9th Street Market
9th Street Market: Origins, Continuity, Change
Curb Market, South 9th Street and Washington Avenue to Passyunk Avenue
Grassia's Italian Market Spice Company
Mary Bock: The Italian Market Butcher Shop
Ninth Street, above Federal Street, 1941
Stalls at 9th Street Market and Sign for Willie's Roast Pork and Beef
819 to 821 South 9th Street-Contract S-1801
9th Street and Washington Avenue
9th Street Market produce stand
Blessing of the Italian Market
Claudio Specialty Foods storefront
Il Quartiere Italiano: Christian Street Vista Dalla Nona Strada
Italian Market Festival Procession
Italian Market Festival Procession
Italian Market Festival Procession
Italian Market Festival Procession
Italian Market Festival Procession
Italian Market Festival Procession
Map of the Italian District, 1904
Southwest corner of Ninth and Washington, 1937
St. Paul Parish Procession of Saints
Show all 46 images.
The 9th Street Market is one of the nation’s oldest continuous open-air markets, dating to the turn of the 20th century when Italian immigrants sold fruit, vegetables, and meats from carts and stands. Situated amidst a major manufacturing area, the market maintained late hours to accommodate factory workers. Although it was once the social and commercial heart of the Italian community and is still commonly referred as the “Italian Market,” the 9th Street Market was always an ethnic mix. For much of the 20th century, Jewish vendors sold fabrics and household items, and eggs and poultry from Jewish farm communities in Southern New Jersey. Though a handful of long-time Italian American-owned family businesses still dominate the strip, the market boasts a growing number of Southeast Asian and Mexican shops.
The blocks between Christian Street and Washington Avenue are the historical heart of the market, but the market also encompasses blocks to the north and south of the main strip, and 8th Street to the east. Mexican merchants are extending the vibrancy of the market by transforming the once sleepy blocks south of Washington Avenue with restaurants and groceries. The entire neighborhood, often called Bella Vista, is one of Philadelphia’s most walkable, and is best experienced on foot and at the street level.
Although the market has undergone a facelift in the last 10 years (complete with new awnings), it looks very much the same as it did 100 years ago. It is still a lively and crowded jumble of hawkers loudly advertising their bargains, shoppers negotiating narrow sidewalks packed with overflowing produce stands, flower stalls and live ducks. In the winter, vendors keeping warm by barrel fires. In the summer, locals and tourists settle into the growing number of sidewalk cafes to sip coffee, exchange news, and people-watch.
Even though many Italian Americans have moved to other areas of the city and suburbs, the market’s trade still flourishes. Customers of all backgrounds come from all over the city and the suburbs to purchase ethnic culinary specialties and other wares.
External Links
- The Ninth Street Market and South Philadelphia: Personal Connections, Particular Views, Past Times, and Embodied Places, by Joan Saverino
- ""Little Mexico', 9th Street's New Flavor," Weekly Press, December 22, 2009
- Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market
- "Market Panic," A. D. Amorosi, Philadelphia City Paper, August 25, 2010
References
- Juliani, Richard N. Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians Before Mass Migration. University Park, PA: The Penn State University Press, 1998.
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "Bella Vista: Philadelphia's Little Italy." Self-guided walking tour printed guide, Philadelphia, PA: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Honors Summer History Institute, 1983.
- Juliani, Richard N. The Social Organization of Immigration: The Italians in Philadelphia. Ph.D. diss, University of Pennsylvania, 1971.
Map
Map
Address
South Philadelphia
