Spruce Hill, Philadelphia

39°57′14″N 75°12′36″W / 39.954°N 75.210°W / 39.954; -75.210Country United StatesStatePennsylvaniaCountyPhiladelphiaCityPhiladelphiaArea code(s)215, 267 and 445

Spruce Hill is a neighborhood in the University City section of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between 40th and 46th streets and stretches from Market Street south to Woodland Avenue.

History and demographics

With a population of more than 16,000, Spruce Hill is a racially and ethnically diverse part of the city, where multiple examples of historic architecture are preserved, including a large number of Victorian rowhouses, many of which have been converted to multi-family apartments.^[1]

This neighborhood was built as a streetcar suburb for Center City between 1850 and 1910.^[2] Among its most prominent developers was financier Clarence Howard Clark Sr. (1833 – 1906), who built dozens of rowhouses, donated land for the Walnut Street West Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, settled a tax assessment by founding the 9.1-acre Clark Park, and established his mansion on the grassy block that today holds the Penn Alexander public elementary school.^[3]

A statue of Charles Dickens, cast in 1890 by Francis Edwin Elwell, stands in Clark Park; it is one of just two known statues of the author.^[4]

Education

The School District of Philadelphia operates the Penn Alexander School and the Paul Robeson High School for Human Services. The Spruce Hill Christian elementary and middle school is located on Baltimore Avenue.

The University of Pennsylvania campus extends into Spruce Hill and the University of the Sciences campus is also located in this neighborhood.

Public libraries

The Free Library of Philadelphia Walnut Street West Branch serves Spruce Hill.^[5]

See also

• Saint Mary's Church, Hamilton Village

Gallery

• 
  Chestnut Street Baptist Church
• 
  Ethnic restaurants on 42nd and Chestnut
• 
  Walnut Street's West Branch Library

References

External links

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