South Street Headhouse District

South Street Headhouse District
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
The south side of the 300 block of South Street at night from the corner of 3rd and South Streets
South Street Headhouse District
Coordinates: Coordinates: 39°56′30″N 75°09′02″W / 39.941758°N 75.15069°W / 39.941758; -75.15069
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia County
City	Philadelphia
Area
• Total	0.12 km2 (0.047 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	27,805
ZIP Code	19145
Area code(s)	Area code 215

The South Street Headhouse District (also referred to as South Street, even though it also includes Pine Street and only spans the streets east of Broad Street) in Philadelphia is an area with more than 300 stores which includes a diverse urban mix of shops, bars and eateries. The neighborhood is generally bounded between Front Street and Seventh Street and includes Pine Street and is known for its "bohemian", "punk", and generally "alternative" atmosphere. It is one of Philadelphia's largest tourist attractions. Its annual spring carnival draws over 50,000 visitors every year.

The median age for the neighborhood is 34.9 in 2014, with 57.44% of the population between the ages of 18 to 44 and 62.3% of the population are renters with the average income of $71,856.

According to City Data, there are 1,248 males and 1,196 females.

The South Street neighborhood generally spans:

The neighborhood significantly overlaps with Queen Village, Washington Square West, Bella Vista, and Society Hill.

Starting mainly in the early 1960s to the 1970s, South Street was filled with clubs and bars that fostered a live local music community. It was not uncommon for South Philadelphians to "bar-hop" across the clubs, listening to live bands along the way. This community of fans helped attract recording contracts for many artists, including Kenn Kweder, the "bard of South Street"; George Thorogood; and Robert Hazard. During this time, South Street served as an artists' haven and a hub of Beat subculture and, later, 1960s counterculture, bohemianism, and the hippie movement in Philadelphia, establishing a lasting association of South Street with avant-garde and alternative subcultures. From the mid to late 1970s into the 1980s, South Street's reputation as a musical, artistic, and countercultural hub was further solidified as it became the center of Philadelphia's punk scene and punk and alternative rock music communities, with venues such as JC Dobbs and stores such as Zipperhead catering to the burgeoning scene.