 Girard Avenue seen from 30th Street and looking west toFairmount Park | |
 Interactive map of Girard Avenue | |
| Maintained by | PennDOT andCity of Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.8 mi (12.6 km)[1] |
| Component highways |  US 30 betweenCathedral Park andWest Fairmount Park US 13 between West Fairmount Park andFairmount ParkSR 2008 between West Fairmount Park and Richmond Street |
| Location | Philadelphia |
| West end | 67th Street inWest Philadelphia |
| Major junctions | US 30 inCathedral Park US 13 /I-76 /US 30 inWest Fairmount ParkUS 13 inFairmount Park PA 611 inYorktownFrankford Avenue inFishtown  I-95 inFishtown |
| East end | Richmond Street inFishtown |
Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street inPhiladelphia. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed asU.S. Route 13 andU.S. Route 30.
Girard Avenue begins inWest Philadelphia at 67th Street, runs east through theCarroll Park neighborhood and theCentennial District, crosses theSchuylkill River via theGirard Avenue Bridge, and continues through EastFairmount Park and acrossNorth Philadelphia to Frankford Avenue in theFishtown neighborhood. At Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn to the north and becomes East Girard Avenue, running parallel to theDelaware River until it ends at Richmond Street.
As of 2023, most of Girard Avenue (from Fishtown to Lancaster Avenue) is part of Philadelphia's High Injury Network, the small fraction of city streets on which the majority of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur.[2]
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Girard Avenue was named for bankerStephen Girard (1750–1831) who, at his death, was the richest man in the United States[3] – who directed that his fortune be used to found a trade school for orphaned boys.
The first Girard Avenue was a 3-block street inNorth Philadelphia, between the 1800-block of Ridge Avenue and Corinthian Avenue, approaching the under-constructionGirard College (confirmed by 1845). By 1852, the avenue had been extended west to 33rd Street; and in 1855, the timber-archedGirard Avenue Bridge carried it over theSchuylkill River and into West Philadelphia.
In 1858, the name Girard Avenue was adopted for the existing Franklin Street, which ran east–west between 6th Street and Frankford Avenue, including the existing Prince Street, that ran northeast-southwest between Frankford Avenue and Norris Street. The 12-block gap between 6th and 18th Streets was filled in before theCivil War.[4] The West Philadelphia section of the avenue was extended to 64th Street in 1868; and to 67th Street in 1936.[5]
In 1844, the area surrounding 2nd Street and Franklin Street (later Girard Avenue) was the site of several days ofanti-Catholicnativist riots. Beginning May 3, the anti-immigrantAmerican Republican Party held rallies in theIrish Catholic neighborhood of Kensington, provoking violence from its residents. Nativists responded by vandalizing houses and businesses owned by Catholics. Residents defended themselves with guns. Following several deaths, the Pennsylvania militia took control, but nativists returned in even larger numbers. The rioting reached its peak on May 8, when St. Michael's Church and its rectory, a Catholic school, and dozens of houses and businesses were burned.
As the state militia struggled to regain control in Kensington, another nativist mob burnedSt. Augustine's Church in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia.[6] In all, more than 14 people were killed, an estimated 50 were injured, and more than 200 were forced to flee their homes. The Kensington riots may have been more anti-Irish than anti-Catholic — the nativists did not attack the German Catholic church under construction at 5th Street and present-day Girard Avenue.[7]
In July 2024, it was announced thatPhiladelphia City Council would rename the corner of 58th Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia (near Woodson's childhood home) "Sgt. Waverly B. Woodson Way".[8]
The major landmark of Girard Avenue inNorth Philadelphia is Girard College, a boarding school for underprivileged children. The avenue merges with South College Avenue between 19th and 25th Streets to bypass the school's 43 acre (17 ha) campus.Girard Avenue Historic District – located between the school andBroad Street – features architecturally significant residential and religious buildings.Girard Avenue West Historic District – located between the school and 29th Street – features architecturally significant commercial and residential buildings.Brewerytown Historic District – located between 30th Street and East Fairmount Park – features architecturally significant residential and industrial buildings. TheBerean Institute, avocational school for mostly African American adult learners located on Girard Avenue, opened in 1899 and closed in 2012.
