Living in Point Breeze: A Neighborhood Guide
The winds of change have blown stronger through this neighborhood than any other in the city.
South Philadelphia Tap Room in Point Breeze / Photograph by Gab Bonghi
Forward into the past?
Though it sits well inland, Point Breeze takes its name from a spot on the Schuylkill’s west bank where light winds blew in the 19th century. Once a multiracial working-class enclave, the neighborhood declined from the late 1960s to the 1990s. Low-income housing built around the end of that period began a turnaround that accelerated with an influx of more affluent residents on its east side. They dubbed that area “Newbold,” taking a cue from a street sign on the South Philadelphia Tap Room (1509 Mifflin Street) and fanning the flames of controversy over gentrification.
Keith Haring’s We the Youth mural / Photograph by Robert K. Chin/Alamy Stock Photo
Acknowledgment and unity
In 2016, the civic group the newcomers established changed its name to East Point Breeze Neighbors, a recognition of the people already there when they moved in. Today, everyone from Broad to 25th coexists, with Keith Haring’s restored 1987 mural We the Youth at 22nd and Ellsworth streets forming a bridge between the old and the new.
A multicultural menu
The Tap Room was one of the first of the wave of restaurants that accompanied those new residents. Other lauded spots include Hardena (1754 South Hicks Street) and El Mezcal Cantina (1260 Point Breeze Avenue). Longtime stalwarts like Scotty’s Bar (1420 Ellsworth Street), where every holiday is cause for decoration and a portrait of President Barack Obama still watches over the festivities, are also among the offerings.
El Mezcal Cantina’s dishes / Photograph by Ted Nghiem
Shopping and style
Pick up gifts, cards, books, and other items at Culture Exchange (1450 Point Breeze Avenue) and sweet treats from Favors4Life Extraordinary Delights (1614 South Bancroft Street). Or order a custom hat from Dust to Dawn Fashions (1505 Reed Street, by appointment only).
On the up and up
Point Breezer Dava Costello, a realtor at OCF Realty, is pleased with the changes in the community. “I have always envisioned great things for this neighborhood. It’s remarkable to witness the new residential and commercial developments along Washington Avenue, connecting Southwest Center City with Point Breeze,” she says. OCF’s owner, developer Ori Feibush, has built many of Point Breeze’s newer, fancier homes, and Costello also views that as cause for optimism. However, she notes, “Recently, there has been a shortage of robust inventory, and we typically see a fast appreciation of home values.” As of July, you could spend anywhere from $180,000 to nearly $1 million on a home there.
Published as “Living in Point Breeze” in the September 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
