Holmesburg is a neighborhood in the
Far NortheastNortheast Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.447 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending on how the area is defined...
section of Philadelphia,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
. Holmesburg was named for the descendants of John Holme (1632-1704) who immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1680s and had no known relation to Surveyor General Thomas Holme. John Holme's descendants acquired land in Lower Dublin, north and south of Frankford Avenue and west of the Pennypack Creek. At the turn of the 19th century they began selling numerous small parcels of their holdings in what became a real estate boom. Also at this time, John Holme, the great grandson of the first John Holme, renamed his lumber yard the Holmesburg Lumber Yard. This renaming coupled with the multitude of Holme family real estate transactions identified this area as 'Holmesburg', the title surviving more than two hundred years later.
It is bordered by Roosevelt Boulevard to the west, the
Delaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony....
to the east, and Sheffield Avenue to the south. The border shared with Torresdale to the north is often subject to conversation, with answers ranging as far north as Academy Road and as far south as
Pennypack CreekPennypack Creek is a creek that runs southwest through eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, lower Bucks County, and the northeast section of Philadelphia, before emptying into the Delaware River.-Name:...
. Holmesburg uses 19136 as its zip code.
History
Holmesburg is the birthplace or residence of some of famous Americans, including
Stephen DecaturCommodore Stephen Decatur, Jr was an American naval officer notable for his heroism in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812...
(
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
Naval commander),
Matthias W. BaldwinMatthias William Baldwin was an American manufacturer of steam locomotives. He opened his machine shop in 1825...
(founder of the
Baldwin Locomotive WorksThe Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania...
), Dr. Byrd Peale (a member of the historic
PealePeale may refer to:People with the surname Peale:* Anna Claypoole Peale , American miniature painter, daughter of J. Peale* Charles Willson Peale , American painter, soldier and naturalist...
family and leading 19th century abolitionist), George Albert Castor (inventor of the ready-made suit that revolutionized the entire garment industry), and actress
Ethel BarrymoreEthel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the famous Barrymore family.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
.
Before the
Act of Consolidation, 1854The Act of Consolidation, passed on February 2, 1854 by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, consolidated all remaining townships, districts, and boroughs within the County of Philadelphia, dissolving their governmental structures and bringing all municipal authority within...
, Holmesburg had been a part of
Delaware TownshipDelaware Township is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The borough ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.-History:...
of
Philadelphia CountyPhiladelphia County is a county located in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania. It is coterminous with the city of Philadelphia which also serves as its seat. In 2006, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population at 1,448,394...
. Before 1853, it had been a part of
Lower Dublin TownshipLower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, is a defunct township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.-History:Commonly called Lower...
.
Holmesburg contains one of the longest continuous African-American communities in the nation, having been founded by runaway slaves prior to and during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
Holmesburg is the location of the historic
Pennypack TheatreThe Pennypack Theatre is an historic Art Deco style movie house located on the 8000 block of Frankford Avenue of Holmesburg in the northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
building, built in 1929 in the
Art DecoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
style with a 1,364-seat capacity and designed by acclaimed 20th century theater architect
William Harold LeeWilliam Harold Lee , a protege of acclaimed Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, was a 20th century movie theater designer and later the chief architect for Eastern College...
.
Recreation and transportation
Recreational facilities include Holmesburg Recreation Center at Rhawn and Ditman Streets, James Ramp Memorial Playground,
Pennypack ParkPennypack Park is a part of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park system that is located in Northeast Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was established in 1905 by ordinance of the City of Philadelphia. The park covers approximately and is composed of woodlands, meadows and wetlands...
and Pennypack on the Delaware.
Transportation to
Center CityCenter City is the "downtown" and Central Business District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Its 2005 population of 88,000 makes it the third most populous downtown in the United States.-Boundaries:...
Philadelphia is provided by SEPTA's
R7The SEPTA R7 is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail system. One end of the route serves the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with service in Bucks County along the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey, and the other end serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service...
commuter train, which affords a quick 25-minute ride into the urban center.
Interstate 95Interstate 95 is a Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officilaly named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
is also an easy 15-20 minute drive into downtown, accessible either by the Cottman Avenue (PA-73) entrance to the south or Academy Road entrance to the north.
Holmesburg's main thoroughfare, Frankford Avenue (
U.S. Route 13U.S. Route 13 is a north-south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina. One notable segment of the highway is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia.As of 2004, the highway's...
), is a historic byway in use for centuries. Frankford Avenue was used as a route from Philadelphia to points north as far back as the 1600s. The
Frankford Avenue BridgeThe Frankford Avenue Bridge, also known as the Pennypack Creek Bridge, the Holmesburg Bridge, and the King's Highway Bridge, erected in 1697 or 1698 in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the oldest surviving roadway bridge in the United States. The three-span,...
across
Pennypack CreekPennypack Creek is a creek that runs southwest through eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, lower Bucks County, and the northeast section of Philadelphia, before emptying into the Delaware River.-Name:...
, built in 1697, is the oldest stone arch bridge in continuous use in the country.
Prisons
The Philadelphia Prison System is located in Holmesburg. It includes the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (named for Patrick N. Curran, Warden of old Holmesburg Prison, and Robert F. Fromhold, Deputy Warden, both of whom were murdered in a prison riot on May 31, 1973) as well as the Detention Center, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, the House of Correction, Riverside Correctional Facility and The Alternative and Special Detention unit. Curran-Fromhold replaced Holmesburg Prison, which was used from 1896 until 1995. Holmesburg Prison was recently reopened.
Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison is a 1998 book by Allen M. Hornblum, which documents clinical non-therapeutic medical experiments on prison inmates at Holmesburg Prison from 1951 to 1974.
Holmesburg in print and film
The novel
Green Grass Grace, by Holmesburg native Shawn McBride, is set in the neighborhood. Holmesburg Prison was used for two major motion pictures,
Up Close & PersonalUp Close & Personal is a 1996 American motion picture drama/romance that was inspired by the story of Jessica Savitch who, in the 1970s, became the first female anchor on American television...
starring
Robert RedfordCharles Robert Redford Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American film director, actor, producer, businessman, model, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival...
and
Michelle PfeifferMichelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her screen début in 1980, but first garnered mainstream attention with her appearance in Scarface...
, and
Animal FactoryAnimal Factory is a film about life in prison, set in San Quentin and directed by actor Steve Buscemi. It was made in 2000.-Plot:Edward Furlong plays a young man named Ron Decker, who is sent to prison for drug possession, and Willem Dafoe is veteran con Earl Copen who takes Decker under his wing...
starring
Willem DafoeWilliam "Willem" Dafoe is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
,
Mickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor and screenwriter who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
, and
Edward FurlongEdward Walter Furlong is an American actor, best known to film audiences as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X.-Beginnings:...
.
External links