Girard Avenue east ofBroad Street was a major shopping and entertainment district for lowerNorth Philadelphia. Most of the late-19th and early-20th century theaters have been demolished, and surviving ones have been converted to other uses.
St. Peter the Apostle Church, at 5th Street, houses theNational Shrine of Saint John Neumann (1811–1860), the fourthBishop of Philadelphia and the first American man to becanonized as aRoman Catholic saint.[9][10] TheChurch of the Gesu, at 18th Street, built as a neighborhoodCatholic Church, now serves as the chapel forSaint Joseph's Preparatory School. TheGreen Hill Presbyterian Church, between 16th and 17th Streets, aGothic Revival church that pre-dated development of the area, was demolished in 2009 following decades of neglect.[11]
Medical facilities include theGirard Medical Center, at 8th Street and thePhiladelphia Nursing Home, at 21st Street, is built on the former site of the Mary J. Drexel Home.
Hatfield House, at 33rd Street, is a colonial villa built in 1760, withGreek Revival additions from 1838. In 1930, it was relocated fromNicetown to East Fairmount Park. The currentGirard Avenue Bridge (1972) is the third bridge over theSchuylkill River at that location. It incorporates some of the decorative ironwork from the second bridge (1874).
Landmarks of Girard Avenue inWest Philadelphia include thePhiladelphia Zoo, at 34th Street; theLetitia Street House, relocated fromOld City to West Fairmount Park in 1883 (under the mistaken belief that it had been the residence of Pennsylvania's founderWilliam Penn),[12] near 35th Street;Smith Memorial Arch, a Civil War monument and the gateway to West Fairmount Park, near 41st Street;Memorial Hall, the art gallery from the1876 Centennial Exposition, now home to thePlease Touch Museum, near 42nd Street; andOld Cathedral Cemetery, at 48th Street to just east of North 52nd Street. The avenue bounds the southern end of Carroll Park between 58th and 59th Streets, for whichthe neighborhood Carroll Park is named. At North 65th Street is the Haddington Library, designed by Albert Kelsey, which opened in 1915.
TheStephen Smith Home for the Aged, at 44th Street, a nursing home built byQuakers in 1871 to provide care for infirmed African Americans (including Civil War veterans), was demolished in 2009.[13]
TheKensington National Bank (1877,Frank Furness, architect), at Frankford Avenue, is still in use as a bank. TheGreen Tree Tavern (1845, Joseph Singerly, architect), at Marlborough Street, is on theNational Register of Historic Places. TheFirst Presbyterian Church of Kensington (1857,Samuel Sloan, architect), at Columbia Avenue, survives, although its tall steeple has been removed.
The Girard Avenue Trolley (SEPTA Route 15) follows acircuit from West Philadelphia toKensington. A trolley begins the route at the Haddington Loop at 63rd Street, runs on the eastbound tracks along Girard Avenue, crosses the Girard Avenue Bridge, continues across North Philadelphia to Frankford Avenue, makes a 45-degree turn onto East Girard Avenue, follows that for a mile (East Girard Avenue ends), and completes the route along Richmond Street. At Westmoreland Street, the trolley makes a 180-degree turn around theRichmond-Westmoreland Streets Loop, and begins a return on the westbound tracks.
In 1901, the Girard Avenue trolley had approximately eight million passengers.
Girard Subway Station, part of theBroad Street Line, is located beneath the intersection of Broad Street and Girard Avenue.
Girard El Station, part of anelevated section of theMarket–Frankford Line, is located above the intersection of Front Street and Girard Avenue.[14]
U.S. Route 13 runs northward along 34th Street by thePhiladelphia Zoo, where it merges with Girard Avenue and crosses theSchuylkill River via the Girard Avenue Bridge, and then splits to continue northward along 33rd Street.
The proposedGirard Avenue Expressway – a below-grade superhighway that would have connectedInterstate 95 (Delaware Expressway) withInterstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) and continued through West Philadelphia to the city line – was abandoned in 1977 following public opposition.[citation needed]
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39°58′08″N75°08′04″W / 39.968821°N 75.134447°W /39.968821; -75.134447
