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What Happened to Harrowgate?


Harrowgate has an image problem.

It is a neighborhood bordered by Frankford Creek and Erie Avenue, G Street, Clearfield Avenue, and Aramingo Avenue. Buts its history starts with the discovery of a natural hot spring by Capt. George Esterly, a Revolutionary War veteran. The spring water –– located at what is now Kensington and Tioga ––  was declared by Dr. Benjamin Rush to be good for your health and Esterly founded a retreat for wealthy Philadelphians around the spring. The spring stopped flowing around 1800, but the surrounding area lived on and thrived.

Industrialization transformed the neighborhood. By the end of the 19th century, the area was a dense industrial town full of factories, mills, rowhomes and the social institutions serving those who worked and lived in the neighborhood. The thriving economy attracted immigrants to the area, mostly Irish but also German, English and Scottish.

Here, Harrowgate’s story becomes sadly similar to those of neighborhoods all across Philadelphia and other American industrial cities. The Great Depression took a toll on the neighborhood’s infrastructure, and by the 1950s the area’s industry was unable to grow due to neglected buildings and cramped urban conditions. A large number of residents sought spacious skies in the suburbs and the churches and schools in the neighborhood began to suffer. Most of the area’s wealth vanished within a couple of decades.

While early Philadelphians may have thought of Harrowgate as a luxurious escape for the town’s elite, today it’s known as a heroin hotspot. It’s a reputation that residents are well aware of.

When asked what makes her neighborhood unique, Adella Hawthorne, Harrowgate Civic Association (HCA) member, jokingly responded, “It must be the quality of drugs because they all keep flocking here for them.”

That is, if they even know what Harrowgate is.

“I remember in 4th grade we had to fill out this thing that had our city and all that. I put  Harrowgate for my neighborhood and the teacher tried to tell me I was wrong. I had to have my mother write me a note to tell the teacher that I was not wrong and that I lived in Harrowgate,” said Shawn Farrell, HCA member and president of the Harrowgate Town Watch.

For many Philadelphians, Harrowgate has simply been absorbed into the hazily-defined, opiate-ridden section of our city known as Kensington (unless, of course, the neighborhood is the subject of a rare, feel-good news piece, where it suddenly becomes Port Richmond). How much the media’s image of Kensington resembles the real Kensington and its inhabitants is questionable, but the stigma still makes the area appear dangerous and impenetrable to outsiders.

“I think until recently, the elected officials in the city haven’t put any energy into our area,” said Shannon Farrell-Pakstis, president of the HCA.

“And they haven’t for fifteen years,” agreed Regina Farrell, another HCA member.

Shannon, Shawn, Adella and Regina are all long-time Harrowgate residents who are part of a community movement working to return their home to its former glory. After a ten-year hiatus, the HCA has reformed with a new board and a rapidly-expanding membership. The same goes for Harrowgate Town Watch. With only 24 hours notice, over a dozen Harrowgate residents met with The Spirit at Heitzman Recreation Center on 3631 Amber Street on August 14 to talk about what they were doing to improve the quality of life in their neighborhood.

Reformed in January of this year, the HCA has been hard at work improving what they can. They are renovating playgrounds, installing cameras and new equipment so that kids can play there and feel safe. They are reporting known crime hotspots to the 24th District, pushing crime out of their neighborhood.

They also are working on longer term projects as well. They are hoping to change zoning in order to attract new residents and businesses to the neighborhood and working with city agencies to create a plan for the future of their neighborhood. They are working on a wildly popular campaign to have trees planted on their streets — a campaign that has so far received more than 1000 applications.

On a smaller level, the HCA has been encouraging neighbors to organize block clean-ups — something that they have seen become more and more common since they reorganized. They know what the community needs beyond this and are working toward ways of getting them.

“Two things I see as lacking right now are green spaces, which we have built some of, and [grocery stores]. We live in a food desert. There have been a few farmers markets, but it’s still hard to find healthy food without traveling.” said Ben Carroll, treasurer of the HCA.

Thus far, they’ve enjoyed some success. Even though they only formed about half a year ago, the HCA has seen meeting attendance grow from only ten in the beginning  to now 65 at the last meeting. City Council members and other politicians are finally meeting with the community to talk about what they want for the future of Harrowgate. It may not seem like much, but for as briefly as the HCA has existed, they have accomplished a great deal.

Much of the community’s effort goes towards reducing crime in the area. The HCA has been encouraging as many people as possible to call the police when something happens, in order to elicit a faster police response, something that has become a problem in the community. They all agreed that it has gotten better as the meetings have increased in size; even still, waiting for hours of waiting at a time is not unheard of. The Harrowgate Town Watch patrols by foot, bike, and car and reports everything they see in an effort to make the 24th district aware of problem spots and trends in the community.

This is not to say that Harrowgate ignores those who are victims to the neighborhood’s unfortunate illegal economy. The HCA works to help those that are battling addiction become contributing members of the community. Any addict that needs help is referred to Trinity House on 3317 Kensington Ave. for help with their problem. HCA members in attendance agreed that Trinity is one of the better addiction recovery institutions in their area. One of the best parts of Trinity in the community’s eyes is that they offer recovered addicts a steady job, giving them a way to support themselves and a way to occupy their time outside of a drug habit.

The small steps the HCA and other concerned citizens are taking now are all working towards a better and brighter future for the community. Most people in attendance had fond memories of the neighborhood from their childhood.

“We used to be a neighborhood where everything was self-contained. We had a furniture store, a grocery store, a bakery, factories, mom-and-pop stores –– everything,” said HCA member Terry Martell.

Ultimately this is what they are working towards, a Harrowgate that resembles its former glory. A neighborhood where everything you need, including your job, is just a stroll away. A neighborhood occupied by hardworking folks that care about their neighbors. Someplace you’d be happy to raise a family.

No one pretends that Harrowgate will be the exact same neighborhood it was half a century ago. The neighborhood is much more diverse today than it once was, although the HCA doesn’t see that as a problem.

“We have hispanics, we have blacks, we have whites, we have some Asians but not many, but we all get along. It’s a very diverse community and everyone gets along, unless you’re a criminal,” said Regina Farrell.

Whether the HCA can make Harrowgate a thriving neighborhood again remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: They’re off to a running start.

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