Mantua, Philadelphia

Neighborhood of Philadelphia

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Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Mantua Avenue

Neighborhood of Philadelphia

Town sign at N 34th St. and Mantua Ave.

Mantua Avenue

Coordinates: 39°57′50″N 75°11′38″W﻿ / ﻿39.964°N 75.194°W﻿ / 39.964; -75.194
Country|  United States
State| Pennsylvania
County| Philadelphia
City| Philadelphia
ZIP Code|

19104

Area code(s)| 215, 267, and 445

Mantua is a neighborhood in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located north of Spring Garden Street, east of 40th Street, south of Mantua Avenue, and west of 31st Street. The neighborhood's northern and western reaches are predominantly working-class and African American,[1] although its southern border with Powelton Village has seen recent gentrification and an influx of Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania student renters.

## History

[edit]

Part of this neighborhood was purchased from the Lenape Indian tribe in 1677 by William Warner. In 1692, a young Welsh carpenter, William Powel, opened a ferry over the Schuylkill River at the foot of the present Spring Garden Bridge. Lancaster Pike and Haverford Road were the first routes providing access from the west.[2]

### 19th century

[edit]

Mantua was named in 1809 by Judge Richard Peters, who designed a grid of lots with 36th St. and Haverford Ave. as the center. It was named after the city of Mantua in Italy.[3]

Powelton Village, the neighborhood just south of Mantua, was named for the family of William Powell, whose son purchased additional land. By the mid-1880s, Powelton Village was a fashionable area, becoming part of Philadelphia after the Consolidation Act of 1854.[4]

### 20th century

[edit]

Prior to the 1940s, Mantua was a predominantly white, Lutheran neighborhood. However, these decades mark the time when Black families began moving into the area’s boundaries. During the 1950s the area hosted a bustling commercial district on Haverford Avenue.[citation needed]

In the 1960s, six major Philadelphia gangs maintained a major presence in a 10.5 block area of Mantua. Between 1960 and 1969, Mantua recorded about 10% of total city gang killings. Mantua became one of the worst areas of the 16th precinct, and the Philadelphia Police Department often assigned patrols in Mantua to officers as punishment.

Andrew Jenkins and the Mantua Community Planners began working with the city to build a recreation center in Mantua. However, gang violence continuously delayed these efforts. The neighborhood’s first recreation center finally opened on what is now 34th Street and Haverford Avenue. In addition to the playgrounds, ball courts, and offices featured at most recreation centers, this one also housed a free library, and holding a library card was a requirement for entrance to the play centers.

Despite the crime, Wrice's Young Great Society and Jenkins' Mantua Community Planners fought to incorporate urban renewal programs, such as the planting of trees and building of housing units. Mt. Vernon Manor, a collection of apartment buildings, was once such development project.

Designed as part of the multipurpose Mantua Community Center, the Mantua library branch opened July 9, 1979. The building also includes a Department of Recreation gymnasium, a community office, and a meeting room.

Like many industrialized cities in the 1980s, Philadelphia saw a rise of drug-related gang warfare. The use of crack cocaine, combined with the existing heroin market, caused many residents to flee.

Although the drug trade began winding down in the 1990s, the community was feeling its lasting effects. The number of residents in the community fluttered around 6,000 most of the decade, and several hundred vacant lots dotted the streets. The movie theaters, retail outlets, and galleries that resided in Mantua during the 1950s were replaced by small delis and grab-and-go beer stores.

In the late 1990s, many of the abandoned lots and buildings were bought, renovated, and put on the market for rent. The neighborhood saw an influx of college students from Drexel University, among other institutions, move into the area in search of affordable housing.

In 1995, the Mantua library branch was renamed in honor of Charles L. Durham. Born in Mantua, Durham served on City Council from 1967 to 1974, and was appointed to the Common Pleas Court. He was a strong advocate for the community, and was deeply involved in the struggle for civil rights and was part of the first Black caucus on Council. The library was renovated four years later, in 1999, as part of the Free Library of Philadelphia "Changing Lives" campaign, which refurbished branches and ensured each branch had adequate Internet access.[5]

### 21st century

[edit]

It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 college-aged students are living in Mantua. This growing number of students has brought renewed interest to the Mantua community from the expanding university system to the south, consisting mainly of Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.

## See also

[edit]

* Spiral Q Puppet Theater

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Mapping America: Every City, Every Block". The New York Times. December 13, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
2. ^ "Charles L. Durham Library". Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
3. ^ Winberg, Michaela (July 6, 2018). "How 43 Philly neighborhoods got their names". Billy Penn at WHYY. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
4. ^ "Charles L. Durham Library". Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
5. ^ "Charles L. Durham Library". Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mantua, Philadelphia.

