Torresdale, Philadelphia

Torresdale
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
The Frankford Avenue bridge over the Poquessing Creek bordering Torresdale
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia County
City	Philadelphia
ZIP	19114
Area code(s)	Area code 215

Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County.

The adjacent confluence of the Poquessing Creek with the Delaware River had been favored by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme, as the site for the city that Penn planned to found. Although a more southerly site was finally selected, Holme and others acquired property there, where he is buried.

Torresdale, originally Torrisdale, was named by Charles Macalester, Jr. for his family's ancestral Scotland home.

Before the Act of Consolidation, 1854, Torresdale had been part of Delaware Township of Philadelphia County, and before 1853, part of Lower Dublin Township of the same county.

In 1894, Torresdale was the site of the regatta of the Rowing Association of American Colleges.

Long before there was what is referred to today as the Pennsylvania Main Line, Torresdale, along with Holmesburg to its south and Andalusia to its north, had been Philadelphia's posh suburban neighborhood, as evidenced by Glen Foerd on the Delaware, a luxurious riverside estate.