Grays Ferry, also known as Gray's Ferry, is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, bounded (roughly) by 25th Street on the east, the Schuylkill River on the west, Vare Avenue on the south, and Grays Ferry Avenue on the north.[1] The section of this neighborhood west of 34th Street is also known as Forgotten Bottom.[2]
Grays Ferry was historically one of the largest enclaves of Irish Americans in the city,[3] and while there are still many Irish left, it is now home to a significant African American population.
History
The Floating Bridge across the Schuylkill River at Gray's Ferry was originally built by the British during their 1777-78 occupation of Philadelphia, and it remained the primary entrance to Philadelphia from the south until 1838, when it was replaced by a permanent bridge.
The area developed near an important crossing of the Schuylkill River. In the 18th century, Gray's Ferry was the southernmost of three ferries that crossed the Schuylkill River to Philadelphia. The neighborhood's namesake ferry originally belonged to a Benjamin Chambers in the 17th century. By 1747 George Gray had taken over the ferry, and established the nearby Gray's Inn and Gray's Garden, which were popular in the 1790s.[2][4] The river is now spanned by the Gray's Ferry Bridge and several rail bridges.[5]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia operated King of Peace School until its 1999 closure; it and another school consolidated with St. Gabriel School to form Our Lady of the Angels School (at St. Gabriel).[12] In 2012 the former King of Peace building began to be uses for Alcorn's middle school classes.[13] The Diocese formerly operated St. Gabriel School until it became an Independence Mission School in 2012 (an action which at the time prevented its closure), and then closed completely in 2021. St. Thomas Aquinas School was to take the majority of St. Gabriel students.[14]
Tasker Homes and Greater Grays Ferry Estates
The Tasker Homes (also known as the Tasker Housing Project) were located at 29th and Morris Streets and visible from the Schuylkill Expressway.[15] Originally, the housing project had 1,100 units and followed the city's general model of high-density, low-income housing.[15]
During Mayor John Street's administration, the Philadelphia Housing Authority declared certain higher density housing as blighted, demolishing it and replacing with lower density, townhome-style public housing. In 2004, the Tasker Homes were demolished and replaced with the Greater Grays Ferry Estates.[16] The new townhomes have increased tensions between working-class residents and occupants of Section 8 housing within the neighborhood. The reasons most often cited are memories of the problems with Tasker Homes.
Racial tension
Over the years, the neighborhood has seen numerous instances of racial violence.[citation needed] The Irish Catholics living in the neighborhood's modest row homes clashed with African Americans living in the demolished Tasker Homes and newly built Greater Grays Ferry Estates.[citation needed] There have been riots and beatings and, sometimes, killings. Tensions peaked in 1997 when Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan threatened to join marchers to protest racial violence, but spoke at a church rally in a compromise negotiated by Mayor Ed Rendell.[17]
In 1998 there were two separate community organizations that were dominated by each race: Grays Ferry West among black people and Grays Ferry Community Council among white people.[18]
As the housing market has boomed in Philadelphia, the neighborhood has begun to see some resurgence. Where the former housing projects intersect with the neighborhood, a group of neighbors have started turning an empty lot into a new park at 30th and Oakford, and the area is beginning to see a trickle of young professionals overflowing from the nearby Graduate Hospital area. [citation needed]
United States
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