It was a chilly morning after I have worked hard for researching (about Manayunk), trip planning (to Hong Kong/China), and working part-time at Temple (to earn money), I reward myself with my time off to explore Manayunk including crossing on the Manayunk Bridge (where it was a railroad). It was on my bucket list since it was last opened. I researched the place “Manayunk” to get to know more about the place.
How does the word “Manayunk” gots its name?
Ironically, Manayunk means from the native American culture “Where to go drink.” or “Place to drink” in English. Known as the town of Flat Rock, which incorporated in 1824, let it say “manaiung” (river) from Lenape Indian residents chose.
How was Manayunk founded?
The Europeans founded it as they immigrated from Europe to Philadelphia, settled to resides. The majority of the immigration were German, Irish, Italian, among others who came here for their living in the new place.
What makes Manayunk so unique?
The working class of these local groups has worked in the infrastructural and mills throughout the community expansion. The development of the community change in the Manayunk Region has successfully transformed into retail shops, restaurants, and outlets. You name it. Because of the importance of the Manayunk historical events happened, it is known as “Manchester of America.”
It became part of the Philadelphia iconic neighborhood in 1854.
How about the Manayunk Bridge?
The bridge is about 4/10 of a mile, with 30 feet in width that connects from Manayunk to Cynwyd with a beautiful, reinforced concrete arches flanked from end to end.
Manayunk Bridge is an important milestone throughout history. It is known to transport coals, mines, items from Cynwyd Region to Manayunk Region to receive goods to the industries. It was built from 1916 to 1918 by the Schuylkill Valley Division of the Penn Railroad to replace the “S” rail, which was built in 1883. This replacement of the newer bridge for the heavy freight trains to safely cross the bridge (Orso, 2015).
The freight trains continued to cross via Manayunk bridge until 1976 when the Pennsylvania Railroad (Conrail) took over the SEPTA Regional Rail, which served as Ivy-Ridge Line via Manayunk and Ivy Ridge stations (Maule, 2014).
Fact: SEPTA regional rail has crossed the Manayunk Bridge. It closed in 1996 due to safety concerns amid low ridership on Ivy Ridge Line. The current line has replaced with the name Cynwyd line that terminates Cynwyd station amid the lowest ridership for the regional rail line. It successfully transforms from the train rail to a Cynwyd Heritage Trail that crosses the Manayunk bridge and into the Philadelphia area (Manayunk). With the city’s $4.2 million projects to renovate its Cynwyd Heritage Trail, the Cunwyd can take a walk directly to Manayunk via bridge (Maule, 2014).
The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
My day at the Manayunk via crossing the iconic bridge:
From my @i.powers.travelgirl business account, I posted photos on Instagram:
- Overview of Manayunk, Philadelphia
- Entrance to Manayunk Bridge (Philadelphia side)
- Downtown Manayunk
- Pretzel Park
- Manayunk Bridge (Arch)
- Welcome to Manayunk Murals
- Schuylkill River Trail
- Cynwyd Heritage Trail
- Selfie of Murals
- Selfie from SEPTA Regional Rail
Just then, I stopped at the Downtown Manayunk to explore some of the retailers around as well as restaurants. I also explore the Pretzel Park, which is a wonderfully atmospheric place to play, especially kids. There is the coolest playground I have not seen before. Wow!
Next, I decided to walk at the beginning of the Manayunk Trail (crossing the Manayunk Bridge) as well as Cynwyd Heritage Trail to explore. I like the picture of the scenic.
Finally, I finished the journey at the Cynwyd Station to eat lunch at Starbucks.
The distance from the start of the Manayunk Bridge Entrance (Philadelphia) to Cynwyd Station (via Cynwyd Heritage Trail) is 1.8 miles.
-Updated on November 16, 2019
References:
Maule, B. 2014, July 16. Starting The Second Life Of A Manayunk Icon. Hidden City. Retrieved from https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/07/starting-the-second-life-of-manayunk-icon/
Orso, A. 2015, November 20. Why the reborn Manayunk Bridge was closed for decades. Billy Penn. Retrieved from https://billypenn.com/2015/11/20/why-the-reborn-manayunk-bridge-was-closed-for-decades/
Funtastic Philadelphia Travel Guides 