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West Powelton

Vidas Athletic Complex, formerly Drexel Field, home to Drexel University’s outdoor varsity sports teams, provides a splendid greenspace venue on the eastern flank of West Park Apartments in West Powelton. 

The headquarters building at the Lee Cultural Center is a rehabilitated red-brick country mansion built around 1806 by the Italian-immigrant land broker Paul Busti. In the early 19th century, Busti’s 112-acre rural estate, formerly Mill Creek Farm, was known as “Blockley Retreat.”

West Park Apartments from the west

For three quarters of the past century, public housing has controversially served low-income residents of several West Philadelphia neighborhoods.

 

West Park Apartments from the Market Street Elevated

Completed in 1962, West Park Apartments is the only high-rise public housing still in operation in West Philadelphia.

 

Lee Cultural Center

Located on the north slope of the West Park ridge at 4328 Haverford Avenue, the Lee Cultural Center offers an array of recreational, athletic, and cultural arts activities for young people, including a Parks & Recreation swimming pool and summer swimming program. 

Playground at the North Tower of West Park Apartments

The West Park Apartments playground faces the North Tower

 

The view is toward the North Tower.

The South Tower of West Park Apartments

This photo shows the South Tower in its landscaped setting.

West Park Apartments from the west

The view is east toward the elevator towers of West Park Apartments in West Powelton. These refurbished “towers in the park” constitute the only remaining high-rise public housing project in West Philadelphia.

West Park Apartments from the Market Street Elevated

West Park Apartments rises above the 46th St. Station of the Market Street Elevated. Looking toward the South Tower.

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