Castor Gardens

Castor Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Castor Gardens is a neighborhood in in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Castor Gardens' borders are ill-defined, but it exists in the vicinity of Castor and Cottman Avenues. It is also near Roosevelt Boulevard. The neighborhood can either be entered from the south, by taking the Oxford Circle exit of Roosevelt Boulevard, or from the north, by taking the Cottman Avenue exit. Adjacent neighborhoods are Mayfair, Lawndale, Burholme, Oxford Circle, and Rhawnhurst.

Castor Gardens uses the zip codes 19111 and 19149.

The area is served by Roosevelt Mall, one of the largest shopping centers in Philadelphia, the Northeast Regional Library branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the District 10 Health Center of the city of Philadelphia.

History

Castor Gardens was the name of a development of detached homes built North of Magee Avenue, On the East Side of Whitaker Avenue. It's name is derived from Caster's mill, which was located to the south of Sandy Run, where it would have crossed Caster Avenue (referred to as "Hartshorn Lane" on some maps. Sandy Run is a minor tributary to Pennypack Creak and is now buried beneath the streets.

The brick colonial homes of Caster gardens were considered more prestibuous then the row homes located south of Magee Avenue which were part of the neighbrohood known as Oxford Circle (getting its name from the traffic circle located at the juncture of Oxford Avenue, Castor Avenue, and the Roosevelt Blvd, foremrly known as Hunter's Circle).

As the neighborhood developed, the area between Magee and Cottman Avenue, Whitake Avenue and Castor Avenue was mostly semi-detached and detahced homes. To differentiate this area from the row homes south of Magee and East of Castor Avenue, the use of the name Castor Gardens begain in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

As people began to indicate a preference for Castor Gardens as opposed to Oxford Circle, the names was applied to a larger and larger area, first encompassing the newest row homes in the area (North of Tyson Ave) and eventually encompassing the entire area foremerly known as Oxford Circle, while that name was relegated to the homes located south of Oxford Avenue which were older and smaller homes mostly built in the 1920s and 1930s. The housing stock in Castor Gardens were built as early as the 1930s, with construction halted during the years of World War II. The housing boom after World War II fueled additional construction, with the last homers being built on streets located along Cottman Avenue in 1956. Some spot building (building completed on a lot by lot basis) continued to the present day

Demographics

Historically, Castor Gardens was a primarily white, middle class Jewish community. Over the past decade, the area has experienced significant change with the integration of Koreans, Cambodians, Hispanics, Arabs, and African Americans.

Government

Political leaders of note who were residents of Castor Gardens at one time include Councilman at Large Jack Kelly, former Congressman Charles Dougherty, the late Congressman Joshua Eilberg, and the late leader of the Northeast Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center Anthony Iannerelli

A Democratic stronghold, the area is split into many political districts. It is represented in Congress by Robert Brady and Allyson Schwartz, in the Philadelphia City Council by Maria Quiñones-Sánchez and Joan Krajewski, in the Pennsylvania State Senate by Mike Stack and Tina Tartaglione, and in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by Mark B. Cohen, a longtime resident of Castor Gardens, and John Sabatina.