So You’re Thinking of Living In…

Society Hill

One of Philadelphia’s first neighborhoods and for many years one of its roughest, Society Hill today is Center City’s most affluent residential district, with many homes that occupy the top of the Philadelphia real estate heap (urban division). The district gained nationwide fame in the 1960s as an example of successful, historically sensitive urban renewal, and its residents have maintained that proud heritage ever since.

Society Hill stretches west from the Delaware River to 8th Street between Walnut Street on the north and South Street on the south (the 700 block of Lombard Street excepted). It is named for the Free Society of Traders, the joint stock company to which founder William Penn granted the land on which it now sits.

Independence Hall, which sits on Society Hill’s northern edge, is the birthplace of the nation, and in the late 1700’s, many notable dignitaries and government officials lived in the grand homes that line its major streets. In the 19th century, Society Hill was the heart of Philadelphia’s African-American community. That legacy survives today in Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church at Sixth and Lombard streets, the direct descendant of the first black church in the country, the Free African Society.

In the early and mid-20th century, Society Hill became run down, dominated by the port activity on its eastern fringe and the city’s wholesale food market located along Dock Street. The removal of the food wholesalers to South Philadelphia in 1957 was the first step in a total transformation of the neighborhood over the next decade into the desirable residential area it is now.

Attractions and Amenities

America was born on Society Hill’s doorstep. As a result, the neighborhood is dotted with historic sites. The Thaddeus Koscziusko National Historic Site, the Powel House, and the Hill-Physick-Keith House are among the historic homes in Society Hill open to the public.

The neighborhood is also home to Old St. Joseph’s Church, the oldest Roman Catholic church in the United States, along with two other historic Catholic churches, St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity. Among the Revolutionary era notables in the St. Mary’s graveyard is Commodore John Barry, the father of the U.S. Navy.

Other noteworthy houses of worship in Society Hill include Society Hill Synagogue, St. Peter’s Church (Episcopal) and the Third, Scots and Mariners Presbyterian Church, better known as Old Pine Street.

The 1960s urban renewal drove retail to Society Hill’s edges, save for a half-block commercial strip on 5th Street south of Pine that includes the neighborhood’s one supermarket. At Society Hill’s southeast corner is Head House Square, home to several fine restaurants and shops surrounding the New Market, the sole surviving Colonial-era market shed in the city. Here, a Sunday farmer’s market offers fresh local foods from roughly April through November. While most of the area’s dining and entertainment are found outside it in adjacent Old City and South Street, there are some options within Society Hill itself, mostly on Head House Square:

Bistro Romano
Dark Horse Tavern
Le Champignon/Tokio
Moshulu
Café Nola
Pizzeria Stella
Positano Coast
Xochitl
Zahav
Zot

Society Hill children attend the Gen. George A. McCall School, on 7th Street south of Pine.

Starr Garden at 6th and Lombard is the main recreational field for Society Hill, but the neighborhood is laced with intimate pocket parks along midblock pedestrian paths. Three Bears Park near the community’s center is a popular play spot for young children, and Penn’s Landing along the Delaware riverfront offers a waterside promenade and a number of tourist attractions.

Society Hill Real Estate

Since it is almost exclusively residential, Society Hill offers the kind of quiet often associated with suburban enclaves, especially along its intimate, small-scale side streets and alleys. The urban renewal project gave the neighborhood its two signature features: the three exclamation points of Society Hill Towers, designed by I.M. Pei, and block after block of historic Colonial townhomes with contemporary new construction mixed in. The harmonious mixing of old and new makes Society Hill distinctive among American big-city residential districts.

Society Hill is the most affluent neighborhood in Center City and second only to Chestnut Hill citywide. These affluent residents enjoy some of the finest and most highly valued homes in Philadelphia.