Allegheny West, Philadelphia

Allegheny West is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia. It is named for its location in the vicinity of Allegheny Avenue on the western side of Broad Street.

Like many neighborhoods in North Philadelphia, Allegheny West is primarily a poor African-American enclave that has suffered post-industrial decline and disinvestment. It faced one of the largest population losses of any neighborhood in Philadelphia between the 1990 and 2000 census. Gun violence and open air drug trade are particular issues.

Housing in Allegheny West is very affordable. In 2005, the 19132 zip code, which contains Allegheny West and North Central, had a median home sale price of $26,450. This was the lowest median price of any zip code in Philadelphia. Housing appreciated by 9% between 2004 and 2005.

Swampoodle

An older neighborhood name formerly in use within the Allegheny West area was Swampoodle. The name is now archaic, although SEPTA's proposed Swampoodle Connection was named for it as recently as the 1980s. Finkel defines Swampoodle as "Junction of three railroad lines, vic. [vicinity] Lehigh Avenue and 22nd Streets." He gives "(before 1926)" as the time period during which the name is attested in the sources that he and his contributors consulted. The Philadelphia Information Locator Service list, augmented from the Finkel 1995 list, repeats the same definition. However, the junction of three railroads to which they refer would apparently be the junction at North Philadelphia station, which clearly has been well east of 22nd Street since the 1890s or earlier. Perhaps Swampoodle extended throughout the entire area between North Philadelphia station and 22nd Street.

Bibliography

• Finkel, Kenneth (ed) (1995). Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual (1995 edition ed.). Philadelphia: Library Company of Philadelphia. pp. pp. 156-170. ISBN 0-914076-89-2. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |first= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
• Philadelphia Information Locator Service (1998-05-20). "Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names (based on Finkel 1995:156-170.)". City of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2007-05-30.

External links

• Allegheny West Foundation
• aerial photo of area of Allegheny West neighborhood
• Allegheny West Redevelopment Area Plan, City Planning Commission, 2003