Belmont

Belmont. . , Landmarks , ❶ [Unreadable] Hospital of Philadelphia , [Unreadable] the 1860's to train women as doctors and nurses. It is now Sarah Allen Senior Housing Project. , ❷ Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA , Originally the Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA and 40th Street Train Station in the 1890's. It served the neighborhood in the 1940's as [unreadable] Mission. Today it houses [unreadable] Charter School. , ❸ Philadelphia Armory , Housing the Keystone Battery [unreadable] ammunition and arms during the Civil War. , ❹ West Philadelphia Title and Trust , Renaissance style building [unreadable] to 1897. It housed a bank serving the community until the Great Depression. , ❺ Leader Theater , Served the local community with first run movies from the early 1900's to 1950's. It now houses the Police Athletic League. , ❻ The William Penn Theater , Located at 4063 Lancaster Avenue. It opened on September 20, 1909, and seated 3,230 people. In the 1920s, the William Penn Theater featured the Mae Desmond players. University of Pennsylvania students would cut classes to see Desmond's matinee performance. The theater was torn down in 1936 and replaced by a Baltimore Supermarket., Community History , Belmont was settled in the early 1700's by colonist and was consolidated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854. Over the years, Belmont has housed German, Irish and Italian immigrants as well as a strong Quaker population who worked in the abolition movement giving refuge and safe passage to slaves. Today, the community is home to over 5,000 people, mostly African Americans., Lancaster Avenue has long been a trade and transportation route, moving goods and people between Philadelphia and Lancaster and York Counties. In the early 1820's, it was referred to as Lancaster Turnpike and used Conestoga Wagons for transportation. In the early 1900's street cars were introduced. Today, it remains a bustling commercial corridor and a viable transportation route between Philadelphia and its suburbs.