Geographic Location
Northern Liberties is located northeast of downtown Center City and is labeled an “inner city suburb” of Philadelphia that is situated just north of Old City. The neighborhood is bound by Girard Avenue to the North, to the South by Callowhill Street, to the West by North 6th Street, and the East by Delaware Avenue.
Overview
Philadelphia is considered a “city of neighborhoods.” Historically, Northern Liberties was first intended to be a commercial industrial zone with textile mills, sugar plants (PA Sugar Co.), and mills like John Bromley & Sons Inc. Like so many neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Northern Liberties saw a sharp decline in population post WWII. The decline in the neighborhood resulted from a mixture of deindustrialization and working class flight out to areas like Roxborough and North East Philadelphia. Because Northern Liberties was highly industrial area due to its proximity to the Delaware River, the main imports were raw materials. Culturally, Northern Liberties was a mix of Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, and other Eastern Europeans. By the 1970’s, the neighborhood was at an all time low for residential population and the area’s identity was in jeopardy.
Philadelphia & N. Liberties Township is born
King Charles II of England gained control over the land currently known as Pennsylvania in 1681 and the following year granted this parcel to Quaker writer and philosopher William Penn. Eager to establish a European Quaker settlement in harmony with the native Lenape tribe as well as Swedish and Dutch settlers, Penn demarcated the boundaries of the new city of ‘Philadelphia’ as stretching from the Delaware to the Schuylkill Rivers, and from modern-day South Street to Vine Street. Land lying outside of the city boundaries was divided among individual Dutch, English, and Swedish proprietors.
These tracts of land lying north and west of the Philadelphia boundaries were termed “liberty lands” or “free lots” because the proprietors gave to the first purchaser of ground in the colony, according to the extent of their purchase, a portion of the land within those limits free of price. The Liberties extended north of Vine Street to the mouth of Cohocksink Creek, but since tracts followed the curves and meanders of local creeks and rivers, boundaries were irregular. A 1682 survey determined that the Liberties to the east of the Schuylkill contained 9,161 acres, and the lands closest to the Delaware were termed the Northern Liberties Township. The area we currently know as Northern Liberties gained limited autonomy from the Township by an Act of Assembly on March 9, 1771. This Act gave authority to the area to appoint persons to civil service roles, such as street regulation, building approval, and more. A second act later that month allowed residents to elect three commissioners to establish taxes for the purpose of lighting, watching and establishing pumps.
On March 28, 1803, the Legislature passed an act to incorporate that part of the township of the Northern Liberties lying between the west side of Sixth Street and the Delaware River, and between Vine Street and Cohocksink Creek, thus creating the District of Northern Liberties. The Act of Consolidation of 1854 incorporated the District of Northern Liberties, among others, into the physical boundaries of the City of Philadelphia. Prior to annexation, the township was created as a less densely populated alternative to nearby Philadelphia. Because of this, it was later known colloquially as “Philadelphia’s first suburb,” a distinction it also shares with the city’s Southward district.
Immigrant Arrivals/Population Expansion
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Philadelphia became home to large number of Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants. The latter group gravitated towards Northern Liberties, establishing institutions particular to their culture and religion, such as restaurants, businesses, and churches. Many immigrants coming from places like Russia, Poland, and Ukraine lived in the neighborhood because it was in close proximity to the factories where they worked. In addition, the neighborhood offered residential housing such as row houses that were affordable to the local residents. This industrial wholesale district was vibrant until the factories started moving out of this traditional and industrial wholesale district, the population also migrated out to surrounding areas like the Northeast, Fairmount, and surrounding suburbs and destabilized the area to a deteriorating industrial area with very few primary residents. The demographics for this area dramatically changed to its lowest numbers in the 1970s (under 3,000 local residents).
Northern Liberties Renaissance
Today, Northern Liberties has been “discovered” by both real estate developers and investors and is a very different place than it was 20 years ago. Major revitalization and gentrification did not take full effect until the mid early to mid 1990’s. The neighborhood integrates a mixture of artists, progressive architecture, and entertainment venues. Northern Liberties was dramatically transformed in the 1990’s from an urban industrial location with a low population, to a hip booming community with quickly rising real estate values. The new demographics of the Northern Liberties neighborhood population are younger and unmarried. Through such revitalization by the creative class, artists discovered underutilized spaces and they repurposed abandoned factories and warehouses for their own creative agendas where they could make art and showcase art at affordable prices. Because these artists could get a lot of space with lots of natural light at affordable prices, the neighborhood looked more reasonable and practical than other discovered neighborhoods like Old City or part of South Philly. Although the major portion of renewal activity was a result Bart Blatstein’s development projects, all of Northern Liberties continues to grow.
