The neighborhoods of Frankford, Tacony, Holmesburg, Fox Chase, Torresdale, Lawncrest, and others are full of history (old churches, houses, factories, bridges, etc).

I'm just trying to dispell this myth that NE was a suburb created in the 1960s. This is simply not historically accurate.