Here are the Introduction, TOC and Epilogue of my forthcoming book: Northern Liberties: The Story of a Philadelphia River

Ward. It is due out fall 2012 from the History Press. A follow-up to my Philadelphia's Lost Waterfront (2011, The History Press), the book tells the history of the NoLibs community from the days of William Penn to current times. It's packed with information on what makes Northern Liberties the most interesting neighborhood in the city. For more info, see https://historypress.net/search.php? s=Northern+Liberties. Harry Kyriakodis

Northern Liberties: The Story of a Philadelphia River Ward

INTRODUCTION Standing atop the tower of Philadelphias City Hall is a monumental statue of William Penn, Quaker founder of both Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Some say that the 27-ton bronze sculpture was positioned to look northeastwards in the direction of Tacony (the place in Philadelphia where it was cast), while others say that it faces Penn Treaty Park (where Penn made his famous friendship accord with Native Americans of the region). Either way, though, William Penn gazes first at Northern Liberties. This is perhaps fitting, for Northern Liberties represents the best and the worst aspects of William Penns settlement on the Delaware River. NoLibs, as the neighborhood is often called, is fraught with ideas and things that made Philadelphia great: inventing, manufacturing, religious freedom, firefighting, urban renewal, and so on. It also has a history of negative characteristics and influences: drinking, decadence, hostility, urban blight and so forth. Yet this varied panorama of history is precisely what gives Northern Liberties its peculiar air.

NoLibs is a portion of lower North Philadelphia, stretching from Vine Street (Philadelphias original northern boundary) to Girard Avenue, and from the Delaware to Sixth Street (Eighth Street in this work). Its one of the River Wards of Philadelphia, along with the communities of Fishtown, Kensington and Port Richmond. When incorporated as a borough in 1803, Northern Liberties was the fastest growing precinct contiguous to Philadelphias northern border. It ranked among Americas largest cities into the nineteenth century, before the city of Philadelphia annexed it (and other municipalities) in 1854. Native Americans were the first residents in the locale, for thousands of years. They lived in relative harmony with Quakers who had come to the New World with William Penn during the colonial era. Then came a considerable stock of diligent and inventive Germans who immigrated to Philadelphia and settled in NoLibs before the American Civil War. A high number of African Americans also established themselves in the region. At the same time, Irish Catholics arrived and encountered the violence of the Philadelphia Nativist Riots.

The 1854 consolidation of NoLibs into the city of Philadelphia helped bring peace to the area. This newfound calm made Northern Liberties a true immigrant haven. By the end of the 1800s, the neighborhood had become home to several Europeans groups: central European Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Latvians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Hungarians, and the like. These peoples established places of worship and moved into the homes of older immigrant groups that had left the area. Newcomers found no shortage of work, for Northern Liberties was a manufacturing center from the beginning. Substantial creeks brought water to power a host of mills for grain, corn and textile production, as well as businesses related to everything from brewing to leather tanning to shipbuilding to tool making. From small workshops to enormous factories, the industrial might of this quarter was felt far beyond Philadelphia. This was where things were made, and made wella point of pride in the neighborhood. The Liberties remained a center of industrial and technological advancement well into the 1900s. But the deindustrialization of Philadelphia during the mid-twentieth century left NoLibs a shadow of its former self. The southern section, from Vine to Spring Garden Streets, was already part of the citys Skid Row/Tenderloin district. Shortsighted highway and urban revitalization projects of the 1960s and 70s cut off this portion of town, leaving a wasteland where people had once lived, worked and played. About thirty percent of Northern Liberties was leveled. The rest of NoLibs was spared and survived. Much of it lay empty and in ruin, but enough remained for artists, musicians and other urban pioneers to stake their claim and rebuild. This placenever quiet or quaint, yet always diverse and eclectichas gentrified into one of Philadelphias most favorite

neighborhoods. Hip and upscale restaurants, bars and shops have supplanted decayed and vacant structures, while innovative housing and high-rise condos have brought in new residents. NoLibs, most of zip code 19123, is an American renaissance story. As Matt Ruben of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association has stated: Through all the change, and through all the stories, theres a common thread: this is a working neighborhood. Its history isnt the colonial museum history of the old downtown. Its the still-unfolding history of industry, a history of function and work and the present tense. Northern Liberties can contemplate its three-hundred-year thread of history while being assured of its futureall while under the watchful gaze of William Penn high above Philadelphia. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword by Matt Ruben Acknowledgements Introduction 1. What Are the Northern Liberties? 2. Layout of the Land: The North End of Philadelphia 3. Streets and Ways in the Liberties 4. Setting Up Shop to Sell Sundries on Second Street (Til Sunset, Excepting Sundays) 5. Debauchery, Decadence and Drinking 6. Religious Life (I of IV): African Methodist, Jewish and Quaker 7. Significant Structures, Sites and Societies 8. Water and GasFor the People 9. Manufacturing and Industry (I of III): Inventions and Innovations 10. Religious Life (II of IV): Presbyterian, Lutheran and Baptist 11. Firefighting and Volunteer Fire Companies 12. Politics and Problems in the 1830s, 40s & 50s 13. Manufacturing and Industry (II of III): Tanning Hides 14. Religious Life (III of IV): The Saint and the Sinner of NoLibs 15. Banks, Schools and HospitalsFor the People 16. Trains and Transit through Northern Liberties 17. Manufacturing and Industry (III of III): Brewing Beer 18. Religious Life (IV of IV): The Eastern European and Russian Influx 19. Places of AmusementFor the People 20. The Misfortune of the Marshall Street Market-Mall Makeover 21. Skid Row and the Callowhill East Redevelopment Project 22. Urban Revitalization and Housing Innovations 23. Re-Greening and Renewal: Liberty Lands and Other Parks 24. Chic Commercial Activity: The Shops at Schmidts, the Piazza, Etc. Epilogue Further Reading Index About the Author

EPILOGUE\ Northern Liberties has undergone many incarnations: an ancient Native American settlement; a genteel farming community; an unruly district by the Delaware River; a middle-class suburb of Philadelphia; a sprawling public marketplace; a hotbed of political, religious and commercial activity; an inventive industrial boomtown; a vast immigrant bastion; and a forgotten urban void (to be avoided). Today, Northern Liberties is a lively community of about 5,600 people living in a space of over half a mile square. Besides being one of the most interesting inner-city neighborhoods anywhere, its one of the fastest-growing areas in Philadelphia. The North Ends story seems to be repeating, given that it experienced rapid development some two hundred years ago. Single professionals and families with children (and pets!) are making the Liberties their home and immigrants continue to move inalthough hailing from places like New York City and San Francisco these days. A healthy respect for its history is an essential part of NoLibs evolution. The locale is still a jumble of Federal- and Victorian-style row houses, churches and factories. In 1985, the Northern Liberties Historic District was created to draw attention to and help preserve the Federal, Greek Revival and Italianate architecture that characterizes the area. While its true that artists and others who inhabit these buildings and visit the Liberties have been described as cool and hip, the North End has never tried to be as fashionable as other notable Philadelphia neighborhoods, like Manayunk or South Street. The quarters authentic appeal and its new attractions have made it a substitute for the touristy feel of those places. Liberty Lands park remains the best expression of the desire of residents to create a community for the future. NoLibers came together to build a serene meadow in the middle of a very urban setting. This epitomizes how Northern Liberties sees itself today: a cosmopolitan, multicultural zone of people living and working cooperatively for the common good. Meanwhile, from high atop Philadelphia City Hall about a mile and a half away, William Penn looks on approvingly.