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Old 12-16-2009, 11:16 AM
 
Location: South Philly
1,943 posts, read 6,956,602 times
Reputation: 658

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NAFTA didn't happen 'til '94. Kensington was already full slide.

The big manufacturing shift to the dirty-dirty was of the textile industry but that was mostly complete by the 1920s. It left factory towns in New England (Boston especially) in tatters. It was certainly big in Philly but it wasn't the backbone of the local economy.

The heavy industry of the mid-atlantic/great lakes started to pull out in the 60s and 70s. But most of it just skipped straight to Mexico, Asia or the Caribbean. A lot of the firms that did move down south have long since moved on to cheaper places.

With the exception of a few, (mostly foreign) auto plants the manufacturing base that exists in the south now is largely home grown. Unfortunately, for them, a lot of it is tied to tourism and home-building.
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Old 12-16-2009, 04:50 PM
 
418 posts, read 1,343,811 times
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Part of the change was the factories moving out of the city.

The company my father worked for moved along the new highway .. 95 @ Academy.

This was the result of the highways built after WWII.
And the redlining of the older parts of the city.. if you did not get out in time or had no interest in suburban living ..
You could not sell your home .. because .. a buyer could not get a mortgage in those areas.

As to whites and how many are in Kensington ???
It sounds to be an overtly racist question
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Old 12-28-2009, 10:34 PM
 
14 posts, read 61,343 times
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I grew up in Kensington, from the late 70's to the early 90's. I still remember the day we drove to our new house, a rowhouse purchased for $7,000 in 1977 on Ontario St just below Kensington Ave (right near the 7-11, which was built a few years later after we moved in - I still remember the grand opening day!). The first few years, the neighborhood was quite safe. A very blue-collar, working class, all white neighborhood. I mention the "all white" part solely because the original poster asked.

We lived in a rowhouse that was adjacent to a driveway on one side that led to a garage owned by various businesses. Like the Korean t-shirt silk-screener who put illegal Disney logos, etc on t-shirts : ) All in all it was a nice enough place. Problem with Kensington was that there was little ambition in the kids/parents. They just 'survived'. But that's neither here nor there and not relevant to this thread...

About 1983 is when things *visibly* changed. That's when, on my block and most nearby, all of a sudden the drug dealers became visible/noticeable. Whereas before, a lot of the older teenagers/early 20-somethings were all hooked on drugs, it wasn't obvious where the dealers were. But by '83 it became obvious. Usually renters. And white, by the way. Soon after that, around 1987, the prostitutes were visible during the evening (sporadically) on Kensington Ave. closer to my block, whereas before they were limited to the *really* bad parts of Kensington. And by 1990, when I came back on leave (I joined the Navy at 17, mostly to get out of Kensington), the prostitutes were on Kensington Ave during the daytime, and the drug dealers were everywhere. And the whites that had a lick of sense and could afford to all had a For Sale sign on their house.

Harrowgate Park used to be a place to play. By 1988 it was a campground for junkies and the homeless, and the once green grass that as a kid I played football on with friends, was then brown and riddled with used syringes. In the early 80's the factories all closed up. Devon Apparel, etc. all screwed their employees (typical "strong" unions at work fleecing their employees!) and lots of people were laid off. In the summer of 1991, my parents sold the house and moved into an apartment. They sold everything - the furniture included, for $17,000 cash to one of those 'We Buy Houses With Cash' guys. At the time I figured they got ripped off. But in fact, after moving they told me that numerous times since around 1990, burglars/junkies/whatever had tried to break in and rob the house while my parents were sleeping. My parents moved to an apartment in the Northeast. I drove through Kensington a number of times during the late 90's and it got worse and worse.

I wouldn't let my dog live in Kensington now. After the Navy and then college, I have always lived in the suburbs. I've watched neighborhoods go to pieces in the same way as Kensington in Delaware County - Upper Darby disintegrated right before my eyes while working at 69th St as a bartender during my college years. Springfield isn't far behind. Drexel Hill, Aldan, etc etc etc. It's like a disease, unfortunately.

Last edited by mark2741; 12-28-2009 at 10:38 PM.. Reason: added pargraph spacing
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Old 12-29-2009, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Highland, CA (formerly Newark, NJ)
6,183 posts, read 6,040,640 times
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Kensington is mostly white from the times I remember. Very white trash but still white no less...
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Old 12-30-2009, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
24 posts, read 173,956 times
Reputation: 35
I have to say I'm a little surprised at how many negative things are being said about Kensington. Granted, there are sections that aren't safe, but I grew up there and my mom still lives there, among many neighbors I grew up with in addition to new families. Oh, and yes, we are white.

I grew up in the Saint Anne School parish, below Lehigh Ave. In fact, my old house is quite near the popular Greensgrow Farms. I'm still comfortable there and have no problems walking around the neighborhood.

