Graduate Hospital

Southwest Center City (Graduate Hospital) is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia bordering Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The neighborhood is bordered on the north by South Street, on the south by Washington Avenue, on the west by the Schuylkill River, and by Broad Street on the east.  It is an area adjacent to the Fitler Square and Rittenhouse Square neighborhoods to the North and Point Breeze to the South. It is home to several community service organizations, many churches, a few retail establishments, and some light industry.

The neighborhood has many nicknames. Since the 1980s, it has been often referred to as Graduate Hospital, after the medical facility on the northern edge of the neighborhood. This name has become merely historical in nature since the hospital closed in 2007. Despite this, it is still used and is sometimes shortened to G-Ho. The area is also variously referred to as South of South, SoSo, Naval Square, or Schuylkill-Southwest. A small corner of this area is sometimes known as Devil's Pocket.

Composition

The neighborhood consists primarily of nineteenth and twentieth-century rowhomes interspersed with corner stores, 22 churches and a few larger architectural landmarks. On the eastern half of the neighborhood is the Scottish Rite affordable housing complex which consists of two multi story apartment buildings that cater mostly to elderly and low income individuals. The former buildings of Graduate Hospital lie on South Street, the northern border of the neighborhood. Along Grays Ferry Avenue is the former Philadelphia Naval Asylum or Navel Home, designed in 1826 by William Strickland. This National Historic Landmark first constructed in 1833, closed in 1976, and is now being developed into condos. The Schuylkill Arsenal was originally built at the edge of this neighborhood, but has since been demolished.

Courtesy of Wikipedia