The northeast corner of 5th & Gaskill in Society Hill does not appear to warrant much consideration at first glance. The red brick row homes here blend quietly (and unattractively) into the scenery just above South Street. However, this lot has changed hands frequently and has been used for a wide spectrum of purposes. According to the Taylor Watercolors Project, we can trace the history of this lot as far back as 1802, when it served as a one-story carpenter's shop. Later that same year, it became the site of the Fourth Presbyterian Congregation. This initiated the location’s long and varied history serving as a place of worship for a multitude of congregations. The Fourth Presbyterian sold its home to the First Church of the Disciples of Christ in 1841, who in turn sold to a laborer named Richard Wilson. We don’t know what happened to Wilson but the First Colored Methodist Protestant Israel Church bought the lot for a tidy sum of $5 in 1853. The image below, taken from Hexamer & Locher’s Philadelphia Atlas, shows that the Colored Methodist Church remained on the corner in 1858.
By 1860, most sources identify the congregation simply as the African Church. The sketch below, taken from the Taylor Watercolors Project, shows the church as it appeared at this time.
As the caption to the above sketch points out, by 1864, the church was inhabited by the German Catholic Literary Institute. Just two years later, according to The Museum of Family History, the corner of 5th & Gaskill became “the centerpiece of Yiddish theatre in the Jewish quarter” under the name Wheatley Dramatic Hall. The image below, taken from the Taylor Watercolors Project, is from a 1904 newspaper but offers a glimpse of the building as it appeared in the late 1800s.
According to the Museum of Family History, a Times-Philadelphia article from 1889 described the Yiddish performance fare at the Wheatley thusly: “Strange dramas, actors and audiences at Fifth and Gaskill Streets. An Oppressed Nation’s Art. Some Russian Jews of this City form a Dramatic Company.” Just a few years after this media campaign, the corner changed hands again. This time, according to The Jews of Philadelphia, the Wheatley was completely remodeled and consecrated as a Hungarian synagogue called Emunath Israel-Oheb Shalom in 1891. The Hungarian congregation would prove the longest of the site’s many occupants. The image below, taken from the Philadelphia Department of Records, shows that the synagogue was still hanging around in 1959.
But as with everything else that’s ever been at 5th & Gaskill, it wouldn’t last forever. By 1967, the synagogue had been sold to developers and demolished some time thereafter. Today, a rectangular block of not-particularly-appealing residences conceals an otherwise interesting history.