Kensington is a very large, densely populated area compared to others in the city. Sure, there are pockets that are unsavory, but there are also sections that are family-oriented that aren't part of the newly gentrified Fishtown.
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Old 12-30-2009, 08:35 AM
 
14 posts, read 61,343 times
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Well, let's just give the OP the real answers to the questions he or she is hinting at....

Q. Is Kensington white?
A. If you're asking this, it must be a concern of yours for whatever reason. If that is the case, then no, you do not want to live in Kensington.

Q. Should I buy a house/property in Kensington?
A. As I stated in my original response, my parents bought their house in 1977 for $7k. They were forced to sell for $17k in 1991. I thought they got ripped off, but every few years I look for investment properties and, for some sentimental reason, I always pull up comparable sales for houses in Kensington. Most are valued at well under $30k. So no, unless you want to live in a dirty, crime-riddled area and very likely lose money on the property investment, then you do not want to buy any property in Kensington.

Q. Should I rent in Kensington?
A. Only if you have to, and even then, only if you do not have kids (the city school district is horrible, and the schools in Kensington are some of the worst).

Sorry for the bad news, and kellyyouse's rose-colored view of Kensington, as well as many others, are clearly not current. I 'grew up' in Kensington too. It didn't take but 5 minutes away from the city to see that Kensington was and is a ghetto.
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Old 12-30-2009, 10:18 AM
 
Location: Columbus,Ohio
1,014 posts, read 3,569,147 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mark2741 View Post
Well, let's just give the OP the real answers to the questions he or she is hinting at....

Q. Is Kensington white?
A. If you're asking this, it must be a concern of yours for whatever reason. If that is the case, then no, you do not want to live in Kensington.

Q. Should I buy a house/property in Kensington?
A. As I stated in my original response, my parents bought their house in 1977 for $7k. They were forced to sell for $17k in 1991. I thought they got ripped off, but every few years I look for investment properties and, for some sentimental reason, I always pull up comparable sales for houses in Kensington. Most are valued at well under $30k. So no, unless you want to live in a dirty, crime-riddled area and very likely lose money on the property investment, then you do not want to buy any property in Kensington.

Q. Should I rent in Kensington?
A. Only if you have to, and even then, only if you do not have kids (the city school district is horrible, and the schools in Kensington are some of the worst).

Sorry for the bad news, and kellyyouse's rose-colored view of Kensington, as well as many others, are clearly not current. I 'grew up' in Kensington too. It didn't take but 5 minutes away from the city to see that Kensington was and is a ghetto.
It depends what part of Kensington you are in. In East Kensington which east of Frankford Ave., south of Lehigh Ave. and just north of Fishtown , yes it is still white and is in the process of gentrifying. West Kensington which is west of Front St. is mainly Hispanic with some African American and some gentrification is occuring around it's southern point near Norris Square. Further north above Lehigh Ave., Kensington is extremely diverse - equally white, black and Hispanic with some Asian. However I have to agree with you , the OP would not want to move there. That area is a bombed out crime ridden ghetto with very little in the way of mom and pop amenities such as grocery stores , corner bars and eateries ( unless you want a steady diet of pizza, Chinese or fried chicken). Most of those have closed leaving vacant and boarded up buildings. The once thriving Kensington Ave. is now only a shadow of it's self with empty and shuttered storefronts.

Last edited by otters21; 12-30-2009 at 10:34 AM..
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Old 12-30-2009, 12:39 PM
 
119 posts, read 611,207 times
Reputation: 109
Reading through this thread I feel that a lot of people get parts of Kensington confused with Fishtown,Port Richmond and Northern Liberties.Kensington is not a place anyone should be considering moving to.I could write a book on the things I have seen there as a young kid,that no one would want to see even as an adult,stabbings,muggings,shootings,home invations,needles in the playground,needles on the street,open air drug dealing,gang fights,drug abuse,alcohol abuse,domestic violence,Really the list is endless.

Here's a true story,Mcveigh playground late 80's a burned out car with a dead burned out body sat in the playground for a whole day before the police came and removed it.Don't visit Kensington,don't drive through Kensington and for the love of god don't move to Kensington!
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Old 12-30-2009, 12:52 PM
 
388 posts, read 1,088,353 times
Reputation: 94
Quote:
Originally Posted by otters21 View Post
Also NAFTA and a certain President promising to move the manufacturing jobs to the southern states if he was elected are partly to blame for Kensington's decline.

That had nothing to do with it. The city and area was in decline for years. Where have you been?
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Old 12-30-2009, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Columbus,Ohio
1,014 posts, read 3,569,147 times
Reputation: 508
Quote:
Originally Posted by thekish View Post
That had nothing to do with it. The city and area was in decline for years. Where have you been?
That certain president was elected in 1976 and he promoted the southern states. NAFTA was responsible for jobs being outsourced which led to even FURTHER decline in our city neighborhoods all over the country .Even though Kensington was in decline way before NAFTA it did not help matters any and plus other neighborhoods in Philly and other cities all over our country had suffered because of it in more recent years. Also if you would google "The Globalization of Kensington " you may find it to be very informative.
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