# Eastwick, Philadelphia

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Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Eastwick Neighborhood of Philadelphia The SEPTA employee bathroom at the center of the Eastwick Loop station Eastwick Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia City Philadelphia Area codes 215, 267, and 445

**Eastwick** is a neighborhood in the [Southwest](/source/Southwest_Philadelphia) section of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), United States. It is the southwesternmost neighborhood in the city, bordering [Philadelphia International Airport](/source/Philadelphia_International_Airport) and the city line with [Delaware County](/source/Delaware_County%2C_Pennsylvania) at [Cobbs Creek](/source/Cobbs_Creek) and [Darby Creek](/source/Darby_Creek_(Pennsylvania)). The [Elmwood Park](/source/Elmwood_Park%2C_Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania) neighborhood borders it to the northeast. It includes the Clearview neighborhood.

## History

The neighborhood is named for [Andrew M. Eastwick](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_M._Eastwick&action=edit&redlink=1), an engineer and patron of [Bartram's Garden](/source/Bartram's_Garden).[1] It was largely rural until the 1920s when swampy land was dredged to create room for an airport and other large-scale uses within the city limits. Much of the original housing built before the 1950s lacked sewer service and other urban conveniences. Residents referred to the neighborhood as "The Meadows."[2]

Residents enjoyed the ability to have a rural lifestyle within city limits; nearby creeks provided recreation in the form of swimming, bathing, and fishing. An extensive [crabbing](/source/Crab_fisheries) home industry was based in The Meadows.

Homes ranged from traditional single-family residences with lawns and gardens to traditional Philadelphia-style row houses; sometimes, these two housing styles appeared on the same block. Brick was the predominant material used in construction. Homes were built from the early 19th century until the Second World War caused a shortage of material for new construction.

The city of Philadelphia, which had been under Republican control in the 1940s, shifted in the 1950s toward reform Democrats, whose policies included community redevelopment. At the same time, city planners began to eye Eastwick as a place to relocate low-income black populations being displaced by development projects in North and West Philadelphia.[3] Yet although planners described Eastwick as "open land," it actually constituted an integrated community of some 19,000, the majority of whom owned their homes.[4] Unsurprisingly, the plan faced opposition.

But it nevertheless went forward. In 1958, Eastwick was declared the largest [urban renewal](/source/Urban_renewal) project in the country, with the [Korman Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Korman_Company&action=edit&redlink=1) making plans to replace the allegedly "poorly maintained and [blighted](/source/Blight_(urban)) homes" with newer, suburban-style construction in the 1960s and 70s. As [Guian A. McKee](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guian_A._McKee&action=edit&redlink=1) writes in his study of Eastwick, the new development came at the expense of the existing community. It thus produced a "tragic irony," seeing as its realization required "the destruction of the area's unique existing community," which was one of the few integrated neighborhoods in Philadelphia at the time.[5]

Designing the project was the Greek urban planner [Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis](/source/Constantinos_Apostolou_Doxiadis), mastermind of [Islamabad](/source/Islamabad), [Riyadh](/source/Riyadh), and Baghdad's [Revolution City](/source/Sadr_City). In these cities, he had made a name for himself by integrating city and countryside in a way that he, and state officials, hoped would ease the transition of rural migrants to urban space. Put differently, Doxiadis's designs were seen as anti-communist[*[how?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*].[6] In Eastwick, Doxiadis's work took the form of row houses on cul-de-sac streets, with traffic funneled toward peripheral roads.[7] The neighborhood was one of only three in Philadelphia that grew in population between 1970 and 1990.[3]

Auto junkyards in Eastwick during the 1970s

The [John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum](/source/John_Heinz_National_Wildlife_Refuge_at_Tinicum) extends from Eastwick to [Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania](/source/Tinicum_Township%2C_Delaware_County%2C_Pennsylvania). Eastwick contains a large industrial area where manufacturing and distributing uses take advantage of proximity to the Airport, [Interstate 95](/source/Interstate_95_in_Pennsylvania), and [Center City Philadelphia](/source/Center_City_Philadelphia). There are many gas tank farms, [oil](/source/Oil) refineries, and a [sewage](/source/Sewage) treatment plant. The area offers affordable land for industrial uses at reportedly "one-third the cost of outlying suburbs," while enabling companies to remain in the city where employees can utilize [public transit](/source/Public_transit).[8]

