Society Hill, Philadelphia

Significant dates
Society Hill Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places

Head House Square on the 400 block of S. 2nd Street

Location	Bounded on the N by Walnut St., on the S by Lombard St., on the E by pier line of Delaware River, and on the W by 8th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Area	135 acres (55 ha)
Architect	multiple
Architectural style	Federal, other
Governing body	National Park Service
NRHP Reference #	71000065^[1]
Added to NRHP	June 23, 1971
Designated PRHP	March 10, 1999^[2]

Society Hill is a Georgian style.

History 1
Education 2
- Public library 2.1
Gallery 3
See also 4
References 5
External links 6

History

The district is named after the 18th century Free Society of Traders, which had its offices at Front Street on the hill above Dock Creek. Located close to both the Delaware River and Philadelphia's civic buildings, including the Independence Hall, the neighborhood soon became one of the city's most populous areas.

Several market halls, taverns and churches were built alongside brick houses of Philadelphia's affluent citizens.

In the 19th century, the city expanded westward and the area lost its appeal. Houses deteriorated, and by the 1940s, Society Hill had become a slum neighborhood, one of the worst in the city.^[3] In the 1950s, the city, state and federal governments began one of the first urban renewal programs aimed at the preservation of historic buildings. While most commercial 19th-century buildings were demolished, historically-significant houses were restored by occupants or taken over by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and sold to individuals who agreed to restore the exteriors. Replicas of 18th-century street lights and brick sidewalks were added to enhance the colonial atmosphere. Empty lots and demolished buildings were replaced with parks, walkways, and modern townhouses.

From 1957-1959, the Greater Philadelphia Movement, the Redevelopment Authority and the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation bought 31 acres (130,000 m²) around Dock Street. They demolished and relocated the Dock Street market, setting aside 5 acres (20,000 m²) of land that would become the Society Hill Towers.^[4]

In 1957, Edmund Bacon, the executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, awarded developer-architect firm Webb and Knapp the competition for the redevelopment of Society Hill. Architect I. M. Pei and his team designed a plan for three 31-story Society Hill Towers and low-rise buildings.^[5] The Towers and townhouses project was completed in 1964, while the entire plan was completed in 1977.^[6] Architect Louis Sauer designed dozens of rowhouse projects for the area around Society Hill, including Waverly Court and Penn's Landing Square.

Historic buildings in Society Hill include the Society Hill Synagogue, built in 1829 as a Baptist church by Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter, one of the architects of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. The synagogue was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Another notable building is St. Peter's Church, constructed between 1758 and 1761 by Robert Smith.

The Society Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1999, it was listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.^[2]

Education

Society Hill residents are assigned to schools in the

Categories

US National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types

Lists by county	Adams Allegheny Armstrong Beaver Bedford Berks Blair Bradford Bucks Butler Cambria Cameron Carbon Centre Chester East North South Clarion Clearfield Clinton Columbia Crawford Cumberland Dauphin Delaware Elk Erie Fayette Forest Franklin Fulton Greene Huntingdon Indiana Jefferson Juniata Lackawanna Lancaster Lawrence Lebanon Lehigh Luzerne Lycoming McKean Mercer Mifflin Monroe Montgomery Montour Northampton Northumberland Perry Philadelphia Pike Potter Schuylkill Snyder Somerset Sullivan Susquehanna Tioga Union Venango Warren Washington Wayne Westmoreland Wyoming York

Lists by city	Pittsburgh Lancaster Philadelphia Center City North Northeast Northwest South Southwest West

Other lists	European archaeological sites Native American archaeological sites Bridges (covered) National Historic Landmarks (Philadelphia)

Category NRHP portal

Municipalities and communities of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Sections and
Neighborhoods

Center City

South

Southwest

West

North

Lower North	Badlands Belfield Brewerytown Cabot Callowhill Cecil B. Moore El Centro de Oro Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow North Central Northern Liberties Poplar Reading Viaduct Sharswood South Lehigh Spring Garden Stanton Strawberry Mansion Yorktown

Upper North	Allegheny West Badlands Franklinville Glenwood Hunting Park Nicetown-Tioga Olde Kensington Swampoodle West Kensington

Olney-Oak Lane	East Oak Lane Feltonville Fern Rock Koreatown Logan Ogontz Olney West Oak Lane

Northwest

Lower Northwest	Andorra East Falls Manayunk Roxborough Wissahickon

Upper Northwest	Beggarstown Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister Cedarbrook

Northeast

Near Northeast	Burholme Castor Gardens Crescentville Fox Chase Frankford Holme Circle Holmesburg Juniata Lawndale Lexington Park Mayfair Oxford Circle Rhawnhurst Ryers Tacony Wissinoming

Far Northeast	Academy Gardens Ashton-Woodenbridge Bustleton Byberry Crestmont Farms Millbrook Modena Park Morrell Park Normandy Parkwood Pennypack Somerton Torresdale Upper Holmesburg Winchester Park

River Wards	Bridesburg Fishtown Harrowgate Kensington Port Richmond

Former
Municipalities

Cities	Philadelphia (Center City)

Boroughs	Aramingo Bridesburg Frankford Germantown Manayunk West Philadelphia Whitehall

Districts	Belmont Kensington Moyamensing Northern Liberties Penn Richmond Southwark Spring Garden

Townships	Blockley Bristol Byberry Delaware Germantown Kingsessing Lower Dublin Moreland Northern Liberties Oxford Passyunk Penn Roxborough

Footnotes

As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.

Society Hill Civic Association
Society Hill Playhouse
Historic Photographs of Society Hill, PhillyHistory.org
Society Hill Magazine, a Guide to Society Hill and Historic Philadelphia

External links

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places.
^ ^a ^b "PRHP: List of historic districts". Philadelphia Historical Commission. Retrieved 03-12-2013.
^ Gallery, John Andrew, ed. (2004). Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture. , p.119
^ Le Faivre-Rochester, Carole. "Society Hill Towers: A Bold and Graceful Venture." I.M. Pei and Society Hill: A 40th Anniversary Celebration. Ed. Herman Baron. Philadelphia: DIANE Publishing Co., 2003: 35. Google Books. [3].
^ Perkins, Dorothy. "Biography of I.M. Pei." I.M. Pei and Society Hill: A 40th Anniversary Celebration. Ed. Herman Baron. Philadelphia: DIANE Publishing Co., 2003: 8. Google Books. [4].
^ Le Faivre-Rochester, p. 36.
^ Jackson, Leigh. "SCHOOL BOARD TACK: SLASH, UNSLASH." Philadelphia Daily News. May 28, 1994. 06 Local. Retrieved on November 8, 2011.
^ K-8 Public Schools Boundary Map." Center City Schools. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.
^ "Map - McCall." Center City District. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.
^ "Where the Graduates Go." George A. McCall School. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.
^ "Independence Branch." Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.

Notes

References

Gallery

The Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Independence Branch at 18 South 7th Street.^[11]

Public library

^[10] for high school.Furness High School and ^[9]^[8] for grades Kindergarten through 8[7]

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Society Hill, Philadelphia