Greenbelt Knoll

Neighborhood:Northeast

Address:
Longford St. and Holme Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19136

Significance:
Built in the mid 1950s, Greenbelt Knoll was created by Morris Milgram as the first self-consciously integrated suburban development in the city, and one of the first in the nation. The development is located on Longford Street, a cul de sac that runs south off of Holme Avenue. Designed by the prominent firm of Montgomery & Bishop with Louis I. Kahn, the development originally included 19 single-family, modern homes; 18 survive. Apparently Milgrim stipulated that 45% of the development's residents be non-white. Prominent residents of Greenbelt Knoll included Milgram, Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, and Robert N. C. Nix, the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. House. Greenbelt Knoll is important architecturally.

Type of Historic Resource:housing development

Date Built / Architect:1956, Montgomery & Bishop

Extant: yes

Philadelphia Historic District:Greenbelt Knoll Historic District (6/9/2006)

Historical Marker:PA Historical Marker (2007)

Text of Historical Marker:
The first racially integrated housing development in Philadelphia, and a model for the nation, was built in 1956 by Morris Milgram, a nationally recognized developer and civil rights proponent. Prominent building and landscape architects, including Robert Bishop, Margaret Duncan, and Louis Kahn, created Modernist houses in the natural setting of Pennypack Park. Original residents include Milgram, Rep. Robert N.C. Nix, & Rev. Leon Sullivan.