From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Mill Creek, Philadelphia
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image_skyline | Blankenburg School 4600.JPG |
| image_caption | Rudolph Blankenburg School in Mill Creek, June 2010 |
| name | Mill Creek |
| settlement_type | Neighborhood of Philadelphia |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_name1 | Pennsylvania |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | Philadelphia |
| subdivision_type3 | City |
| subdivision_name3 | Philadelphia |
| mapsize | 300px |
| pushpin_map | Philadelphia |
| coordinates | |
| area_codes | 215, 267, and 445 |
Mill Creek is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It sits between 44th and 52nd Streets, north of Market Street and south of Girard Avenue. It was named for Philadelphia's Mill Creek, which was buried during 19th-century sewer system improvements. In 1961, the sewer collapsed, taking homes with it.
History and architectural features
During the early 1800s, Mill Creek was used as a water and power supply source by area lumber companies and gristmills. Sometime after the end of the American Civil War, as Philadelphia's population continued to grow, business and civic leader determined that upgrades were needed to the city's sewer system. One of the projects involved diverting a section of Mill Creek through an underground brick-covered sewer culvert, which was then covered over by landfill. This decision ultimately created "a submerged floodplain" that resulted in sewer collapses during the 20th century.
In 1849, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia purchased farm land in Mills Creek to create Cathedral Cemetery, the first Catholic cemetery in Philadelphia to support burials due to the influx of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany.
The neighborhood was formerly home to the Mill Creek Apartments, a public housing project that was designed by Louis Kahn during the early 1950s. Its three 17-story highrise project towers were demolished in 2002 and replaced with suburban-style low-rise houses, a development named Lucien Blackwell Homes after the congressman.
Mill Creek was the site of the 2000 "Lex Street Massacre," in which four men killed seven others and wounded three in retaliation for damage to a car, Philadelphia's worst killing spree in modern history.
The Rudolph Blankenburg School, the Mayer Sulzberger Junior High School, and Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
References
References
- link. (2023-09-29 ," in "West Philadelphia Collaborative History." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved online April 30, 2023.)
- "After a glorious history, twin spires of West Phila. church will go silent". CatholicPhilly.
- "Old Cathedral Cemetery: Philadelphia Immigration Story". LL-Squared LLC.
- "User account | Stuart Weitzman School of Design".
- Eichel, Larry. (December 5, 2005). "The New Urban Landscape, Mixed Blessings". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- {{NRISref
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Mill Creek, Philadelphia — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report