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Hi - I'm Brian. I am an attorney that practices in Pennsylvania. I am a former sex crimes prosecutor and my day-to-day cases are almost exclusively helping survivors of sexual abuse get justice. My team and I are ready to help.
The lawyers of sexual abuse from Point Breeze presents to you this article on the neighborhood. We hope you take this opportunity to learn about the history of the neighborhood.
Point Breeze is a neighborhood within South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is bounded by Washington Avenue on the north, Broad Street on the east, Mifflin Street on the south and 25th Street on the west. The area, and much of South Philadelphia, was not developed and integrated into the rectilinear grid system until after 1843. In the 1860s, it was developed as an area for oil refinery by the Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company, or the Atlantic Refining Company (ARCO). The oil that was pumped in Western Pennsylvania could now be processed in the area and shipped down the Schuylkill River to the Delaware River and out to sea.
Long Lane, the street that connected the city to the east side of the river at Point Breeze, became known as Point Breeze Avenue by 1895. The earliest reference of the neighborhood of Point Breeze was around this time. Before then, "Point Breeze" was just a point on the western side of the Schuylkill. WOrking-class European Jewish immigrants were the first to settle in the area. They were followed by Irish and Italian immigrants, and in the 1930s, African Americans who were escaping the south.
During the 1960s, the neighborhood was reported to be safe, clean, self-sufficient and relatively integrated. There was a thriving business district along Point Breeze Avenue that residents referred to as "The Breeze." However, with racial tensions and white flight in the '60s and '70s, the heroin epidemic in the '7os, and the crack epidemic in the '90s, the neighborhood was negatively affected, and many residents relocated to better and newer suburbs.
In the 2000s, revitalization efforts through gentrification were underway to bring the area back to how it once was. Real estate investors like Ori Feibush and John Longacre began to develop properties along Broad Street and Washington Avenue. Immigrants from Southeast Asia began moving into the area. However, some long-time residents of the neighborhood were don't in favor of this gentrification and subsequently moved away. Today, Point Breeze has a population of 17,738 people.
Point Breeze is home to a number of establishments that are historically significant to the neighborhood. This includes:
These historic buildings have all been added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). You can also take a Visit to Lower Moyamensing, PA.
Ralph Brooks Park is a neighborhood park on South 20th Street in Point Breeze. Revitalized by the Make The World Better Foundation founded by Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin, it offers a basketball court and playground for residents to enjoy. The park also features a community garden and four walls painted by artist Steve Powers of Mural Arts Philadelphia. It is open to the public every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
We the Youth is another mural in Point Breeze. Located on the corner of 22nd Street and Ellsworth Street, it was painted in 1987 through a collaboration between American artist Keith Haring and a New York-based youth organization called CityKids. In 2013, the mural was restored by the Mural Arts Program, and a community garden was built beneath it.
Contact our Point Breeze priest abuse attorneys if you are being victimized by a priest or other religious official. We can help you hold these predators accountable for their crimes. Call today for a free consultation.
