FAIRMOUNT, PHILADELPHIA

FAIRMOUNT

The Fairmount neighborhood is located northwest of Center City Philadelphia. It is bordered to the South by Spring Garden Street, to the North by Poplar Street, to the West by Pennsylvania Avenue and to the East by 17thStreet. It is home to numerous neighborhood anchors including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Eastern State Penitentiary, and Girard College.

Fairmount is a largely residential area with low to medium density and a major commercial corridor, Fairmount Avenue, running through the neighborhood. Fairmount has experienced neighborhood change throughout the past thirty years which may be described as gentrification. Incomes and real estate values have grown rapidly, and the population has become higher-income and more formally educated. These changes are a reversal of 20th Century trends, during which Fairmount experienced disinvestment from financial institutions.

In the mid-20th Century, Fairmount was classified by the Homeowners' Loan Corporation as a 'hazardous' neighborhood for lending.
Redlining had detrimental impacts on neighborhoods in Philadelphia, including Fairmount, resulting in lower housing values over time and neighborhood instability. Over the last 20 years, Fairmount has experienced significant demographic changes in race and income. Housing markets have also undergone significant changes that reflect the movement of higher-income individuals into the area.