Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia

For the stream named Cobbs Creek, see Cobbs Creek.

Cobbs Creek Automobile Suburb Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	Roughly bounded by Cobbs Creek Parkway, Spruce St., 62nd St., and Angora St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Area	100 acres (40 ha)
Built	1880
Architect	E.A. Wilson; et al.
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Bungalow/craftsman
NRHP reference No.	98001366
Added to NRHP	November 12, 1998

Cobbs Creek is a neighborhood located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Cobbs Creek is generally bound by Market Street to the north, Baltimore Avenue to the south, 52nd Street to the east, and Cobbs Creek Parkway to the west. It is often locally referred to as "The Southside", in reference to its location to the south of Market Street and above the Baltimore Avenue border of Southwest Philadelphia, as well as a neighborhood distinction used by local street gangs in the area during the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1998, the Cobbs Creek Automobile Suburb Historic District was created, with Cobbs Creek Parkway, Spruce Street, 62nd Street, and Angora Street its boundaries. The District protects 1049 buildings, with Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow/Craftsman architectural styles contained within the district.

Philadelphia architect William Alesker, who was involved in the plans for a Trump Tower in Center City, and Evangelical minister Tony Campolo, one of Bill Clinton's spiritual advisers, lived, respectively, in the 6200 blocks of Pine and Delancey Streets back in the 1940s and 1950s.

Fires from the 1985 bombing of the MOVE headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue spread to 64 other buildings in the neighborhood. The destroyed homes were hastily rebuilt by the city, but were later condemned after years of attempted repairs to the shoddy construction.

Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the Holmes Junior High School and Walnut Park Plaza Hotel.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools.

Public libraries

Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Branch

Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Branch at 5800 Cobbs Creek Parkway at the intersection of 59th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The branch opened in 1925 and was renamed in 1990 after an area activist.

External links

• Media related to Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia at Wikimedia Commons
• Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center
• InfoResources West Philadelphia Neighborhood - Cobbs Creek
• Historic Photographs of Cobbs Creek, PhillyHistory.org