Mayfair, Philadelphia

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox settlement | background_color=    |image_skyline=Mayfair.JPG |imagesize= |image_caption=The intersection of Frankford and Cottman Avenues in Mayfair |image_flag= |name=Mayfair |settlement_type = [[List of Philadelphia neighborhoods|Neighborhood of Philadelphia]]   |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{USA}} |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = [[Pennsylvania]] |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia County]] |subdivision_type3 = City |subdivision_name3 = [[Philadelphia]]  | mapsize = 300px | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Philadelphia | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | coordinates = {{Coord|40.033|-75.034|format=dms|display=title}}  |postal_code_type= |postal_code= |area_codes=[[Area codes 215, 267, and 445|215, 267 and 445]] }} '''Mayfair''' is a working class neighborhood in lower [[Northeast Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States, centered on the intersection of [[Pennsylvania Route 73|Cottman]] and [[U.S. Route 13 in Pennsylvania|Frankford Avenues]].<ref>[http://www.phila.gov/PHILS/DOCS/otherinfo/pname2.htm Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names, L-P], Finkel, Kenneth. ''Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual''. Library Company of Philadelphia. (via Philadelphia City Archives)</ref> It is bordered by [[Tacony, Philadelphia|Tacony]] and [[Wissinoming, Philadelphia|Wissinoming]] to the south and east, [[Holmesburg, Philadelphia|Holmesburg]] to the east, [[Pennypack Park]] to the north, and [[Oxford Circle, Philadelphia|Oxford Circle]] and [[Rhawnhurst, Philadelphia|Rhawnhurst]] to the west.<ref>The street borders are Harbison to the south, Frankford Avenue to the east, Roosevelt Boulevard to the west. It also Borders Cottman Avenue on the west side of Frankford Avenue, but on both sides of Frankford Avenue from Cottman Avenue to Sheffield Avenue. It borders the Holmesburg neighborhood to the north and east, but the borders between that neighborhood are not clearly defined and often disputed, as are borders with some other surrounding neighborhoods. [http://cml.upenn.edu/nbase/ Philadelphia NIS NeighborhoodBase] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010713034611/http://cml.upenn.edu/nbase/ |date=2001-07-13 }}, [[University of Pennsylvania]]'s Cartographic Modeling Lab.</ref> Mayfair is historically home to a large [[Irish American]] population, but more recently has seen accelerated growth of [[Asian American]], Hispanic, Russian and mid eastern population.<ref>[https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/mayfair-philadelphia-pa/residents/], Niche Mayfair Demographics and Statistics.</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2025}}

The street borders are the north side of Harbison Avenue to the south. The eastern border is the west side of Frankford Avenue. The east side of Roosevelt Boulevard is the border to the west. It also borders the west side of Frankford Avenue, from Harbison Avenue up to Cottman Avenue but both sides of Frankford Avenue from Cottman Avenue to Sheffield Avenue. It borders on the west side of Rhawn street at the intersection of Frankford and Rhawn. Mayfair borders the Holmesburg neighborhood to the north and east, but the borders between that neighborhood are not clearly defined and often disputed, as are the borders with other surrounding neighborhoods.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} It is named after the [[Mayfair]] district in [[London]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winberg |first=Michaela |date=2018-07-06 |title=How 43 Philly neighborhoods got their names |url=http://billypenn.com/2018/07/06/how-43-philly-neighborhoods-got-their-names/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Billy Penn at WHYY |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History== {{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}} [[Image:Mayfairdiner01.jpg|thumb|300px|Mayfair Diner]] Before development in the 1920s, Mayfair was essentially farmland and home to The Edwin Forrest Home for Children (near present-day Frankford and Shelmire Avenue) and The Oxford and Lower Dublin Poor House (west of present-day Rowland and Sheffield Aves). First established in 1929, Mayfair came to fruition in the years following [[World War II]] as a community that provided fresher and more spacious living in an urban environment.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} It was constructed over farmland surrounded by the established neighborhoods of [[Tacony, Philadelphia|Tacony]], [[Holmesburg]] and [[Fox Chase, Philadelphia|Fox Chase]]. Mayfair featured several groundbreaking concepts for city dwellers: bigger [[Terraced house|rowhouses]] with parking garages in the back. The [[automobile]] became the primary mode of transportation and shopping retail centers became available close to home, as shopping districts developed along [[U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania#Roosevelt Boulevard to New Jersey|Roosevelt Boulevard]], Frankford Avenue and Cottman Avenue. Development also served to connect the surrounding neighborhoods of the Northeast that had previously been isolated. Development in Mayfair was a forerunner to American [[suburbanization]], an early part of the population shift from the inner city to its outer regions.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

==Education== Residents are zoned to the [[School District of Philadelphia]].

