Fairhill, Philadelphia
[1] The neighborhood serves as the center of the Hispanic community of Philadelphia, and is known for its "El Centro de Oro" commercial strip along North 5th Street.[3] The area that is now the Fairhill neighborhood was at one time home to the Isaac Norris family's Fair Hill estate.The finished church at Ninth and Cambria Streets included an impressive clock tower and spire.[5] The German-American families began leaving the neighborhood with African-Americans and Latinos – mainly Puerto Ricans – taking their place.The neighborhood is mainly made up of Puerto Ricans, But also has significant populations of Dominicans, Cubans, Colombians, and Brazilians, as well as other Hispanics.The term "The Badlands" was popularized in part by the novel Third and Indiana by then Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez.[27] The term Badlands was first used by Lt. John Gallo, who headed the East Division Narcotics Task Force[citation needed].[citation needed] At one time a center of heavy industry, much of the Badlands' urban landscape is now characterized by vacant warehouses and tightly-packed strips of brick row houses constructed for the working class of the neighborhood.The area encompasses El Centro de Oro, the heart of Philadelphia's Puerto Rican community.[33] The area's reputation has been countered by community activists and nonprofit organizations such as Centro Nueva Creación, which in 2010 conducted a summer children's program, "The Goodlands Photographers", aimed at helping young people photograph and display positive images of their neighborhood.