A collection of interviews, audio, and video regarding current and previous residents of Hawthorne.
Hawthorne’s most famous building is the former Ridgway Library. Modeled after the Parthenon, the historic structure, which now houses the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, 901 S. Broad St., dates to 1878.
The school has turned out to be a more practical use for the building. The former library’s vast size made it difficult to maintain a constant temperature, and volumes of books were damaged as a result. In 1997, the building was restored and CAPA moved in.
Lifelong resident Ebony Adams Dia says she grew up on the grounds near the Ridgway Library. “Fields and hills were located near my house, and the neighborhood children and I would run barefoot in these fields,” says Dia, 57.
Dia says the community has taken a turn for the worse over the years. High-rise projects first appeared in 1963. In the late ’90s, they were replaced with low-income housing units.
But residents believe improvement is on the way. The Martin Luther King housing project (once known as Hawthorne Square), 13th and Fitzwater, was imploded in 1999. From its ashes rose a community of townhomes for sale and rent to low- to moderate-income families.
Hawthorne is close to Center City and the Avenue of the Arts corridor; the cultural arts center, established in response to neighborhood diversity, is reaching out with myriad programs and activities. “The center is here to extend itself to the community,” says Dia, who volunteers at Hawthorne.
The future for Hawthorne holds new life with new residents, unfortunately displacing old residents. “As a member of the community, I can tell you this (neighborhhod) is going somewhere.” says Dia.
–Interview with Ebony Adams Dia by Fred Durso Jr–South Philly Review, Oct 2004
–Excerpts from Interview with Rev. Cornelius Eaddy, pastor at the Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, by Fred Durso Jr.
-South Philly Review (http://www.southphillyreview.com/), Oct 2005
The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) views the old projects – specifically high-rise units – as unsuitable housing options.
“They were eyesores. They were dangerous. They were basically unhealthy places to live. If we could roll back the clock, they would have never been built,” said Kirk Dorn, PHA spokesperson. “If you jam too many people into a small space, it’s not going to work.”
This demolish-then-rebuild tactic was the case at 13th and Fitzwater streets in 1999, when four high-rises at Martin Luther King Plaza, built in 1960, came crashing down. Rental and homeownership units now rest on the site. In January 2000, two of the Southwark towers – 26 stories high – also were demolished, making way for the Courtyard Apartments at Riverview, 470 privately managed townhouses at Fourth Street and Washington Avenue. Growing up in the area, the Rev. Cornelius Eaddy, pastor at the nearby Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, recalled the once-appealing apartments at the Southwark Housing Project.
“My brother and his wife lived inside the towers,” he said. “They were nice looking inside, nicely arranged and constructed, but repairs were the big problem.”
A feeling of apathy from some residents toward their living conditions ensued when the buildings were not kept up, which Eaddy said turned the site into a hotbed of crime during the 1970s.
“It was like a good idea gone bad,” he said.
The new developments have instilled pride in their residents, Dorn said.
“When you go from living in a really bad environment to a nice environment, it entices you to take care of it,” he said.
Dorn added the private sector, which has invested money in these projects, insists on strict rules and regulations, by which residents must abide.
While somewhat pleased by the Southwark towers’ destruction, Eaddy called the new development “the same product in different packaging.”
“If the attitudes of people don’t change, they will be blowing up these houses here in 15 to 20 years,” he said.
The pastor sees the implementation of a Southwark Development Corp.-sponsored performance troupe in his area as a start to provide children more ways to fill idle time.
“If we cannot focus our youth’s energy in a positive way, we’re not setting ourselves up for a future,” said Eaddy, 43. “The community needs to take a better chance of opportunities that are given.”
Johnson agreed children need more stimuli for growth – creating a positive future with warmhearted memories to match.
“Building homes was a Band-Aid, but you got to take that a step further,” he said. “You can change the surface of the neighborhood, but you haven’t changed the [mentality]. In order to do that, you have to put something else there besides new homes.”
The Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition is a non-profit community service organization service the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania neighborhood of Hawthorne. We provide a variety of services to community members, including Zoning Oversight and Neighborhood Development, Beautification, Event Planning and a variety of specialty projects.
Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition
1318 Catharine St -Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: 215-735-1225
General Email: info@hecphilly.org
Zoning-Specific Email: zoning@hecphilly.org
Hawthorne Family Center
United Communities SE Philadelphia
1100 Catharine Street, Room 104
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 925-8617
Fax: (215) 925-1424
E-Mail: hawthorn@cbps.org
