Logan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Logan is a neighborhood in the north Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Schools, Medicine, and Recreation
5 Economy
6 Current issues
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

The area was once part of the plantation of James Logan, adviser to William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. Modern transportation formed the community: the Broad Street Subway, which opened in 1928, and a thriving network of streetcar and bus routes, allowed development of what was then considered one of the earliest suburban communities in Philadelphia, though the area is considered urban today. The transportation network still provides Logan residents easy access to the rest of the city.

In 1980, the Fishers Lane Historic District was created, certifying 12 Second Empire and Italianate architecture style buildings.[1]

[edit] Geography

Centered approximately on the intersection of Broad Street and Lindley Avenue, the neighborhood is bordered by the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood in the south, Germantown in the west, and Olney in the north and east. It is generally considered to be bordered in the south by Wingohocking Street, in the west by 16th Street and Wakefield Park, in the north by Olney Avenue, and in the east by a railroad right-of-way just east of Marshall Street. The terrain is generally flat. Wingohocking Creek flows under Wingohocking Street along Logan's southern border.

[edit] Demographics

The population of about 5,500 people live predominantly in single-family homes of row and semi-detached houses arranged along a rectangular grid of streets. The area has seen economic decline, and there is an approximately 20% vacancy rate in housing units.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, the racial makeup of Logan is 6.57% White, 82.94% African American, 4.90% Asian, and 2.93% from other races. 5.47% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The population of Logan decreased by 14% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses.

[edit] Schools, Medicine, and Recreation

Principal schools are the Birney Elementary School at 9th Street and Lindley Avenue and the Jay Cooke Junior High School at 13th and Louden Streets.

The principal hospital is Albert Einstein Medical Center (AEMC), also a significant employer in the region.

Barrett Playground at 8th Street and Duncannon Avenue is the principal recreation center, though several wooded parks are also in the area.

[edit] Economy

In the past factories were clustered in a few areas; historically they were diverse, and included Mrs. Smith's Pies on Lindley Avenue and the Fleer Baseball Card Gum Company on 10th Street.

At the intersection of Franklin and Loudon near the site of the demolished homes (see section below), there is a Chinese take-out restaurant called "Yu Lee", which caters to many of the residents in the neighborhood. They open and close at odd and inconsistent hours, but the local customers always return to enjoy the delicious food they serve.

[edit] Current issues

Logan Redevelopment Area, in the southern part of the Logan neighborhood, is a 21-acre area that was completely demolished due to unsafe subsidence caused by engineering deficiencies in the original construction. The city purchased almost all the homes in this large area and demolished them, leaving only a ghostly grid of rectangular streets as a reminder of the former urban landscape. The area is slated for commercial redevelopment.

Neighborhood designations are not exact. Persons living in the area of 5th Street and Lindley Avenue, generally considered a part of Olney, will sometimes say that they live in the Olney-Logan neighborhood. La Salle University, at 20th Street and Olney Avenue, just four blocks west of the borders described above, is variously described as being in either Ogontz or in Logan.

[edit] References

Logan Redevelopment Area Plan. Philadelphia: PA: Philadelphia City Planning Commission, May, 2002.
1976 Bulletin Almanac. Philadelphia, PA: Evening and Sunday Bulletin, 1976.
Finkel, Kenneth, ed. Philadelphia Almanac and Citizen’s Manual. Philadelphia, PA: Library Company, 1995.