View source for Nicetown–Tioga, Philadelphia

{{Short description|Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Nicetown–Tioga<!-- at least one of the first two fields must be filled in -->
| settlement_type = [[List of Philadelphia neighborhoods|Neighborhood of Philadelphia]]  <!--such as Town, Village, City, Borough etc.-->
| image_skyline = Waynejunction0810a.JPG
| imagesize =
| image_caption = The [[Wayne Junction (SEPTA station)|Wayne Junction train station]] is located in Germantown, Pa 19144.
| image_flag =
| mapsize = 300px
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Philadelphia
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{Coord|40.013|-75.156|format=dms|type:city_region:US-PA|display=title,inline}}
<!-- Location ------------------>| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1 =
| subdivision_type2 =
| subdivision_type3 = City
| subdivision_name1 = [[Pennsylvania]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia County]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Philadelphia]]
<!-- General information --------------->
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code = [[Area codes 215, 267, and 445|215, 267 and 445]]
| background_color = <!--See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields that may be available-->
<!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info ---------------->
}}
'''Nicetown–Tioga''' is a neighborhood in the [[North Philadelphia]] section of the city of [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S. It comprises two smaller, older neighborhoods, '''Nicetown''' and '''Tioga''', although the distinction between the two is rarely emphasized today. The name "Nicetown" is often simply used to refer to any part of Nicetown–Tioga.
==Geography==
[[File:North Philadelphia from airplane.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Nicetown-Tioga]]
The boundaries of Philadelphia neighborhoods are often not universally agreed upon. There are no "official" boundaries to the Nicetown–Tioga area, but some possible boundaries are:
* Wingohocking Street to the northeast (beyond which lies [[Ogontz, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Logan]]);
* Clarissa/Windrim to the northwest (beyond which lies [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]]);
* Allegheny Avenue and the [[SEPTA]] rail tracks to the south (beyond which lie [[Allegheny West, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Allegheny West]] and [[Glenwood, Philadelphia|Glenwood]]); and
* Old York Road to the east (beyond which lies [[Hunting Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Hunting Park]]).
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) defines Nicetown as a much smaller area bounded by Wingohocking Street, Broad Street, Hunting Park Avenue, and Clarissa Street;<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://btwatershed.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991011015821/http://www.btwatershed.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 11, 1999|title=usurped title|website=btwatershed.org|accessdate=8 July 2023}}</ref> it defines Tioga as a smaller area bounded by Broad Street, Hunting Park Avenue, the railroads [exact western boundary unclear], and Allegheny Avenue.<ref name="auto"/>
==History and economy==
===1700 to 1850===
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
Nicetown began centuries ago as a small town in what was then rural Philadelphia County, outside the City of Philadelphia (which occupied the area known today as [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City]]). Mease notes that Nicetown was named for Hans te Neues, a Mennonite immigrant who purchased the land of present-day Nicetown in 1699. Family legend among the Nice/Nyce family states that Hans threw a bottle of schnaps over his first house to christen it. This original early 18th-century structure burned in 1800. Hans and his brother Jan had emigrated from Amsterdam in 1698; Jan settled in Germantown. Both were [[Mennonite]] ministers and could read and write. Hans and his descendants were well known as zimmermen (builders of houses). One descendant was a member of the Carpenter's Society of Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Another was Captain John Nice of Germantown, who led the charge at the [[Battle of Germantown]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. Other authors provide varied suggestions for the origin of Nicetown. Finkel says that it was "[n]amed for de Neus, Dutch Huguenots who settled there about 1700".<ref>{{Harvnb|Finkel|1995|p=165}}.</ref>
[[File:Women workers in ordnance shops, Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company, Nicetown, Pennsylvania. Hand chipping with pneumati - NARA - 530774.jpg|thumb|250px|Women workers in the ordnance shops of [[Midvale Steel]] and Ordnance Company in Nicetown during [[World War I]] (1918)]]
''Tioga'' is a placename used in [[Tioga (disambiguation)|various places]]. According to several sources,<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/heritage-program/american-indian-names.shtml USDA Forest Service webpage on American-Indian-language-derived names. Accessed 2007-12-06.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tiogapassresort.com/history/history.html |title=Tioga Pass Resort history webpage. Accessed 2007-12-06. |access-date=2007-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928114704/http://www.tiogapassresort.com/history/history.html |archive-date=2007-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Tioga'' is a [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]] and [[Iroquois]] word referring to a place where a stream or river current forks or runs swiftly. The name has been used in North Philadelphia since at least the mid-19th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finkel|1995|p=170}}.</ref>
===1950 to present===
The industrial culture of the area peaked during [[World War II]], and declined immediately following the war. [[White flight]] began in the 1950s and hastened in the 1960s through the 1980s. There are a number of abandoned structures and a high crime rate in the neighborhood (leading some to note the irony of its name<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellison |first=Charles D. |date=2019-08-15 |title=Reality Check: Of Course, It Was Nicetown |url=https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/reality-check-of-course-it-was-nicetown/ |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=The Philadelphia Citizen |language=en-US}}</ref>).
== Demographics ==
As of 2021, Nicetown–Tioga was 75.5% African American, 24.5% white.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> Though it is a predominantly black neighborhood, there is an increasingly significant number of Hispanics, particularly in the southeastern section near Hunting Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.phila.gov/departments/philadelphia-city-planning-commission/|title=Philadelphia City Planning Commission &#124; Homepage|date=3 April 2023|website=City of Philadelphia|accessdate=8 July 2023}}</ref>
==Education==
===Public libraries===
[[Free Library of Philadelphia]] operates the Nicetown–Tioga Branch at 3720 North Broad Street.<ref>"[http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/branch.cfm?loc=NIC Nicetown–Tioga Branch]." ''[[Free Library of Philadelphia]]''. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.</ref> The [[Free Library of Philadelphia]] also runs a Hot Spot location in Nicetown, operating out of Mercy Neighborhood Ministries, the purpose of which is to increase computer access to residents.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/hotspots/index.cfm |title=Free Library Hot Spots |publisher=FLP}}</ref>
==Natural gas power plant (SEPTA)==
In November 2016, SEPTA board members approved a $26.8 million natural gas power plant near Wayne Junction Station. It is an 8.8-megawatt plant and would allow regional rail to function in the event of a blackout. Noresco LLC will design the two piston-engine generators that will be located between the Roberts Avenue Rail Yard and the Midvale Bus Depot.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Laughlin|first1=Jason|title=SEPTA approves natural gas power plant|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/SEPTA-approves-natural-gas-power-plant.html|website=philly.com|date=17 November 2016 }}</ref>
== See also ==
{{Portal|Philadelphia}}
* [[Max's Steaks]]
== Citations ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== General bibliography ==
* {{citation | editor-last = Finkel | editor-first = Kenneth  | title = Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual  | publisher = [[Library Company of Philadelphia]] | year = 1995 | location = Philadelphia | pages = 156–170 | isbn = 0-914076-89-2 }}
{{North Philadelphia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicetown-Tioga, Philadelphia}}
[[Category:Nicetown-Tioga, Philadelphia| ]]
[[Category:1700 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1700]]