Getting Around Town and the Lay of the Land Center City District Logo
  The city of Philadelphia is a county. There are four surrounding counties in Pennsylvania and three, across the Delaware, in New Jersey. My focus is on navigating the heart of Philadelphia, Center City. CC is defined by Vine Street to the north, South Street to the south, Delaware River to the east, and the Schuylkill to the west.  
Map of Counties
1 Bucks County
2 Chester County
3 Delaware County
4 Montgomery County
5 Philadelphia County
6 Camden & Burlington Counties
 
There are between 1.4 and 1.6 million inhabitants of CC.
 
1 Center City
  • Society Hill
  • Old City
  • Washington Square West
  • Museum District
  • Rittenhouse Square
  • Fitler Square
  • China Town
2 City Line
3 North Philadelphia
  • Fairmount
  • Spring Garden
  • Northern Liberties
4 Northeast Philadelphia
5 Northwestern Philadelphia
6 South Philadelphia
  • Bella Vista
  • Queen Village
  • Italian Market
7 Southwest Philadelphia
8 University City
9 West Philadelphia
Map of areas inside Philadelphia
Philly is the first planned city in the colony. William Penn wanted it that way, long before the revolution. The streets, for the most part, run parallel and perpendicular. The grid is relatively simple. One can walk one end of Center City to the other – the distance, after all, is only 2 miles from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill along Market Street.  
Neighborhoods, Districts
  
  Denizens of any major city know the sections of that city. New York has TriBeCa, Harlem, The Village, etc. London has Piccadilly, Russell Park Square, Trafalgar Square and so on. Often these areas within a city have subdivisions. Philly is no exception. Center City contains numerous areas. Most are known to realtors and residents. Some of the major divisions and points of interest are:  
Map of Center city neighborhoods
 

INSIDE CENTER CITY:

CHINATOWN . is north of Arch Street between North 7th Street and North 11th Street, south of Vine Street. Restaurants are primarily between 9th & 11th Streets. Philly's Chinatown is large enough to support a few kosher Chinese restaurants, and vegetarian ones as well.

PENN'S LANDING between Lombard Street (south) and Market (central) along Columbus Boulevard, formerly Delaware Avenue. The locals only use "Delaware Ave".

GAYborhood or pink-light district. The gay enclave of Center City is roughly between 11th & 13th Streets, Walnut Street to Pine Street. For a detailed MAP click here.

Red Light District no longer exists. Like New York's Times Square, it has been dispersed. There are porn purveyors and theaters sprinkled about the city, mostly on the outskirts of CC. Prostitutes keep a very low profile in Center City, possibly because it is a Tourist town. There are massage parlors in Chinatown & elsewhere.The city has it's share of strip clubs along the Delaware.

Museum District – Begins in Center City and meanders up outside it into FAIRMONT. It runs diagonally along Ben Franklin Parkway from just below the southeast corner of LOGAN SQUARE at Race and North 18th Street up to the Fairmount Water Works behind (North of) the 'PMA' (Philadelphia Museum of Art) in Fairmount Park, along Kelly Drive..

Antique Row on Pine Street between 9th and 13th Street is pitiful. It does not strike me as having that many Antique shops. It is in WASHINGTON SQUARE WEST.

Jeweler’s Row is impressive. I don’t care much for jewelry, but it is jewelry store after jewelry store for a solid block. It sits indirectly above WASHINGTON SQUARE by SOCIETY HILL between South 7th & 8th Streets and Walnut and Chestnut Streets.

French Quarter is near the northeast corner of RITTENHOUSE SQUARE. Some realtor's brainchild that never took. It exists only on a few street signs.

OUTSIDE CENTER CITY:

South Philly is South Street and below from South Broad to the Delaware. It includes QUEEN VILLAGE , BELLA VISTA and below. Not to be confused with SOUTHWEST CENTER CITY-it is possible only realtors call it that, but people will know what you mean.

Italian Market South 9th Street between Wharton and Christine Streets, in BELLA VISTA which is in South Philly.

Fabric Row is on South 4th Street between Bainbridge and Queen Streets...according to maps only. Don't ask anyone about it, they wont know. Also in South Philly.

 

  

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