Hop off the 52nd Street El in Walnut Hill and you might think you’ve seen the neighborhood.
But you haven’t really until you walk east, away from the train’s shadow, writes Hanbit Kwon for Billy Penn at WHYY.
Bounded by Market, Spruce, 52nd, and 45th streets, Walnut Hill sits beside one of West Philadelphia’s most storied commercial corridors, where Black-owned businesses, barbershops, beauty stores, eateries, and cultural anchors continue to shape daily life along the avenue.
Along 52nd Street, vendor Empress, who moved from Jamaica, says the neighborhood has a warmth she didn’t find when she lived in New York City.
“In New York City, you don’t even make eye contact,” she said. “But here, people say ‘hi, good morning.’”
Walk past the El’s reach, though, and Walnut Hill shifts into something quieter.
This includes residential blocks lined with historic apartments, leafy sidewalks, and rowhomes that still carry the imprint of the neighborhood’s streetcar-suburb origins.
Longtime residents Patricia and Marie remember a different rhythm to the place.
“In the earlier years, it was nice living here,” Patricia said. “You could leave your doors open, walk anywhere.”
Marie sees the change differently. “We just got mixed, you know. Everybody gets along,” she said.
From the Paul Robeson House to Isaac Asimov’s former residence and the birthplace of “American Bandstand,” Walnut Hill’s history runs deeper than most passersby realize.
For the full story of what Walnut Hill holds beyond the El, read Billy Penn at WHYY.
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