Exploring Neighborhoods: Port Richmond

NEIGHBORHOOD SNAPSHOT

PORT RICHMOND

Port Richmond is a large working-class Philadelphia neighborhood along the Delaware River. Arising around the Reading Railroad’s coal depot in the 1840s, it was know for its rough-and-tumble character but had a populace composed of a wide range of ethnic, religious, and economic groups. The neighborhood’s orderly rows of homes continued to grow in the 20th century, with new waves of immigrants leaving their stamp on the area even as industries such as the once-proud Reading Railroad faded.