Southwark, Philadelphia
| Southwark District | |
| Former District | |
 Corner of 3rd and Queen Streets
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Philadelphia |
| Coordinates | 39°56′16″N 75°08′52″W / 39.93778°N 75.14778°WCoordinates: 39°56′16″N 75°08′52″W / 39.93778°N 75.14778°W |
| Timezone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code | 215 |
 Map of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania highlighting Southwark District prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854
|
|
  Location of Southwark District in Pennsylvania
|
|
 Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
|
|
|
Southwark District
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | Bounded by Delaware, Washington Aves., 5th, Lombard, Front, and Catherine Sts., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Area | 720 acres (290 ha) |
| Built | 1703 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| NRHP Reference # | 72001172 |
| Added to NRHP | May 19, 1972 |
Southwark was originally the Southwark District, a colonial era municipality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Today, it is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Because of its location south of the early Philadelphia, the name was adopted in allusion to the borough of Southwark in the county of London, England, just south of the city of London.
Southwark is one of the oldest English settlements in the County of Philadelphia. It is actually the oldest district founded by settlers in Philadelphia, as a result of its inclusion in the former Swedish colony of New Sweden. Southwark was originally a tract of ground on the fast land of the Neck, lying between Passyunk and Wicaco. Due to the populations of the Swedish settlements of Wicaco and Moyamensing, Southwark grew earlier than other parts of the county apart from the city of Philadelphia.
The General Assembly created the district of Southwark on May 14, 1762, to facilitate cooperation with regards to street-building. In 1854, when it was incorporated into the city of Philadelphia by the Act of Consolidation, the borough comprised the area bounded on the north by South Street, on the west by Passyunk Avenue from 5th and South to 10th and Reed; the boundary then ran along Reed Street, down 7th, and along Mifflin Street to the river. Today, there are only a few traces of the name "Southwark" in this part of Philadelphia. . These include Southwark restaurant at 4th and Bainbridge, Southwark Paints further south on 4th, Southwark Development Corp., a public-housing project along Washington Avenue from 3rd to 5th, and even "Southwark" painted on a wall as far away as 23rd and Washington. (Southwark Paints no longer exists.)
...
Wikipedia