Pennsport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsport is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Pennsport is home to a large working Irish American population and many Mummer clubs. It was also the site of a controversial push for casinos along the Philadelphia waterfront. Foxwoods Casino was proposed for Christopher Columbus Boulevard at Reed Street.

Location

Pennsport is bound by Passyunk Square to the west, the Delaware River to the east, Queen Village neighborhood to the north, and Whitman to the south. The Pennsport Redevelopment Area Plan of 1968 listed the border streets as Washington Avenue on the north, Snyder Avenue on the south, and Fourth Street on the west.

Demographics

The 2000 census listed Pennsport's population as 26,300, a figure that includes the populations of Southwark, Queen Village, & Whitman.

Pennsport is 70% white, 17% black, 8% Asian, & 5% Latino. Roughly 40% of the population is under 18.

History

According to the Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions, Pennsport was originally part of Moyamensing Township. Most of the area north of present-day Mifflin Street was included in the Southwark District from 1794 until the consolidation of Philadelphia in 1854. At that point, it was mostly contained in the First Ward. The First and Second Wards ran east of Passyunk Avenue and were divided by Wharton St. (First to the south, Second to the north). The southern boundary of the First Ward initially spanned south to the river, but it was stopped at Mifflin St. in 1898.

External links

• Pennsport Civic Association
• Friends of Dickinson Square Park
• Mummers Museum