Precious Places

The Nicetown neighborhood in North Philadelphia has been known to suffer from an undeserved joke: that there is nothing "nice" here. However, many residents are quick to differ, pointing to the neighborhood's community life and historic attractions. The Nicetown Community Development Corporation, for example, offers a wealth of neighborhood programs including housing counseling, adult basic education, computer literacy, and social service referrals.

Predominantly Jewish from the early 1900s, the Parkside neighborhood of Camden, New Jersey changed rapidly into an African American community during the 1960s as its former residents moved to the suburbs. Parkside: A Camden Neighborhood is an ethnic history of the area told in the voices of both groups. But while they have raised families in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools and, in some cases, purchased the same homes, current and former residents inherited a different Parkside.

Girard Avenue at 27th Street is a vibrant neighborhood shopping district featuring a plethora of small, locally-owned businesses. The third-generation-owned Young's Candies has been using many of the same recipes for over a century. Diverse eateries and specialty businesses including Soul Food to Go, The Hat Shoppe, and Rose's Deli enjoy a dedicated clientele of locals. A well-supported community garden and a farmers market make wholesome additions to this busy, pedestrian-friendly area.

Fair Hill: To Badlands and Back Again the history of a 300-year-old Quaker cemetery in North Philadelphia on Germantown Avenue. Deeded to local residents by Quakerism founder George Fox in the 1700s, the burial ground is the resting place of many of women and men who were active in the Underground Railroad. Philadelphians such as feminist and abolitionist Lucretia Mott and abolitionist Robert Purvis are buried here.

Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore, Pennsylvania is a picturesque street of small family-owned shops, the heart of the community and a historic district in this village on the west side of Philadelphia. Some businesses on the avenue have been in local families for several generations, and residents say that the community has an intimate, small-town feel that they love. But in 2004, Lower Merion Township approved the Ardmore Redevelopment Plan.

The Manayunk Club was a beloved social spot in Manayunk, a close-nit neighborhood in the Northwestern section of Philadelphia. Housed in an old mansion on a hill overlooking the neighborhood, the club was born in the 1920s as a drinking establishment during prohibition. Later, it became more family-oriented, hosting dances and community gatherings, and became a popular location for local weddings. Although some residents say the club went downhill in the late 1990s, the mansion continued to be well known in Manayunk and was added to Philadelphia's Register of Historic Places in 1999.

In 2004, much of the stable, working class community of Cramer Hill in Camden, New Jersey was slated to be bulldozed. The City Planning Board had authorized $1 billion redevelopment plan that would have demolished 1,200 homes under eminent domain law. Although parts of the Cramer Hill waterfront had fallen into disrepair, residents say that their charming neighborhood on the Delaware River had a vitality that the City failed to recognize. An isolated neighborhood adjacent to a marina, Cramer Hill's forested shores are a unique natural sanctuary.

I Come From A Place by Asian Arts Initiative (Center City)