South Philly Review

Boundaries: Lombard Street to Washington Avenue, the Delaware River to Sixth Street.

Origin of Name: William Penn called it Southwark because it reminded him of a similar neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames River in London.

In the late 1970s, it was renamed Queen Village after Queen Christina of Sweden to recognize her role in promoting the original settlements. Although some say Queen Village encompasses Southwark, the latter is still used for the adjacent neighborhood.

Brief history: Settled by the Swedes in the 1600s and originally named Wicaco, it was deemed a “peaceful place” using the Lenni Lenape tribal word. William Penn changed the name to Southwark.
The Swedes mostly lived along Christian Street. In 1699, they built a wood-framed church at Front and Christian streets. The following year, it was consecrated Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church, and exists today at 916 S. Swanson St.

Commercial activities were very prominent and maritime jobs were plentiful. Residents worked as shipbuilders, rope- and sail-makers, sailors, dock workers, carpenters and craftsmen.
Southwark was officially recognized as a community in 1854.

Spanish-speaking immigrants arrived in the 19th century, and found housing and work in this neighborhood.

Members of the Cuban Revolutionary Party also lived in Southwark, and a cigar-making industry thrived. The Bayuk Brothers Tobacco Co., for example, was the largest cigar producer in Philadelphia in the early 20th century.

One beacon of the nautical era still stands in Queen Village. It is the steeple of the 158-year-old Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1001 S. Fourth St., which guided ships across the Delaware River. During the late 1950s, the church became an unofficial community center, offering its facilities to neighborhood groups, youth workers and civic-betterment organizations.

In 2000, the Courtyard Apartments at Riverview, Fifth Street and Washington Avenue, replaced the two towers at Southwark Plaza. When the old housing development was imploded, neighbors worried about damage to Emanuel Church’s steeple, but it survived unscathed.

Another old building, Mount Sinai Hospital, Fourth and Reed streets, and its surrounding blocks also have undergone a conversion. The hospital closed in 1998, and construction on the Jefferson Square housing complex began soon after, spanning mostly neighboring Pennsport but also part of Queen Village.

Famous Residents: Twist originator Chubby Checker, formerly of the 500 block of Christian Street; Brother Bill McDonald, who worked with the Servants of the Poor to provide food and clothing to the neighborhood needy, was locally well-known; painter/sculptor/filmmaker/photographer Man Ray, who participated in the Cubist, Dadaist and Surrealist art movements;  Sacramento Kings and La Salle University basketball star Lionel “L-Train” Simmons; and the first mayor of Philadelphia, William Shippen; Larry Fine, born Louis Feinberg, one of the Three Stooges, of Third and South streets

Major Landmarks: Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, formerly at 1001 S. Fourth St., and its steeple; the former Southwark Towers; Sparks’ Shot Tower, the first shot tower built in the United States and one of only three remaining, is surrounded by a playground at Front and Carpenter streets; Betsy Ross was married at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church, now a National Historic Landmark; Theatre Of Living Arts, 334 South St.; Jefferson Square, Mummers Museum, 1100 S. Second St.; South Street

Architecture: Single-family units, townhouses

U.S. Congressional District: 1st, Bob Brady (D)

U.S. Senators: Bob Casey (D); Pat Toomey (R)

Pennsylvania Governor: Tom Corbett (R)

State House District: 175th, Michael H. O'Brien (D)

City Council District: 1st, Frank DiCicco (D)

Ward: 2nd

Police District: 3rd, Capt. Michael Ryan; Community Relations Officers Ace Delgado and Gary Harkins

Civic Groups: Queen Village Neighbors Association, Queen Village Town Watch.

Libraries: Santore, 932 S Seventh St.

Schools: William Meredith Elementary, 725 S. Fifth St.; Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St.

Places of Worship: Emanuel Lutheran Church, Fourth and Carpenter streets; Gloria Dei Old Swede's Church, 916 S. Swanson St.; Greater Mount Olive AME Church, 19 Fitzwater St.; Nazareth Baptist Church, 1009 S. Third St.; Phillips Temple Christian Methodist Church, 754 S. Third St.; Sayers Memorial United Methodist Church, 61 Catharine St.; St. John the Evangelist, Third and Reed streets; St. Phillips Neri Church, 218 Queen St.; St. Stanislaus, 242 Fitzwater St.

Rec Centers: Palumbo Rec, 10th and Fitzwater streets, in Bella Vista; Rizzo Rink, 1001 S. Front St., in Pennsport

Parks/Gardens: Mario Lanza Park, Second and Catharine streets; Moyamensing Point, Second and Christian; Shot Tower, Front and Carpenter streets; Weccacoe, 405-25 Queen St.; Bodine Street Community Garden, 914 S. Bodine St. and 939-941 S. Third St.; Southwark Queen Village Community Garden, 311-15 Christian St.; Washington Avenue Green, Columbus Boulevard and Washington Avenue

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