Philadelphia is a tricky city when it comes to splits, as it has multiple splits.
Of course, any Philadelphian will say that
Broad Street is our major N-S street, and
Market Street is our major E-W street. There are also a few major ones that people sometimes forget about, including:
Ridge Avenue, Baltimore Avenue, Germantown Avenue, Lancaster Avenue, and Roosevelt Boulevard. Ridge, Germantown, and Lancaster Avenues are major NW-SE streets, while Baltimore Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard are major NE-SW streets. The
Schuylkill River and
Frankford/Tacony Creek are the natural splits. From
Market Street, the city is split from north to south. From
Broad (though, technically, Front Street acts as the medium between east and west-running streets), the city is split from east to west. Now, here's where things get tricky.
Baltimore Avenue (also, arguably, the tracks of the Media/Elwyn Line) splits the city from west to southwest, which can also be seen by a change in the street grid.
Lancaster Avenue (and 63rd Street) splits the wealthy Main Line from the relatively worse-off parts of West Philadelphia, as well as the poorer parts of West Philly (south of Lancaster) from the wealthier parts (north of Lancaster) with some exceptions.
Ridge and Germantown Avenues carry people from North to Northwest Philly. Along the way,
Germantown Avenue will act as the split between the wealthier and less wealthy portions of Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. Finally,
Roosevelt Boulevard is our major roadway that carries people from North to Northeast Philly. Along the way, the denser portions of the Great Northeast lie to the south, and the more suburban-like homes lie to the north (with the exceptions of Lawndale and Fox Chase). The
Schuylkill River splits "mainland Philadelphia" (North, South, and Center City) from West/Southwest Philly, and the
Frankford/Tacony Creek splits North from Northeast Philly.
Philadelphia is a multi-directional city that has several major arterials. As far as wealth is concerned, Lancaster Avenue (U.S. 30) carries the wealth northwest along the Main Line. It starts in Overbrook (West Philly) traverses Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties.
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