The neighborhood has been the site of controversy for a number of issues. Some blocks are located in a flood plain, leading to flooded, abandoned homes and vacant lots that are often used for illegal dumping. Issues of environmental regulation and [brownfields](/source/Brownfields) cleanup have also figured into the history of Eastwick. The Philadelphia metropolitan area's main post office, formerly housed next to [30th Street Station](/source/30th_Street_Station), moved to a larger, auto-oriented facility in Eastwick in 2006. This move was long criticized by neighborhood groups.

### 1946 Eastwick General Electric plant strike

From January 15 until March 18, 1946, a surging crowd of more than 3,000 electrical strikers protested around Eastwick and the area's former [General Electric](/source/General_Electric) plant in connection with a court injunction prohibiting mass picketing at the plant by Judge [Thomas D. Finletter](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_D._Finletter&action=edit&redlink=1), which led with a total of 25,000 demonstrators.[9][10] The protests later turned into a "siege of violence" three days after the protests started. There were reports of 20 injuries, 17 protestors detained by officers, and reports[*[by whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] of protestors giving hateful speeches, including the [Nazi salute](/source/Nazi_salute)[*[why?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*], forcing nearly 300 officers to break up the violence.[11]

The strike came to a conclusion on March 18, 1946, when employees returned back to the plant.[12]

## Demographics

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As of the [census](/source/Census)[13] of 2000, there were 14,424 people living in the neighborhood. The racial makeup was 36.70% [White](/source/White_(U.S._Census)), 57.47% [African American](/source/African_American_(U.S._Census)), 2.68% [Asian](/source/Asian_(U.S._Census)), and 0.69% from [other races](/source/Race_(United_States_Census)). [Hispanic](/source/Hispanic_(U.S._Census)) or [Latino](/source/Latino_(U.S._Census)) of any race were 1.91% of the population. The median income for a household in the neighborhood was $33,320.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Transportation

Eastwick station along SEPTA Regional Rail's Airport Line

Eastwick is served by [SEPTA Subway-Surface](/source/SEPTA_Subway-Surface_Lines) Route 36, which runs through the neighborhood and terminates at [80th Street–Eastwick station](/source/80th_Street%E2%80%93Eastwick_station). This station is within walking distance of the [Eastwick station](/source/Eastwick_station) on [SEPTA Regional Rail](/source/SEPTA_Regional_Rail)'s [Airport Line](/source/Airport_Line_(SEPTA)); it is the only station on the line between the airport stations and [Penn Medicine Station](/source/Penn_Medicine_Station).

