West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia is the intellectual and commercial spine of Black Philadelphia. The 52nd Street corridor — Muhammad Ali Way — was once Black Philadelphia's commercial downtown: dozens of Black-owned businesses on a single strip. Most are gone. The ones that remain are worth protecting.
How to walk this neighborhood
Walk 52nd Street on a Saturday afternoon. Listen to what's playing from the open storefronts — that is the living continuation of the Sound of Philadelphia. Begin at Hakim's Bookstore (210 S. 52nd) — one of the oldest Black-owned bookstores in the country. Continue to Freedom Greens Farmers Market on the same corridor. Walk south to Bartram's Garden (5400 Lindberg Blvd) — America's oldest surviving botanical garden, free and open. End at the Paul Robeson House (4951 Walnut) — a National Historic Landmark.
Where to go
Restaurants, historic sites, makers, music — every entry FunTimes documented in this neighborhood.
Babe
Tedd Hall opened this women's boutique on 52nd Street in 1972. He was 33. He's 87 now and still shows up. Deconstructed Croatian pieces, handmade leather trenches from Hungary.
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Akwaaba Philadelphia
Six-suite B&B in an 1880s Victorian manor in University City. Travel + Leisure '100 Best New Hotels in the World' (2024). 'Akwaaba' means 'welcome' in Twi.
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Booker’s Restaurant & Bar
Family-owned, 30+ years, live music venue. Where vegan options are as good as the steak and the kitchen knowledge goes back further than any Michelin guide. Philadelphia muscle memory.
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Amsale Café
Philadelphia's finest Ethiopian restaurant. 28 seats, BYOB, deeply serious. Signature: Kitfo.
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48th Street Grille
West Philly Caribbean dining anchor. BYOB with a loyal community following. Book in advance for Convergence weekend.
Read more → Gigi & Big R
Family-owned West Philly restaurant where Haitian comfort food meets African American soul food traditions.
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Kilimandjaro Restaurant
Senegalese flagship of Philadelphia's West African dining scene. The benchmark Thiebou Dienn. Owner Youma Aisse Ba.
Read more → Freedom Greens Farmers Market
Community food access anchor on the 52nd Street corridor — fresh produce, local vendors, the strip that once defined Black Philadelphia commerce.
Read more → Hakim’s Bookstore
One of the oldest Black-owned bookstores in the country — a cultural anchor on the 52nd Street corridor.
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Bartram’s Garden
America's oldest surviving botanical garden — free and open to the public.
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