Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Stone cottage in Mount Airy, Philadelphia. The community is known for its elegant examples of 18th and 19th century residential architecture.

For other uses, see Mount Airy.

Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

Geography

Boundaries

Mount Airy is bounded as follows:

• on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley (part of Fairmount Park) (beyond which lies Chestnut Hill);
• on the west by the Wissahickon Gorge (part of Fairmount Park) (beyond which lie Roxborough and Manayunk);
• on the southeast by Germantown (no precise boundary); and
• on the northeast by Stenton Avenue (beyond which lie Cedarbrook and West Oak Lane).

ZIP codes

The USPS does not officially correlate neighborhood names to Philadelphia ZIP codes (all are called simply "Philadelphia" or "Phila").^[1] However, the 19119 ZIP code is almost entirely coterminous with the cultural-consensus boundaries of Mount Airy.

Relationship to Germantown

There is no "official" boundary between Mount Airy and Germantown. The most common consensus is that Johnson Street is the de facto boundary; however, Washington Lane could also be viewed as a boundary. The question is moot, however, as the two neighborhoods blend together very gradually. Historically the entire area was part of the German Township. Many buildings in Mount Airy carry the identity and even the name of Germantown in one way or another. For example, the Unitarian Church of Germantown, the Germantown Jewish Center, the Germantown Christian Assembly, and the Germantown Montessori School are all in Mount Airy, yet belong culturally to Germantown as well. Parts of the Battle of Germantown in 1777 occurred throughout Mount Airy and Germantown. The special relationship linking the two has its roots in the time before the Act of Consolidation, when Germantown was a borough separate from the City of Philadelphia, and its rural environs were what is now Mount Airy.

History

William Allen, prominent Philadelphia merchant and Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, created his summer estate and built his mansion on Germantown Avenue at Allens Lane in 1750, and the area eventually took the building's name, Mount Airy, as its own.^[2] Before this, the area which makes up the modern neighborhood of Mount Airy, was part of two sections of the original Germantown Township (which covered all of Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill) — Cresheim and Beggarstown.

The village or Dorfshaft of Krisheim or Cresheim has its origins in the original land divisions of Germantown Township in 1689.^[3] It was a section of the township that was allotted to group of original Germantown settlers who acquired rights to land either directly or indirectly from William Penn. It covered the area from Stenton to Wissahickon Avenues, Mermaid Lane to roughly Sedgwick Street. The name is derived from a town known today as Kriegsheim in the Palatine in Germany which was the hometown of a few German Quaker families that settled in Germantown in the 1680s. Throughout much of the 18th century, this area of Germantown Township was known in the land and tax records as simply Cresheim or Cresham. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that the name Mount Airy began to replace Cresheim.^[4]

Beggarstown (also Beggars-town or Beggar Town), an area centered along Germantown Avenue between Gorgas Lane and Cliveden Street, was formed out of the so-called "Sidelands" of Germantown. The Sidelands were a section of Germantown Township that had been set aside so that the owners of lots in the center of Germantown could have access to an equal share of land in the entire village of Germantown section of Germantown Township. The portion that Beggarstown grew out of covered the area from Upsal Street to roughly Sedgwick Street and Stenton and Wissahickon Avenues. As the Germantown village filled up, settlers began to move northwest along Germantown Avenue. By the 1730s and 1740s, the Sidelands area was subdivided into smaller house lots. An account published in 1770 states that the area received its name as a result of its first resident's begging for money to build his house which later became the home of the Germantown Church of the Brethren. The name for this area disappeared by the late 19th century and was variously called Pelham, Germantown or Mount Airy.

Much of modern Mount Airy was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spreading out from Germantown Avenue and two railroad lines. Large three-story, gray-stone Victorian, colonial revival, and Norman and Cotswold-style houses and mansions, with stained glass windows and slate roofs are situated on many of the area's tree-lined streets, and dominate districts like West Mount Airy's Pelham section (a Wendell and Smith development from 1890s) and East Mount Airy's Gowen Avenue (the James Gowen Estate development from 1880s), Sedgwick Farms (an Ashton S. Tourison development from 1905), and Stenton (a Frank Mauran development from 1905) areas.