## Education

[Free Library of Philadelphia](/source/Free_Library_of_Philadelphia) operates the Eastwick Branch, which serves Eastwick and other subdivisions, at 2851 Island Avenue.[14]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Andrew Eastwick: Savior of Bartram's Garden – PhillyHistory Blog"](https://blog.phillyhistory.org/index.php/2017/10/bartram-hall-and-bartrams-gardens/). *blog.phillyhistory.org*. Retrieved March 2, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *McKee, Guian A. ["Liberal Ends Through Illiberal Means: Race, Urban Renewal and Community in the Eastwick Section of Philadelphia, 1949-1990"](http://juh.sagepub.com/content/27/5/547.full.pdf), *[Journal of Urban History](/source/Journal_of_Urban_History)*, Vol. 27 No. 5, July 2001, pp. 547–583 [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/009614420102700501](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F009614420102700501)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) McKee, Guian (July 2001). "Liberal Ends Through Illiberal Means: Race, Urban Renewal, and Community in the Eastwick Section of Philadelphia, 1949-1990". *Journal of Urban History*. **27**: 563. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/009614420102700501](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F009614420102700501). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144193239](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144193239).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** McKee, Guian (July 2001). "Liberal Ends through Illiberal Means: Race, Urban Renewal, and Community in the Eastwick Section of Philadelphia". *Journal of Urban History*. **27**: 549. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/009614420102700501](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F009614420102700501). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144193239](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144193239).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** McKee, Guian (July 2001). "Liberal Ends through Illiberal Means: Race, Urban Renewal, and Community in the Eastwick Section of Philadelphia, 1949-1990". *Journal of Urban History*. **27**: 547. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/009614420102700501](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F009614420102700501). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144193239](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144193239).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Menoret, Pascal (2014). *Joyriding in Riyadh*. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 69.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Weart, William (January 21, 1962). "Big Project Open in Philadelphia". *The New York Times*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nytimes-1998_8-0)** Wallace, David (February 1, 1998). ["Commercial Property; Philadelphia's Airport Is a Hub of Development"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E6D9163AF932A35751C0A96E958260&sec=&pagewanted=print). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Eastwick agree on mass picketing in General Electric Eastwick plant"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/171094086/). *[The Philadelphia Inquirer](/source/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer)*. February 26, 1946. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["3,000 pickets crash, police lines in Philly GE strike"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/278560435/). *[The Philadelphia Inquirer](/source/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer)*. February 28, 1946. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Deadly protest in GE Eastwick plant sends multiple injuries and arrests"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/192931040/). *[The Pittsburgh Press](/source/The_Pittsburgh_Press)*. February 28, 1946. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["War with General Electric Eastwick plant concludes"](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/355568004/). *[The News-Item](/source/The_News-Item)*. March 18, 1946. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GR2_13-0)** ["U.S. Census website"](https://www.census.gov). [United States Census Bureau](/source/United_States_Census_Bureau). Retrieved January 31, 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** "[Eastwick Branch](http://libwww.freelibrary.org/branches/branch.cfm?loc=ESW)." *[Free Library of Philadelphia](/source/Free_Library_of_Philadelphia)*. Retrieved on January 3, 2008.

## External links

- [PA DEP Joins City of Philadelphia and Eastwick Community in Celebrating Cleanup Agreements](https://web.archive.org/web/20060924064258/http://www.ahs.dep.state.pa.us/newsreleases/default.asp?ID=3504&varQueryType=Detail), 2005

- [Blight Recertification Report](https://web.archive.org/web/20060914124557/http://www.philaplanning.org/plans/areaplans/eastwickbr.pdf), City Planning Commission, 2006

- [Branch History](http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/history.cfm?loc=ESW), Free Library

- ["New postal center opens to support,"](http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/14679036.htm) Henry J. Holcomb, *Philadelphia Inquirer*

v t e Communities of Philadelphia Former municipalities are below. Sections and Neighborhoods Center City Avenue of the Arts Broad Street Chinatown Fitler Square Franklin Square Jewelers' Row Logan Square Old City Penn's Landing Rittenhouse Square Society Hill South Street Washington Square West South Bella Vista Central South Philadelphia Devil's Pocket Dickinson Square West East Passyunk Crossing Fabric Row FDR Park Girard Estate Grays Ferry Greenwich Hawthorne Italian Market Little Saigon Lower Moyamensing Marconi Plaza Moyamensing Newbold Packer Park Passyunk Square Pennsport Point Breeze Queen Village Southwark Southwest Center City Sports Complex West Passyunk Wharton Whitman Wilson Park Southwest Angora Bartram Village Clearview Eastwick Elmwood Park Hog Island Kingsessing Mount Moriah Paschall Southwest Schuylkill West Avenue of Technology Belmont Village Carroll Park Cathedral Park Centennial District Cedar Park Cobbs Creek Dunlap Garden Court Haddington Haverford North Mantua Mill Creek Overbrook Overbrook Farms Overbrook Park Parkside Powelton Village Saunders Park Spruce Hill Squirrel Hill 30th Street Station University City Walnut Hill Woodland Terrace Wynnefield Wynnefield Heights North Lower North Badlands Belfield Brewerytown Callowhill Cecil B. Moore El Centro de Oro / Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow N3RD Street North Central Northern Liberties North Philadelphia East North Philadelphia West Poplar 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 Parkland Roxborough Wissahickon Upper Northwest Beggarstown Cedarbrook Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister 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 Olde Richmond 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.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eastwick, Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastwick%2C_Philadelphia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastwick%2C_Philadelphia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.