Passyunk Square is a neighborhood in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

bounded by Broad Street to the west, 6th Street to the east, Tasker Street to the south and Washington Avenue to the north. Passyunk Square is bordered by the Bella Vista, Hawthorne, Central South Philadelphia, Wharton, and Point Breeze neighborhoods. The neighborhood's etymology originates from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

word "pachsegink", meaning “in the valley”. The name came from the 1800s

Passyunk Township, Pennsylvania Passyunk Township (Lenape language, Lenape ''Pahsayunk'' 'in the valley' from ''pahsaek'' 'valley') was a Township (Pennsylvania), township that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States. History This township ceased to exis ...

which named Passyunk Square Park, located between 12th, 13th, Reed and Wharton Streets. The park was eventually renamed Columbus Square Park, and subsequently the neighborhood became known as Columbus Square. Sue Montella, Geoff DiMasi, and a group of neighbors revived the Passyunk Square name when forming the Passyunk Square Civic Association in 2003. The name "Passyunk Square" was researched and proposed by Geoff DiMasi after considering other historical names like Wharton that had been used in the neighborhood over the years. The area has come to be known as

Little Saigon Little Saigon () is a name given to ethnic enclaves of overseas Vietnamese, expatriate Vietnamese mainly in English-speaking countries. (). Saigon is the former name of the capital of the former South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City), where a lar ...

for its large

Vietnamese American Vietnamese Americans () are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, making them the fourth largest Asian Ame ...

commercial and residential presence, with one of the largest Vietnamese populations on the east coast.

History

Lafayette Cemetery Lafayette Cemetery was a cemetery in the Passyunk Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1828 and originally intended for 14,000 burials but over time fell into disrepair and became overcrowded with 47,000 buria ...

was established in 1828 on the block between Federal and Wharton Streets and 9th and 10th Avenues. The cemetery was originally designed to hold 14,000 bodies, but by 1946, it was in disrepair and overcrowded with 47,000 bodies. In March 1946, the city condemned Lafayette Cemetery and relocated all of the remains to Evergreen Memorial Park in

Bensalem Township Bensalem Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township borders the Northeast Philadelphia, northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Pennsylvania ...

. The former location of Lafayette Cemetery is used by the city of Philadelphia as the Capitolo Playground.

Education

The

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

serves the neighborhood. Two

K-8 schools K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * Red telephone box, K8 telephone box, des ...

Fanny Jackson Coppin School Fanny Jackson Coppin School, previously Federal Street School and then Andrew Jackson School, is a public K-8 school located in the Passyunk Square neighborhood of South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the School Distr ...

(formerly the Federal Street School and

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

School) and

Eliza Butler Kirkbride School Eliza Butler Kirkbride School is a K–8 school located in the Passyunk Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. The historic school building was designed by Irwin T. Catharine a ...

, are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. These schools serve portions of the neighborhood.Elizabeth B. Kirkbride Elementary School Geographic Boundaries

Archive
.

. Retrieved on November 29, 2015.

Furness High School Horace Howard Furness High School is a secondary (9th-12th) school in South Philadelphia. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia. Portions of South Philadelphia (including Bella Vista, Passyunk Square, Pennsport, Queen Village ...

serves areas within both the Kirkbride and Jackson zones.A Directory of High Schools for 2009 Admissions

Archive
. ''

''. p. 15 (PDF p/ 17/40). Accessed November 6, 2008.Horace Furness High School Geographic Boundaries

Archive
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. Retrieved on October 4, 2011.

Demographics

* White - 68%; Black - 6%; Asian - 19%; Hispanic - 7%The Place Where You Live: Passyunk Square
/ref>

Shopping district

The neighborhood is best known for its shopping and restaurants along the East Passyunk Avenue corridor. East Passyunk Avenue features a large number of privately owned shops, restaurants, and grocery stores; additionally, it has a number of businesses such as insurance offices, salons, and pharmacies. The southernmost portion of one of America's oldest curb markets, popularly called The Italian Market, also falls within the Association's boundaries.

Transportation

Passyunk Square is served by

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

Broad Street Line The B, formerly known as the Broad Street Line (BSL), is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs primarily north-south from the Fern Rock Transit Center in North Philadelphi ...

at Tasker-Morris and Ellsworth-Federal stations. Several SEPTA bus lines run through the neighborhood.

External links

Passyunk Square Civic Association

East Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District

Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation

Gold Star Park

Dr. Nicola Capitolo Playground

References

{{Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Philadelphia