Bella Vista
Bella Vista is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its name in Italian means “pretty view”. Named by realtors because of its view of Center City. It is bounded approximately by South Street to the north, Washington Avenue to the south, 6th Street to the east, and 11th Street to the west. Bella Vista is home to the country’s oldest open-air market, the Italian Market.
Boundaries: South Street to Washington Avenue, west side of Sixth Street to 11th Street
Population: 6,800
Demographics: The oldest Italian neighborhood in the city is still a stronghold of ethnic settlers, but in recent years the population has diversified to include an influx of Vietnamese and Mexican residents as well.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Bella Vista was a fairly stable neighborhood and, although characterized by an aging demographic, was largely spared the blight and decline suffered by many surrounding neighborhoods. Thanks to an influx of residents into the greater Center City area and a boom in construction which began in the late 1990s, Bella Vista is now becoming gentrified.
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