* InfoResources West Philadelphia Neighborhood - Mantua
* "We Are Mantua" website
* University City Historical Society - Mantua
* "Emlenton" to Mantua
* Historic Photographs of Mantua, PhillyHistory.org
* Charles L. Durham Library
* Mantua Civic Association

* v
* t
* e

Communities of Philadelphia

Former municipalities are below.

Sections and
Neighborhoods|

| Center City|

* Avenue of the Arts
* Broad Street
* Chinatown
* Fitler Square
* Franklin Square
* Jewelers' Row
* Logan Square
* Old City
* Penn's Landing
* Rittenhouse Square
* Society Hill
* South Street
* Washington Square West

|

South|

* Bella Vista
* Central South Philadelphia
* Devil's Pocket
* Dickinson Square West
* East Passyunk Crossing
* Fabric Row
* FDR Park
* Girard Estate
* Grays Ferry
* Greenwich
* Hawthorne
* Italian Market
* Little Saigon
* Lower Moyamensing
* Marconi Plaza
* Moyamensing
* Newbold
* Packer Park
* Passyunk Square
* Pennsport
* Point Breeze
* Queen Village
* Southwark
* Southwest Center City
* Sports Complex
* West Passyunk
* Wharton
* Whitman
* Wilson Park

Southwest|

* Angora
* Bartram Village
* Clearview
* Eastwick
* Elmwood Park
* Hog Island
* Kingsessing
* Mount Moriah
* Paschall
* Southwest Schuylkill

West|

* Avenue of Technology
* Belmont Village
* Carroll Park
* Cathedral Park
* Centennial District
* Cedar Park
* Cobbs Creek
* Dunlap
* Garden Court
* Haddington
* Haverford North
* Mantua
* Mill Creek
* Overbrook
* Overbrook Farms
* Overbrook Park
* Parkside
* Powelton Village
* Saunders Park
* Spruce Hill
* Squirrel Hill
* 30th Street Station
* University City
* Walnut Hill
* Woodland Terrace
* Wynnefield
* Wynnefield Heights

North|

| Lower North|

* Badlands
* Belfield
* Brewerytown
* Callowhill
* Cecil B. Moore
* El Centro de Oro / Fairhill
* Fairmount
* Francisville
* Hartranft
* Ivy Hill
* Ludlow
* N3RD Street
* North Central
* Northern Liberties
* North Philadelphia East
* North Philadelphia West
* Poplar
* Sharswood
* South Lehigh
* Spring Garden
* Stanton
* Strawberry Mansion
* Yorktown

|

Upper North|

* Allegheny West
* Badlands
* Franklinville
* Glenwood
* Hunting Park
* Nicetown–Tioga
* Olde Kensington
* Swampoodle
* West Kensington

Olney-Oak Lane|

* East Oak Lane
* Feltonville
* Fern Rock
* Koreatown
* Logan
* Ogontz
* Olney
* West Oak Lane

Northwest|

| Lower Northwest|

* Andorra
* East Falls
* Manayunk
* Parkland
* Roxborough
* Wissahickon

|

Upper Northwest|

* Beggarstown
* Cedarbrook
* Chestnut Hill
* Germantown
* Morton
* Mount Airy
* Wister

Northeast|

| Near Northeast|

* Burholme
* Castor Gardens
* Crescentville
* Fox Chase
* Frankford
* Holme Circle
* Holmesburg
* Juniata
* Lawndale
* Lexington Park
* Mayfair
* Oxford Circle
* Rhawnhurst
* Ryers
* Tacony
* Wissinoming

|

Far Northeast|

* Academy Gardens
* Ashton-Woodenbridge
* Bustleton
* Byberry
* Crestmont Farms
* Millbrook
* Modena Park
* Morrell Park
* Normandy
* Parkwood
* Pennypack
* Somerton
* Torresdale
* Upper Holmesburg
* Winchester Park

River Wards|

* Bridesburg
* Fishtown
* Harrowgate
* Kensington
* Olde Richmond
* Port Richmond

Former
Municipalities|

| Cities|

* Philadelphia (Center City)

|

Boroughs|

* Aramingo
* Bridesburg
* Frankford
* Germantown
* Manayunk
* West Philadelphia
* Whitehall

Districts|

* Belmont
* Kensington
* Moyamensing
* Northern Liberties
* Penn
* Richmond
* Southwark
* Spring Garden

Townships|

* Blockley
* Bristol
* Byberry
* Delaware
* Germantown
* Kingsessing
* Lower Dublin
* Moreland
* Northern Liberties
* Oxford
* Passyunk
* Penn
* Roxborough

Footnotes|

As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.
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