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A stroll along the 1900 block of North 23rd Street reveals a scene not unlike the many other blocks in North Central Philadelphia. The row home facades are kept tidy, cars are parked along either side of the one-way road, it’s a Wednesday and recycling bins are scattered along the sidewalk. What sets this block apart requires a closer look: a small house-shaped silver and black sign affixed beside the door of nearly every-other home.
Like a badge on a uniform, these metal house-front emblems denote properties bought, renovated and sold through the Project HOME Affordable Homeownership Program; their impact immense.
Project HOME – Housing, Opportunities, Medical care, Education – arrived on the block in the early 1990s when the street was riddled with drugs and violence, and lined by abandoned row houses with the homes of a few elderly residents peppered in between.
“There was a big old dope house across the street,” said Cornell Barnes, a resident of 1920 N. 23rd St. for more than 20 years.
“Guys used to use IV drugs. And, you know, some of the guys that would participate in that would come up, they would urinate up against the wall as the kids were migrating back and forth from school. It was pretty rough, but we don’t have that anymore,” he said.
Barnes recounted the time when New Years Eve was celebrated by people firing off their guns, and the danger it posed.
“I went up to the third floor window this one New Year’s Eve and it seemed like a couple bullets went right past my head,” he said. “This year went by, New Years came, didn’t hear a sound.”
Evelyn Major, of 1923 N. 23rd St. for more than 45 years, worked as a short-order cook before taking up employment at St. Elizabeth’s School, the church and school now closed and the Rectory turned into a community center. She raised all six of her children on the 1900 block, and has seen the decline and eventual rehabilitation of this neighborhood.
“It was nice with mostly homeowners and not that many apartments,” said Major of the state of the 1900 block she originally moved on to. “Then everybody died, their kids grew up, moved out. Their families didn’t bother to keep [the houses].”
The abandoned houses fell into disrepair and remained vacant until drug dealers and addicts began to fill them.
Major had photographs hung around her dining room, her smiling sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren covered the walls. She explained where they were, what they were doing – one joined the military, one went on to higher education, one started a family of their own – all but one daughter, Regina, had moved away from home.
Project HOME sold the 16 houses they had revamped to low-moderate income families with a credit score of 650 or better, at least $1,000 in a savings or checking account and with a minimum two year consistent work history.
The fresh buildings and fresh faces have led to an improvement of the block and community. According to the residents of the block, there has been a significant drop in the amount of drugs, guns and crime.
William Ross lives at 1946, a historical landmark. His aunt purchased the house from the Bailey family. Pearl Bailey, who lived there as a child, was a famous Broadway actress best known for her title role in “Hello, Dolly!” Ross typically spends his day on the front porch greeting neighbors and passersby.
Helen Brown is a longtime North 23rd Street resident, too, and has the pleasure of working close to home, at the Rectory-come-community center across the street. She is the community organizer and coordinates an annual summertime barbeque, “Family and Friends Day,” as well as offers weekend ceramics classes for senior citizens, and after-school programs like the “North Philly Foot Stompers.”
“It wasn’t a very good neighborhood. There was crack, drugs,” said Brown.
The St. Elizabeth’s community center also has an in-house nurse and weekly doctor visits for locals who can’t afford medical care. An economic development team for Project HOME is based at St. Elizabeth’s to assist homebuyers in the area.
The nearby Honickman Learning Center is another asset to the block and surrounding community, created by Project HOME and funded in part by Comcast and private donors. The learning center offers various computer training for adults and children, college and employment preparation, adult education, workforce development and after-school programs.
“I enjoy the computer classes,” said Barnes. “In fact, they encourage you that you can take that course as many times as you like. I just go to get the certificate, plus to learn. There’s no excuse not to learn. A closed mouth can’t get fed.”
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