Fox Chase | |
|---|---|
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  Fox Chase | |
| Coordinates:40°04′23″N75°04′35″W / 40.0731°N 75.0763°W /40.0731; -75.0763 | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| County |  Philadelphia |
| Neighborhood | Philadelphia |
| Incorporated | 1854 |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.83 sq mi (7.3 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 20,069 |
| • Density | 7,090/sq mi (2,740/km2) |
| Postal code | 19111 |
| Area codes | 215, 267, and 445 |
Fox Chase is a neighborhood in theNortheast section ofPhiladelphia, located approximately 10 mi (16 km) northeast ofCenter City. Although its borders are not officially defined, the neighborhood is generally bounded byPennypack Park to the north, Algon Avenue to the east,Cottman Avenue to the south, and Fillmore Street to the west. Adjacent neighborhoods includeBustleton,Rhawnhurst,Burholme, andRockledge (a borough in Montgomery County). Fox Chase uses the 19111zip code.
Fox Chase was historically part ofLower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, a defuncttownship located inPhiladelphia County, Pennsylvania. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into theCity of Philadelphia following the passage of theAct of Consolidation, 1854.[citation needed]
Philadelphia's elite once flocked to opulent vacation homes built in the lush fringes bordering the city. The area's character changed with the arrival of the railroad in 1876. Many of Philadelphia'saristocracy began to discover the attractiveness ofsuburban living, and builtmansions here, using the railroad for convenient transport into the city.[citation needed] The neighborhood was named after affluent colonists came to hunt in the region.[1] Achase (land) is a specific area of land reserved for hunting.
Fox Chase was the setting for one of America's longest running cold cases. In February 1957, the battered body of a small boy was found in a cardboard box off in the woods off Susquehanna Road. Investigators were mystified and were unable to determine his identity. Nicknamed "The Boy in the Box", "America's Unknown Child", and sometimes "The Fox Chase Boy".[2] He was identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli in 2022.[3]
The Fox Chase section is located on the border withMontgomery County and there is an active and cooperative business community that crosses the county line into Rockledge andHuntingdon Valley.
One of manyparks located within Fox Chase isPennypack Park. It is composed of woodlands, meadows and wetlands. The banks of the Pennypack Creek runs through the park from Pine Road in Fox Chase all the way to theDelaware River. The area also includes playgrounds, hiking and bike trails as well as bridle paths for horseback riding. The Pennypack Environmental Center on Verree Road is also located within the neighborhood. Many historic structures are still intact throughout Fox Chase. The Verree House on Verree Road was the site of a raid byBritish troops during theAmerican Revolutionary War.[4] The trained eye can rediscover abandoned railroad grades, remnants of early mills, mill races and other reminders that generations of mankind have gathered in the "Green Heart" ofNortheast Philadelphia.
Fox Chase Farm is one of the few remaining active farms in Philadelphia County and is used extensively by theSchool District of Philadelphia. It began in 1683 as a land grant fromWilliam Penn toLord Stanley and then passed to the McVeigh family for over 100 years. Later, the Wistar family developed it into a self-sufficient farm until it became a Gentlemen's Farm owned by two farmers, Lorimer and Butler. Friends of Fox Chase Farm, an all-volunteer group, currently assists in maintaining and preserving this pastoral treasure for present and future generations.
William Rhawn, president of the National Bank of the Republic in 1879, built a summer residence here. To design the project, he chose architectFrank Furness, whose work was synonymous with the mansions and public buildings of theGilded Age. The banker's country estate includes a carriage house and gatekeeper's house. He called the estate “Knowlton” because it resembled the estate inEngland of Rhawn's wife's great-grandfather, John Knowles. It has since been converted into a catering establishment.
Ryerss Mansion is also located in Fox Chase.[5] The house was built by merchant Joseph Waln Ryerss in 1859 and dramatically overlooksBurholme Park, one of the highest vistas in Philadelphia. The mansion is home to a massive and eccentric collection of artifacts and antiquities from around the world, collected during the Ryerss family's extensive travels and exotic sojourns, from Europe, to Africa, to the Far East.
Among the historic properties located in this neighborhood are:[6]
The median age is 36.6 years for males and 39.0 years for females. Married couples made up 40.3 percent of the neighborhood's population. The neighborhood was 80.37 Caucasian, 8.63 percent African American, 4.75 percent Asian, 2.58 percent mixed race, .07 percent Native Hawaiian and 3.6 percent other race.
The median household income for Fox Chase was $54,870 in 2011, compared with $34,207 for Philadelphia as a whole. The population below the poverty level in Fox Chase was 10 percent, compared with 28.4 percent for Philadelphia.[7]
The largest employer of Fox Chase is the internationally knownFox Chase Cancer Center, a unique facility that merges cancer research with the treatment of cancer.[citation needed] Its researchers have wonNobel Prizes for their contributions.
Public transportation is provided by severalSEPTA bus routes and theFox Chase Line regional rail service which terminates near Rhawn Street and Oxford Avenue.[citation needed]
The Fox Chase Branch of thePhiladelphia Free Library is located at 501 Rhawn St. at Jeanes Street.[8]
Fox Chase Elementary School a.k.a. Fox Chase Academics Plus School is a public elementary school of theSchool District of Philadelphia.[9] Located at 500 Rhawn St. near the library, it serves children grades K to 5.
Students move on to Baldi Middle School,[10] andGeorge Washington High School.[11]
Saint Cecilia is a Roman Catholic School, from grades Pre-K to 8. Saint Cecilia's is a part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Saint Cecilia School and church is located on 535 Rhawn St.
Fox Chase's boundaries are:
