Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. Torresdale is located along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

between Holmesburg and

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 ...

in neighboring

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

. The adjacent confluence of the

Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary, right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms the boundary between Philad ...

with the

had been favored by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

's surveyor,

Thomas Holme Thomas Holme (1624–1695) was the first surveyor general of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. He laid out the first and original plan for the city of Philadelphia. Holme was a member of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early leaders and ...

, as the site for the city that Penn planned to found. Although a more southerly site was finally selected, Holme and others acquired property there, where he is buried.

History

Torresdale, originally Torrisdale, was named by

Charles Macalester Charles Macalester (February 17, 1798 – December 9, 1873) was an American businessman, banker and philanthropist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a government director for the Second Bank of the United States and an advisor and frie ...

for his family's ancestral Scotland home. Before the

Act of Consolidation, 1854 The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 (P.L. 21, No. 16), is legislation of the Pennsylvania General Assembly that created the consolidated City and County of Philadelphia, expanding the city's territory t ...

, Torresdale had been part of Delaware Township of

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

, and before 1853, part of Lower Dublin Township of the same county. In 1894, Torresdale was the site of the regatta of the Rowing Association of American Colleges. Long before the existence of what is referred to today as the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

, Torresdale, along with Holmesburg to its south and

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

to its north, had been Philadelphia's posh suburban neighborhood, as evidenced by Glen Foerd on the Delaware, a luxurious riverside estate and

, the Biddle estate, for which the village of Andalusia is named.

Notable sites

Torresdale is the site of

Holy Family University Holy Family University is a Private university, private Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1954 and has four schools: Arts & Sciences, Business & Technology, Education, and Nursing & Health Scie ...

and Nazareth Academy High School. The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, a Donald Ross–designed

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, located at Frankford and Grant Avenues, is one of the finest golf courses in the Philadelphia region. In 2015, the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 a ...

undertook a complete restoration of the course and historic clubhouse, which drew significant national attention. The Frankford Avenue Bridge over Poquessing Creek is 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 ...

. Camp Happy (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) a camp for underprivileged children open from 1920-1951. All Saints' Episcopal Church was established in 1772. Eden Hall Chapel, built in 1849 as part of the former Convent of the Sacred Heart, was demolished in 2007. The municipal Baxter Water Treatment Plant opened in 1909 as the Torresdale Water Treatment Plant. Glen Foerd at T

Glen Foerd on the Delaware is a historic estate established in 1850, listed on the

and the Historic American Landscapes.

Education

Residents are zoned to schools in 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 ...

, including Thomas Holme Elementary School, Austin Meehan Middle School, and Abraham Lincoln High School.Abraham Lincoln High School Geographic Boundaries
"

. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.

Notable people

Gia Carangi Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960November 18, 1986) was an American supermodel, considered by some to be the first supermodel. In 2023, Harpers Bazaar ranked her 15th among the greatest supermodels in the 1980s. She was featured on the cover o ...

(1960-1986), model * Boake Carter (1903-1944), national news commentator * Francis Anthony Drexel (1824-1885), banker and philanthropist *

Katharine Drexel Katharine Drexel, SBS (born Catherine Mary Drexel; November 26, 1858 – March 3, 1955) was an American Catholic religious sister, and educator. In 1891, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious congregation serving Black ...

(1858-1955), Roman Catholic saint * Michael Driscoll (born 1960), Philadelphia City Councilmember *

Edwin Henry Fitler Edwin Henry Fitler (December 2, 1825 – May 31, 1896) was an American businessman and politician from Pennsylvania. He founded Edwin H. Fitler & Company, the largest cordage manufacturer in the United States at the time, and served as a Re ...

(1825-1896), businessman and 75th mayor of Philadelphia *

Robert H. Foerderer Robert Hermann Foerderer (May 16, 1860July 26, 1903) was an American businessman and politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's at-large congressional dis ...

(1860-1903), U.S. Congressman and businessman * Virginia Knauer (1915-2011), politician *

William J. Green, III William Joseph Green III (born June 24, 1938) is an American politician from Pennsylvania. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Green served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1964 to 1977 and as the Mayor of Philadelphia, 94th M ...

(born 1938), politician * William J. Green Jr. (1910-1963), U.S. Congressman

References

{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia