Wynnefield, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

4900 block of Wynnefield Avenue

Wynnefield (a.k.a. The Field) is a predominantly African-American, middle-class neighborhood in West Philadelphia. Its borders are 53rd Street at Jefferson to the south, Philadelphia's Fairmount Park to the east, City Avenue (commonly referred to as "City Line") to the north and the Amtrak Main Line tracks to the west.

Surrounding neighborhoods include Bala Cynwyd to the north, Wynnefield Heights and Belmont Village to the east, Parkside to the south, and Overbrook to the west. Its main commercial arteries are North 54th Street, Bryn Mawr Avenue (2200 block), and City Avenue. It is the home of St. Joseph's University, a Catholic Jesuit University of some 7,000 students and the television station WPHL-TV (MY PHL 17). It also has a connections to the motion picture industry. Wynnefield is the childhood home of actor Will Smith, film producer Lee Daniels ("Monster's Ball" and "The Woodsman"), film director Charles Stone III, politico and former "Big Brother" reality-TV contestant Will Mega and documentary filmmaker Tigre Hill.

As of 2006, changes to the neighborhood include the expansion of St. Joseph's University, and an influx of students and new residents of non-African descent moving into the area.

Local politicians with Wynnefield ties include Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, former mayor Wilson Goode, city councilman Curtis Jones, Jr, and councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown.

History

Like the nearby suburban community of Wynnewood, Wynnefield takes its name from William Penn's physician, Thomas Wynne, who built his home "Wynnestay" at 52nd Street and Woodbine Avenue in 1690. It has previously been known as a part of Delaware County, later annexed by Philadelphia and known as Balwynne Park or Woodside Park. The Woodside Park portion is now the separate community of Wynnefield Heights. Woodside Park was an amusement park constructed by the city's Fairmount Park Transportation Company that operated from 1897 to 1955.

From about 1900, Wynnefield was an upscale and predominately Jewish-American community, consisting largely of immigrants from Russia, Germany, and elsewhere. Until the 1960s, Wynnefield was known as a safe and upscale shopping district. Small, local boutiques thrived alongside of The Blum Store, Bonwit Teller, and Lord & Taylor. Betty's hat shop was a popular destination for the Main Line elite and Jackie Kennedy fans. Suburbanites would bring their families to spend the day shopping and to enjoy a meal at local haunts such as Pub Tiki and Williamson's Restaurant. Women from areas such as nearby Bucks County would ride into Wynnefield on SEPTA buses, donning their best garb and wearing their white gloves.

In the mid-1960s, the neighborhood began the transition into being largely African American, and in the mid-1980s, the community became a victim of the crack epidemic, during which violent crimes surged throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and even today in its southern portion, where gangs operate.

Much of the development of Wynnefield after the 1960s is due to the influence of the late Katie B. Jackson (1929–1993). Known by the African-American community as "Queen of Wynnefield," Jackson founded the Wynnefield Academy, a private, co-educational PK-4 elementary school in 1975. The Katie B. Jackson Development Corporation and Katie B. Jackson Senior Citizens Complex bear her name.

Har Zion Synagogue was a longtime resident of the area, built at 54th & Wynnefield Ave in 1924, before moving to larger facilities in Penn Valley, PA in 1976.

Education

Colleges and universities

Saint Joseph's University

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Wynnefield is served by the School District of Philadelphia.

Elementary schools:

• Samuel Gompers Elementary School
• William B. Mann Elementary School. However, this school is now a Mastery Charter School.

Middle schools:

• Dimner Beeber Middle School

High schools:

• The neighborhood feeder school for Wynnefield is Overbrook High School.

In addition, The Laboratory Charter School of Communications and Languages is an area charter school.

Private schools

• Wynnefield Academy
• Woodbine Academy
• St. Rose of Lima Catholic School
• Settlement Music School, West Philadelphia Branch

Public libraries

Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Wynnefield Branch [1].

Places of worship

• Wynnefield Presbyterian Church
• Pinn Memorial Baptist Church
• West Side Baptist Church
• Wynnefield Baptist Church
• St. Barbara Catholic Church
• Bethel Holiness Pentecostel Church
• Overbrook Avenue Gospel Hall
• New Testament Church of God
• Endtime Zion Church of Jesus
• Community Bible Tabernacle Church
• International Church of God
• Church of the Advocate
• Evelyn Graves Ministries Church
• Baha'i Community of Phila
• Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Mosque

External links

• InfoResources West Philadelphia Neighborhood - Wynnefield
• West Philly On-line Wynnefield history
• Willam B. Mann Elementary School
• Beeber Middle School
• Settlement Music School - West Philadelphia Branch
• History of Har Zion
• Mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen