Ramcat Historic District

A working-class district on Philadelphia's Schuylkill River edge, where factories, delivery garages and rowhouses were built side by side from the early nineteenth century onward. Its western blocks hold rail-side plants, including the seven-story classical Wanamaker delivery garage at 24th and Walnut, the terra cotta Gimbel garage at 24th and Chestnut, and reinforced concrete works by William Steele and Co. Eastward, two-story brick rowhouses line streets such as 24th Street; some on the 200 block of South 24th date from the 1830s, and late-Victorian houses of the 1880s stand at the south end. The Irish community that settled here before 1850 became known for ethnic segregation, and the nickname "Devil's Pocket" was used alongside "Ramcat." Its orientation toward the river, its mix of industry and housing, and its contrast with the wealthier Rittenhouse neighborhood to the east give it a distinct character in the city. Of 710 buildings, about 87 percent are significant or contributing, and the district's architecture and social history are the basis for its significance.