Demographics

As of the 2000 Census^[5],Mount Airy has 28,873 residents, 11,986 households, and 7,152 families. 67.9% of residents are Black or African-American, 27.4% White/Caucasian and 4.7% are from other races or from 2 or more races.

There are 11,986 households out of which 26.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% are married couples living together, 20.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% are non-families. 31.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 26.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 2.96.

22.4% of Mount Airy’s residents are under the age of 18, 77.6% are 18 years and over, and 16.7% are 65 years and over. The median age is 40.3 years. 56.4% of residents are female, 43.6% male. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 71.1 males.

As of 1999, the median household income was $46,520, the median family income was $58,297 and the per capita income was $28,287.

Racial integration

The area is recognized by many civil rights groups as one of the first successfully integrated neighborhoods in America. ^[6][7] Mount Airy continues to be a well-blended neighborhood and was recently cited in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine for its racial diversity and neighborhood appeal. The community has also been recognized by US News & World Report for racial harmony and balance.

Other demographic facets

Mount Airy has a significant number of lesbian households.^[8] It has been called a "Ph.D. ghetto" because many residents have advanced degrees.^[9] The political tone of the neighborhood is predominantly liberal.^{[citation needed]} Mount Airy is favored as a neighborhood of choice for city politicians, judges, and others who are required to reside within the city's limits.^{[citation needed]} One prominent Mount Airy politician is former Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz.

There is a large Jewish community in Mount Airy, and the Germantown Jewish Centre is located in West Mount Airy. Also a Hare Krishna community is located on West Allens Lane. Mount Airy has long been a neighborhood of choice for many of the city's prosperous African Americans.

West Mount Airy has a reputation for being affluent, similar to Chestnut Hill, and the East more working class, although counter-examples abound. ^[7] In general, the affluence of the neighborhood increases with proximity to Fairmount Park and Chestnut Hill.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The School District of Philadelphia operates area public schools. Zoned K-5 schools serving sections of Mt. Airy include the Eleanor C. Emlen School. Zoned K-8 schools serving sections of Mt. Airy include Charles W. Henry School, Henry H. Houston School, and the Anna L. Lingelbach School.^[10] Residents assigned to Henry, Houston, and/or Lingelbach are also zoned to Germantown High School.^[11] Other nearby schools include Academy for the Middle Years ~ Northwest (AMY-NW), Parkway High School, and Martin Luther King High School.^[10]

West Oak Lane Charter School and Wissahickon Charter School are two Mt. Airy area K-8 charter schools. Charter schools in nearby Germantown include Imani Education Circle Charter School (K-8), Germantown Settlement Charter School (5-8), Renaissance Charter School (6-8), and Delaware Valley Charter High School (9-12).^[10]

Private schools

Private schools in Mount Airy include the Green Tree School (ages 6-21), Blair Christian Academy (PreK-12), Revival Hill Christian High School (9-12), Islamic Day School of Philadelphia (PreK-5), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK-8), Project Learn School (K-8), and Classroom on Carpenter Lane (K-2). Private schools in nearby Germantown include Germantown Friends School (K-12), William Penn Charter School (K-12), Ivy Leaf School (PreK-4), Greene Street Friends (K-8), Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (ages 3-17), and St. Barnabas Episcopal School (K-6). Chestnut Hill Academy (K-12), Springside School (PreK-12), and Crefeld School (7-12) are in nearby Chestnut Hill. The Miquon School (K-6) is in Borough of Conshohocken.^[10]

Holy Cross School (K-8) is a parochial school in Mount Airy. St. Martin De Porres Interparocial (1-8) is in nearby Germantown.^[10]

