Crescentville, Philadelphia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Crescentville
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
St. William Parish in Lawncrest
Crescentville Location in Philadelphia
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia
City	Philadelphia
Area code(s)	215, 256 and 445

Crescentville is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, United States. It's located near Adams, Rising Sun, and Tabor Avenues. People think the name Crescentville comes from the Crescentville Rope Factory. This factory used to be along the Tookany Creek.

Crescentville is bordered by Tookany Creek to the south and west. It stretches up to the intersection of Comly and Rising Sun Avenues. The eastern border is Whitaker Avenue. The original center of the "town" was on the west side of Tookany Creek. This was where Asylum Road (now Adams Avenue) crossed the creek. The ZIP Code for this area is 19120.

Crescentville has a long history, even before the American Civil War. It was once a wealthy area with many large houses and farms. During the Civil War, it was sometimes called "Grubbtown." Some parts of lower Crescentville are known as the Whitaker Mills area. This name comes from the Whitaker Mills that stood along Tookany Creek.

Exploring Crescentville's Streets

Rising Sun Avenue: The Main Road

The most important road in Crescentville is Rising Sun Avenue. It used to be a toll road called the Kensington & Oxford Turnpike. Today, Rising Sun Avenue is full of stores, shops, and homes. Some famous old places include the Crest Diner (now K-Diner) and the CREST Theater.

East Side of Rising Sun Avenue

The area east of Rising Sun Avenue, towards Tabor Road, has mostly row homes. Some houses on the east side are single or twin homes, like those on Godfrey Avenue. Some of these homes were built on land that used to be a swampy nature area. It was said that this area once had boardwalks and picnic spots for wealthy residents. There might even have been a small airport near present-day Comly Street.

Schools on the East Side

Ben Franklin Public Elementary School was built in the 1920s. It is located at Rising Sun and Cheltenham Avenue. This school first shared its principal with Lawndale Elementary School. Creighton Elementary School is on Tabor Road. It was built in the 1900s. Together, these two schools teach almost 2,000 students.

Building the Row Homes

Much of Crescentville was empty land until the 1920s. Then, the city started to grow northward. Many "modern" row houses were built on former farmland. Developers built many blocks of these homes. They didn't leave much open space. A new row home cost less than $5,000 back then. That's like about $76,000 today.

West Side of Rising Sun Avenue

The west side of Rising Sun Avenue has more single and twin homes. You can also find some blocks of fancy stone row homes here. One of these stone row homes was where cartoonist Bil Keane lived. He created the famous comic strip Family Circus. Bil Keane went to St. William Catholic School nearby. He also attended Northeast Catholic High School, where he started drawing.

Lower Crescentville's Industries

The lower part of Crescentville used to have many factories. These factories employed many local people until the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some of these businesses included Bond Bread and the Electric Battery Storage Company. This company later became ESB, Inc., which made Exide battery products. Other companies were 3M and Goodman Mills.

In 1978, the ESB, Inc. factory was mostly torn down. A few of the original buildings are still there. This land became Rising Sun Plaza, a shopping center with many stores. When it first opened, Clover and Acme Markets were the main stores. After they closed, the plaza became home to more discount stores. Some stores from when the Plaza first opened are still there today.

Places of Worship

Crescentville has many small Protestant churches. Crescentville United Methodist is the oldest. It's on Sentner Street and was founded in 1920. The Crescentville Baptist Church also started here in the 1930s. It began in a bank basement before moving to its current spot on Godfrey Avenue.

Crescentville also has two Catholic churches. St. William's Parish serves most of the community. St. Ambrose Parish serves a part of the lower end. These churches together serve over 9,000 people. St. William School closed in 2012. Its students now go to Presentation BVM School or St. Cecilia School. St. Ambrose School closed in 2006. Its students now attend St. Martin of Tours Parish School.

Community and Recreation

North of Comly Street was once the Wentz Farm reservoir. The City of Philadelphia used this reservoir until the late 1930s. Then, it was taken apart, and the land was given to the Recreation Department. It was built on the Wentz Farm, which is how it got its name.

It was decided to build a recreation center on this land. It would serve both Crescentville and the nearby Lawndale Community. This is why the name LAWN-CREST was created. Later, the Free Library of Philadelphia built its LAWN-CREST Branch next to the Rec. Center. A firehouse (Engine 64) and a police station were built here in 1924. The police station closed in the 1960s. Engine 64 is still in use every day.

Crescentville's Economy Today

Today, the two biggest employers in the area are the NAVY Depot and Cardone Industries. Cardone is a company that rebuilds car parts. It was started in 1970. They use many old factory buildings in the area. Their main office is on Tabor Road. Their main factory is on Rising Sun Avenue.

The price of homes in Crescentville varies. An East Side Row home might cost $80,000 to $90,000. A West Side Stone Front Row home can be $125,000 or more. A West Side Single home can cost up to $275,000.

Historic Places

Two schools in Crescentville are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These are the Thomas Creighton School and the Benjamin Franklin School. This means they are important historical buildings.