University City

Why go

University City earns time because it offers a district where institutional architecture meets residential blocks and public gardens. Its central thread is universities, hospitals, Victorian streets and major transport infrastructure west of the Schuylkill. Philadelphia's 30th Street Station marks the district's eastern edge with monumental rail architecture. Penn and Drexel campuses create contrasting sequences of old quadrangles and newer research buildings.

What to look for

• Philadelphia's 30th Street Station marks the district's eastern edge with monumental rail architecture.
• Penn and Drexel campuses create contrasting sequences of old quadrangles and newer research buildings.

The full story

University City is best understood through universities, hospitals, Victorian streets and major transport infrastructure west of the Schuylkill. The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name "University City" as part of a 1950s urban-renewal and gentrification effort. Today, Drexel University and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia also call University City home. The eastern side of University City is home to the Penn and Drexel campuses, several medical institutions, independent centers of scientific research, 30th Street Station, and the Cira Centre. The western side contains Victorian and early 20th-century housing stock and is primarily residential. The area is ethnically and economically diverse, although the compositions of its 12 census tracts vary widely; for example, the population in the mid-2000s of the easternmost tract was about half white and one-third Asian, while that of the northwesternmost tract was almost entirely black. University City is the easternmost part of West Philadelphia. The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name "University City" as part of a 1950s urban-renewal and gentrification effort. Today, Drexel University and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia also call University City home.

Useful to know

• Choose a defined corridor rather than trying to cover the whole district on foot.
• Link campus sights with the Penn Museum or The Woodlands for a clearer theme.

Your next visit

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