Colleges and universities

Universities and colleges in close proximity to Mount Airy include Arcadia University, Chestnut Hill College, La Salle University, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Philadelphia University, St. Joseph’s University.^[10]

Public libraries

Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Lovett Square Branch at 6945 Germantown Avenue.^[12]

Transportation

A commute to Center City takes approximately twenty minutes without heavy traffic. The large suburban shopping and office districts around King of Prussia, Plymouth Meeting, and Conshohocken are also within about twenty-five minute drive of Mount Airy. Mount Airy is also served by public transportation. The SEPTA Regional Rail lines offer an option for getting into Center City. The R8 runs through West Mount Airy, and the R7 through East Mount Airy. The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 18, 23 (formerly a trolley line), 53 (formerly a trolley line), H, XH and L.

Shopping

Mount Airy's main commercial district lies along cobblestoned Germantown Avenue, which also serves as the boundary between East and West Mount Airy. The neighborhood has a few independent gift shops, eateries, and professional offices. Its shopping district along "The Ave" gives it a small-town feel, although there are also a few chain stores, such as an Acme Supermarket and a Wawa. Mount Airy is also home to Weavers Way Co-Op, a long-running co-op grocery store and two local, tented farmers' markets. ^[13] Booklovers enjoy Big Blue Marble Bookstore, an independent bookstore catering to neighbors' interests, and Walk a Crooked Mile Books, a large used-book store housed in the Mount Airy R7 train station. West Mount Airy has a small commercial district of its own centered around Greene Street and Carpenter Lane; East Mount Airy has more diffuse commercial districts along Stenton and Chew Avenues.

A number of commercial properties in Mount Airy have recently received economic development grants and façade rehabilitation assistance from Mount Airy USA, a neighborhood non-profit community economic development organization.

The Sedgwick Theater in Mount Airy, a 1920s Art Deco movie theatre

Notable residents

Well-known people who have resided in Mount Airy:

• Raymond Pace Alexander, prominent African American civil rights attorney and judge
• Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, first African American woman Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania; Truman administration official
• Mark Baltin, linguist, professor of Linguistics at New York University
• Eric Bazilian, musician
• Sandra Boynton, cartoonist and children's book author
• Dan Bricklin, inventor and entrepreneur
• Charles Darrow, a developer of the game Monopoly
• Elizabeth Shippen Green, artist and illustrator
• A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.,the first African American judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Mat Johnson, author and playwright
• Connie Mack, baseball manager and owner
• John McWhorter, linguist and conservative intellectual
• Violet Oakley, artist
• Aaron Proctor, 2007 Pasadena, California Mayoral Candidate, political blogger, and professional wrestling promoter.
• Kurt Rosenwinkel, jazz guitarist
• Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Jewish religious leader
• Brianna Taylor, Reality TV Star from The Real World Hollywood
• Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, civil rights activist; first black female Secretary of State of a U.S. state in the nation; fought against music lyrics demeaning to African Americans and women
• Robert Venturi, architect
• Grover Washington, Jr., jazz musician
• Jessie Willcox Smith, illustrator and artist

Notable institutions

• The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) is located at Germantown Ave. and Allen's Lane. The seminary is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S., and also serves as its Region 7 headquarters. The seminary is very active in the life of the community, hosting adult education classes, political meetings, serving as a polling station, giving office space to East Mt. Airy Neighbors (community association), and providing leadership on neighborhood issues.
• The Sedgwick Theater, a 1920s Art Deco movie theater, is one of the few remaining in Philadelphia.

See also

Philadelphia portal

External links

• Mt. Airy Historical Awareness Committee, Mount Airy Bibliography, 4th Edition, 2004
• East Mount Airy Neighbors
• Mt. Airy USA
• Mount Airy Business Association
• West Mount Airy Neighbors
• Films at the Sedgwick
• Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

References

Coordinates: 40°03′58″N 75°11′5″W / 40.06611°N 75.18472°W / 40.06611; -75.18472

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