Germantown Avenue

A Photo Essay by Michael T. Regan

One of the oldest streets in the country, Germantown Avenue is home to the richest and poorest of Philadelphians. The sometimes-cobblestoned boulevard begins in Northern Liberties near Third and Girard and snakes its way through North Philly, Germantown, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, and serves as a microcosm of America. At the bottom of the Avenue in Northern Liberties, the average price of a home in 2002 was $43,000, with 24 percent of the properties there cited for code violations by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections. Compare that with life at the top of the Avenue in Chestnut Hill, where the average home price last year was $260,000, with less than 8 percent being cited for code violations. The economic disparity is obvious as you travel north on Germantown Avenue, beginning with the abandoned buildings and spartan storefront businesses with hand-lettered signs in Northern Liberties and North Philly, and ending with the quaint antique shops and bustling outdoor cafés that dot the Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

The one constant on the Avenue is churches -- 54 to be exact, or 6.35 per mile. From the modest Faith Love Outreach Church at 1624 Germantown Ave. in Northern Liberties to the massive Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill at 8855 Germantown Ave., there's a house of worship for every denomination and income bracket.

One of the most famous battles of the Revolutionary War was fought here, with cannonballs flying back and forth across the Avenue between the British and George Washington's ragtag group of volunteers. Washington himself lived for a time at the Deshler-Morris House, 5442 Germantown Ave., when yellow fever struck the capital city of Philadelphia. Germantown, originally part of German Township, was still a few hours' ride from the city, and a safe haven for George, Martha and their children. Washington's cabinet also met here, turning the Deshler-Morris House into a forum for hot debates between the new president and Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox. —Daryl Gale

HERE TO STAY: Gregor Suroka, an 80-year-old Ukranian immigrant, left Europe when Hitler rose to power. He moved to 1736 Germantown Ave. in 1962 and opened a metal shop next door. Today, he claims the city's been trying to take his property for years, but he has no intention of leaving home.

The 1000 Block: The avenue begins at this vacant swath of land.

3600: Known to his friends as “Hip Hop,” this 21-year-old is unemployed and says he’s unable to find a job. “It is what it is, man. I mean, life here is what you make of it,” he says, hanging on this rough corner.

4300: With the early-morning light, a new day begins on a blighted block where hope is scarce.

2900: Near the site of America’s first anti-slavery protest in 1688, a document drafted at the house of Tunes Kunders by a group of German Quakers preceded Pennsylvania’s passage of the first state abolition law by 92 years.

3100: Balanced by her mother Tanisha, one-year-old Quayanna Cooley takes her first steps.

3300: “It used to be a good neighborhood! Now I have to pack up everything in here and take it with me or it won’t be here tomorrow morning!” says Frank, sweeping up his barbershop. He opened the Tioga Barbershop in 1938 and says things have pretty much been creeping

2700: It’s Sunday afternoon outside the Mt. Calvary storefront church so Smitty and his wife Joanne (second from left) are sure to be found sitting outside with friends and family. Seated to the far right of the man who opened the church 20 years ago are cousins Vivian Eason (second from right) and Elenor Brown (right).

5400: The Deschler/Morris house was built in 1772 by Quaker merchant David Deschler. The nation’s first president made it his temporary home when yellow fever gripped the capital city of Philadelphia in the late 18th century. George Washington also held cabinet meetings at the site.

5700: The intersection with Chelten marks the Germantown neighborhood’s center of public and commercial life. Young children stroll and hang out as older folks while the afternoons away, catching up on the latest news and gossip.

5600: John Esposito (left)
and Jamin Watkins.

6500: Stretch has lived on Germantown Avenue since Aug. 27, 1957. “It was a beautiful block back then,” he says from his stoop in front of the abandoned Sharpnack Theater. “I guess it would be beautiful again if I could find a job.”

6300: The Brits were hunkered down in the Cliveden home in Mt. Airy. The patriot forces, led by Washington, wanted to oust them. That was Oct. 4, 1777. Today, damage done to the steps by cannonballs lobbed by the patriots from across the avenue is still visible. The ouster never materialized but Washington’s bold strategy was instrumental in drawing French aid to the Americans.

7000: Hoops under the lights at the Mt. Airy playground.

6000: To Donald Jones, a local videographer who finds inspiration in this city’s diversity, the Avenue marks “the hub of the universe because everything is here.”

7100: "Our motto is think globally, meet locally," says Jason Huber, who opened the Mt. Airy café/gallery Infusion with his wife, Jocie Dye, seven months ago.

7100: The Sedgwick Cultural Center in Mt. Airy is a center for dance, music and other performing arts. Housed in a historic art-deco movie place that was the center of neighborhood life from the 1920s to the ’60s, the Sedgwick has created many arts programs since its 1995 inception. On the border between predominantly black Germantown and predominantly white Chestnut Hill, residents take pride in a building as a signal of racial balance.

8600: Rob Cohen enjoys both his Starbucks coffee and his dog Moogie’s company.

8600: Relaxing on a hill on a Sunday evening.

8000: The Lawrence family of Chestnut Hill conjures up answers from clues in a recent Harry Potter scavenger hunt. For the event, local businesses put clues in their windows for eager enthusiasts to find.

8500: At Highland Avenue, it’s not about blight. A flower shop, art gallery and antique shops speak to affluence atop of the Avenue.

THE END OF THE ROAD: Fleeting rays of sunlight mark the end of a quiet, peaceful Tuesday in Chestnut Hill. Germantown Avenue continues on further away from its rough spots toward the Montgomery County ’burbs.

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