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Renting an Apartment in University City
What You Should Know
University City is a district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, so called for
the presence of several institutions of higher learning including University of
Pennsylvania, Drexel University, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia,
Lincoln University Urban Center, and The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill
College. University City was once a suburb of Philadelphia and is bordered by
many other neighborhoods in West Philadelphia., including Spruce Hill, Cedar
Park, Garden Court, West Powelton, Saunders Park and Powelton Village.
University City is known for its strained town-gown relations, particularly with
Penn.
University City's boundaries are 29th Street and the Schuylkill River to the
east, Spring Garden, Market Street and Powelton Avenue to the North, and Civic
Center Boulevard, University Avenue and part of Woodland Avenue to the south.
University City's westward boundary is 5in dispute.
Prior to the 1960s, the name University City was rarely used to describe only
the easternmost part of West Philadelphia, as it often does today. The historic
name given to the area was Hamilton Village. Much of the northern and western
portion of what is today Penn's campus was colloquially referred to as the Black
Bottom, a nickname that referenced the neighborhood's racial and economic
status. To the west of the Bottom was Spruce Hill, a name which does survive
today. Because of this history of urban renewal and "Penntrification", many
associate the University City name with these acts, and seek to revive original
neighborhood names or simply call the area West Philadelphia. The universities
and their populations continue to label University City as such, and the
University City district name appears on virtually all city maps.