# Mantua, Philadelphia

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Neighborhood of Philadelphia

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Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Mantua Avenue Neighborhood of Philadelphia Town sign at N 34th St. and Mantua Ave. Mantua Avenue Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia City Philadelphia ZIP Code 19104 Area codes 215, 267, and 445

**Mantua** is a [neighborhood](/source/Neighbourhood) in the [West Philadelphia](/source/West_Philadelphia) section of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania). It is located north of Spring Garden Street, east of 40th Street, south of Mantua Avenue, and west of 31st Street. The neighborhood's northern and western reaches are predominantly working-class and [African American](/source/African_American),[1] although its southern border with [Powelton Village](/source/Powelton_Village) has seen recent [gentrification](/source/Gentrification) and an influx of [Drexel University](/source/Drexel_University) and [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) student renters.

## History

Part of this neighborhood was purchased from the [Lenape](/source/Lenape) Indian tribe in 1677 by William Warner. In 1692, a young Welsh carpenter, William Powel, opened a ferry over the [Schuylkill River](/source/Schuylkill_River) at the foot of the present Spring Garden Bridge. [Lancaster Pike](/source/Philadelphia_and_Lancaster_Turnpike) and Haverford Road were the first routes providing access from the west.[2]

### 19th century

Mantua was named in 1809 by Judge [Richard Peters](/source/Richard_Peters_(Continental_Congress)), who designed a grid of lots with 36th St. and Haverford Ave. as the center. It was named after the city of [Mantua](/source/Mantua) in [Italy](/source/Italy).[3]

[Powelton Village](/source/Powelton_Village), the neighborhood just south of Mantua, was named for the family of William Powell, whose son purchased additional land. By the mid-1880s, Powelton Village was a fashionable area, becoming part of Philadelphia after the [Consolidation Act of 1854](/source/Consolidation_Act_of_1854).[4]

### 20th century

Prior to the 1940s, Mantua was a predominantly white, [Lutheran](/source/Lutheranism) neighborhood. However, these decades mark the time when Black families began moving into the area’s boundaries. During the 1950s the area hosted a bustling commercial district on Haverford Avenue.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In the 1960s, six major [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) gangs maintained a major presence in a 10.5 block area of Mantua.[5] Between 1960 and 1969, Mantua recorded about 10% of total city gang killings. Mantua became one of the worst areas of the 16th precinct, and the [Philadelphia Police Department](/source/Philadelphia_Police_Department) often assigned patrols in Mantua to officers as punishment.

Andrew Jenkins and the Mantua Community Planners began working with the city to build a recreation center in Mantua. However, gang violence continuously delayed these efforts. The neighborhood’s first recreation center finally opened on what is now 34th Street and Haverford Avenue. In addition to the playgrounds, ball courts, and offices featured at most recreation centers, this one also housed a free library, and holding a library card was a requirement for entrance to the play centers.

Despite the crime, [Wrice](/source/Herman_Wrice)'s Young Great Society and Jenkins' Mantua Community Planners fought to incorporate urban renewal programs, such as the planting of trees and building of housing units. Mt. Vernon Manor, a collection of apartment buildings, was once such development project.

Designed as part of the multipurpose Mantua Community Center, the Mantua library branch opened July 9, 1979. The building also includes a Department of Recreation gymnasium, a community office, and a meeting room.

Like many industrialized cities in the 1980s, Philadelphia saw a rise of drug-related gang warfare. The use of [crack cocaine](/source/Crack_cocaine), combined with the existing [heroin](/source/Heroin) market, caused many residents to flee.

Although the drug trade began winding down in the 1990s, the community was feeling its lasting effects. The number of residents in the community fluttered around 6,000 most of the decade, and several hundred vacant lots dotted the streets. The movie theaters, retail outlets, and galleries that resided in Mantua during the 1950s were replaced by small delis and grab-and-go beer stores.

In the late 1990s, many of the abandoned lots and buildings were bought, renovated, and put on the market for rent. The neighborhood saw an influx of college students from [Drexel University](/source/Drexel_University), among other institutions, move into the area in search of affordable housing.

In 1995, the Mantua library branch was renamed in honor of Charles L. Durham. Born in Mantua, Durham served on City Council from 1967 to 1974, and was appointed to the Common Pleas Court. He was a strong advocate for the community, and was deeply involved in the struggle for civil rights and was part of the first Black caucus on Council. The library was renovated four years later, in 1999, as part of the [Free Library of Philadelphia](/source/Free_Library_of_Philadelphia) "Changing Lives" campaign, which refurbished branches and ensured each branch had adequate Internet access.[6]

### 21st century

It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 college-aged students are living in Mantua. This growing number of students has brought renewed interest to the Mantua community from the expanding university system to the south, consisting mainly of [Drexel University](/source/Drexel_University) and the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## See also

- [Spiral Q Puppet Theater](/source/Spiral_Q_Puppet_Theater)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Mapping America: Every City, Every Block"](https://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer). *The New York Times*. December 13, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Charles L. Durham Library"](https://libwww.freelibrary.org/locations/charles-l-durham-library). *Free Library of Philadelphia*. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Winberg, Michaela (July 6, 2018). ["How 43 Philly neighborhoods got their names"](http://billypenn.com/2018/07/06/how-43-philly-neighborhoods-got-their-names/). *Billy Penn at WHYY*. Retrieved June 2, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Charles L. Durham Library"](https://libwww.freelibrary.org/locations/charles-l-durham-library). *Free Library of Philadelphia*. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["An Era of Drug Destruction: From Heroin to Crack Cocaine"](https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/era-drug-destruction-heroin-crack-cocaine). *Penn Graduate School of Education*. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Charles L. Durham Library"](https://libwww.freelibrary.org/locations/charles-l-durham-library). *Free Library of Philadelphia*. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Mantua, Philadelphia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mantua,_Philadelphia).

- [InfoResources West Philadelphia Neighborhood - Mantua](https://web.archive.org/web/20100611223028/http://westphillydata.library.upenn.edu/infoR_Neigh_Mantua.htm)

- ["We Are Mantua" website](https://web.archive.org/web/20120704045209/http://www.wearemantua.com/)

- [University City Historical Society - Mantua](http://www.uchs.net/Rosenthal/mantua.html)

- ["Emlenton" to Mantua](http://www.brynmawr.edu/cities/archx/05-600/proj/p1/jcac/emlentenlater.html)

- [Historic Photographs of Mantua](http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Search.aspx?minx=2681979.981843&maxx=2689104.981843&miny=236581.565035&maxy=244894.065035&updateDays=0&type=area&neighborhood=Mantua&sortOrderM=Distance&start=0&limit=24&mstart=0&mlimit=12), *Philly*History.org

- [Charles L. Durham Library](https://libwww.freelibrary.org/locations/charles-l-durham-library)

- [Mantua Civic Association](http://www.mcaunitingmantua.com/)

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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