SW Philly memories (Philadelphia, Darby: section 8, houses, neighborhoods)

[lititzman2003]

I recently lost my father so I decided to take two-hour ride back to Philly and drive through my old neighborhood. It sure has changed and unfortunately, not for the better. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has gone through their old Philadelphia neighborhood and would share their thoughts. Here are some of mine:

-Playing any type of game involving a pimple ball in Patterson schoolyard or the GE parking lot at 70th & Elmwood

-Spending a Saturday at Finnegan's playground and never being bored

- The Water Ice truck that drove through the neighborhood

- Taking an hour to walk to my aunt & uncle's house on Carroll Street. It was a five minute walk but there was always someone I met on the way to stop to talk to

- The charter buses that would take us to West Catholic High School

- Walking around Elmwood Park with a girl and considering that a good date

- Taking the "J" bus to Upper Darby and hanging out at the stores on 69th Street on a Friday night

- The Bonner High School dances on Saturday night

- Walking up to the Library on Paschall Avenue with some friends to work on a project for school

Anyone else?
Thanks.

[rmxcarol]

That was beautiful!!! My aunt lived at 68th and Buist and then moved up to 61st and Grays. The folks who owned Mattera's bakery were friends of ours.

I clearly remember the carnivals every June....processions with the saint stautes....lots of "spin the wheel" games. My aunt and uncle volunteered every year and I considered it to be a vacation to be there with them as a pre-teen.

Oh...and don't forget all of the American Bandstand gang that lived in that area in the late 50's and early 60's. It was like watching movie stars when they showed up at the carnival.

[Young Herman]

Southwest was the quickest neighborhood to change I've seen in my life time. When I was going to grade school in Grays Ferry moving to Southwest was a step up in the world, it was like moving to the suburbs. By the time I was graduating high school it was something like 90% ghetto, and there was a HUGE demographic change. I had an aunt who lived on Buist ave until a few years ago, I think it was 70th and Buist, and it was a crappy street. I think one of her daughters still lives in the house now. I went to St Gabriels and remember playing St Barnabus in football and how many players that had compared to us, and how just a few years later the school was struggling to stay open.

[lititzman2003]

Originally Posted by rmxcarol

That was beautiful!!! My aunt lived at 68th and Buist and then moved up to 61st and Grays. The folks who owned Mattera's bakery were friends of ours.

I clearly remember the carnivals every June....processions with the saint stautes....lots of "spin the wheel" games. My aunt and uncle volunteered every year and I considered it to be a vacation to be there with them as a pre-teen.

Oh...and don't forget all of the American Bandstand gang that lived in that area in the late 50's and early 60's. It was like watching movie stars when they showed up at the carnival.

I loved the carnivals at Our Lady of Loreto that you're referring to. Beautiful church and the nicest people in the area.

One of my friend's brother was a dancer on Bandstand (so he claimed!)

[lititzman2003]

Originally Posted by Young Herman

Southwest was the quickest neighborhood to change I've seen in my life time. When I was going to grade school in Grays Ferry moving to Southwest was a step up in the world, it was like moving to the suburbs. By the time I was graduating high school it was something like 90% ghetto, and there was a HUGE demographic change. I had an aunt who lived on Buist ave until a few years ago, I think it was 70th and Buist, and it was a crappy street. I think one of her daughters still lives in the house now. I went to St Gabriels and remember playing St Barnabus in football and how many players that had compared to us, and how just a few years later the school was struggling to stay open.

I grew up on 70th just off Buist so I may have known your aunt. Please send me a PM with her name, if you would. My father moved out in the mid 90's to a retirement community in Mantua, NJ. "St. Barny's" is the last parish left in the area. When I recently back there I was expecting a change but not to the extent it is now. Regardless of what I saw, I just closed my eyes and visualize how great it was in the 70's and 80's. We didn't have much but everyone broke their backs taking care of their property and most of us got along with our neighbors.

[57thandMalcolm]

I have a question, when exactly did Southwest change? The area below Woodland Ave except Penrose was practically off limits to minorities when I was growing up near Whitby Ave in the 80's. When I came back post 2000, it was af-am and african. The poster who mentioned the quick change should know it goes back further than that. My mother moved on Thomas Ave in 1962. Said it was paradise. She was one of a few blacks, they had no problems. But soon after that, if one black family moved on a block, within 3-5 years the whole block was practically one group (blockbusting perhaps?). By the end of the 60's SW between Baltimore and Woodland did a 180 demographic turn. Was that what happened with lower SWP? I'm not here to judge (no slurs please though lol), just want some insight.

[Young Herman]

Originally Posted by lititzman2003

I grew up on 70th just off Buist so I may have known your aunt. Please send me a PM with her name, if you would. My father moved out in the mid 90's to a retirement community in Mantua, NJ. "St. Barny's" is the last parish left in the area. When I recently back there I was expecting a change but not to the extent it is now. Regardless of what I saw, I just closed my eyes and visualize how great it was in the 70's and 80's. We didn't have much but everyone broke their backs taking care of their property and most of us got along with our neighbors.

I was talking to my mom, and she told my aunts house is on 63rd and Buist, not where I mentioned earlier on the thread. Wasn't there a St Clements in Southwest too? I remember playing them in football too, and they seemed to have a much larger numer of students then us too.

[lititzman2003]

Originally Posted by Young Herman

I was talking to my mom, and she told my aunts house is on 63rd and Buist, not where I mentioned earlier on the thread. Wasn't there a St Clements in Southwest too? I remember playing them in football too, and they seemed to have a much larger numer of students then us too.

Yes, St. Clement was located at 71st & Paschall. My first grade class had over 90 students!

[GraysFerryB4]

I grew up in Grays Ferry. SW and GF both changes at about the same time. It just seemed that SW went much faster. The problem was Section 8. The first incarnation of Section 8 had few enforced rules, yet it began in working class areas. When the "poor" moved in, they often stuffed houses with more people than they applied for, sold drugs, never cleaned, etc. When they were removed for violations (usually more by the owner than the program), they just infested another house. The city never enforced the program properly and the old timers just gave up. The values plummeted and by the mid 90's, those who were stuck there were either elderly or white trash. Even today, Section 8 has such a stigma that the city just changed the name to the Fair Houseing Program but it's still lipstick on a pig. Sure, the local news staions would show the 1 in 100 neighbor who "made good" from the program, but never showed the 99 who destroyed neighborhoods block by block.
And that my friend is why your old neighborhood is a slum in under 15 years.

[squidsmokescrack]

Originally Posted by 57thandMalcolm

I have a question, when exactly did Southwest change? The area below Woodland Ave except Penrose was practically off limits to minorities when I was growing up near Whitby Ave in the 80's. When I came back post 2000, it was af-am and african. The poster who mentioned the quick change should know it goes back further than that. My mother moved on Thomas Ave in 1962. Said it was paradise. She was one of a few blacks, they had no problems. But soon after that, if one black family moved on a block, within 3-5 years the whole block was practically one group (blockbusting perhaps?). By the end of the 60's SW between Baltimore and Woodland did a 180 demographic turn. Was that what happened with lower SWP? I'm not here to judge (no slurs please though lol), just want some insight.

I don't know when but you already hit the nail on the head why it changed.