The [[Ethan Allen School]] and [[Edwin Forrest School]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> Mayfair Elementary School is also in Mayfair.

Ethan Allen and Mayfair elementary are [[K-8 schools]], while Edwin Forrest-zoned students go onto Austin Meehan Middle.<ref>"[https://webapps.philasd.org/sp_files/boundary_maps/8250.pdf Edwin Forrest Elementary School Geographic Boundaries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222239/https://webapps.philasd.org/sp_files/boundary_maps/8250.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}." [[School District of Philadelphia]]. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.</ref> Students zoned to Austin Meehan, Ethan Allen, and Mayfair are also zoned to [[Abraham Lincoln High School (Philadelphia)|Abraham Lincoln High School]].<ref name=2017admissions>"[http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/3u/OZ/3uOZaCxa60P-JNsu42DbPg/HS-Directory-2017.pdf High School Directory Fall 2017 Admissions]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20161107165127/http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/3u/OZ/3uOZaCxa60P-JNsu42DbPg/HS-Directory-2017.pdf Archive]). [[School District of Philadelphia]]. p. 42/70. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.</ref>

Lincoln High was originally scheduled to be named Mayfair High School, but opposition from other neighborhoods meant that the school was instead named after Abraham Lincoln. Mayfair residents had a negative reception to this change. In 1949 the school's cornerstone was laid. Mayfair Elementary School also opened in 1949.<ref>{{cite news|author=Loftus, John |url=http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/jan/28/changes-classroom/ |title=Changes in the classroom |newspaper=[[Northeast Times]] |date=2015-01-28 |access-date=2016-12-10 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801004051/http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/jan/28/changes-classroom/ |archive-date=2015-08-01 }}</ref>

==Population== As of the 2010 census, the tracts covering most of Mayfair<ref>Philadelphia County, 2010 Census Tracts [http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/72/116722472.gif 315]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/13/116722513.gif 316]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/33/116722433.gif 330]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/00/116721500.gif 331]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/56/116722456.gif 332]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> had a population of 38,202 people, 56% White, 19% African American, 16% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 2% Two or more races, and 2% Other and mostly in owner-occupied [[Terraced house|rowhouses]].<ref>[https://www.census.gov American Census U.S. Census website] – Decennial Census Data Set – Census 20Summary File 1: tables P3, H14</ref> Over the last two decades investors have bought up the housing stock to accommodate Section 8 housing turning the neighborhood into a mostly rental population.

Mayfair is widely known for its association with [[Irish-American]] culture. During the 2000 census, 14,682 people noted Irish ancestry, including 11,100 who claimed it as their primary ancestry. Other claimed ancestries of note were [[German-American|German]] (7,069), [[Italian American|Italian]] (6,067), [[Polish American|Polish]] (3,512), and [[English American|English]] (2,442).<ref>American Census Factfinder – Decennial Census Data Set – Census 2000 Summary File 3: tables PCT16, 17, 18.</ref> Like most of the city's Northeast, since 2000, the area has seen an increase in immigrants from [[Russia]] as well as an increase in non-European immigrants and non-European Americans, with the integration of immigrants from various [[Asia]]n countries, [[Arab Americans|Arabs]], [[African American|Blacks]] and [[Hispanic Americans]] in the communities.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.mayfaircdc.org/ Mayfair Community Development Corporation] *[http://www.mayfaircivicassociation.com/ Mayfair Civic Association] *[http://www.mayfairpresbyterianchurch.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503011300/http://mayfairpresbyterianchurch.com/ |date=2012-05-03 }} {{NEPhila}} *[http://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2014/06/02/mayfair-five-places-you-need-to-know/] *[http://www.bobbyhenon.com/split]

[[Category:Neighborhoods in Philadelphia]] [[Category:Irish-American neighborhoods]] [[Category:Irish-American culture in Philadelphia]] [[Category:Irish-American culture in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Northeast Philadelphia]]