Our History
Pre-Colonization
The diagonal road of East Passyunk Avenue likely began as a trail used by the region’s original inhabitants, the Lenape tribe, who cared for the land for thousands of years before European settlers arrived.
The word Passyunk is derived from the Southern Unami dialect, where the term “pahsayunk” meant “in the valley(ies).” The Northern Unami dialect of the word “Pachsegink” appears on the earliest maps (as shown in the map below).
Without the Lenape community, East Passyunk Avenue would likely not exist today. More information about the tribe can be found here.
1800s-1900s
As Europeans settled here, the road linked the developing city with a trading post, village, ferries, and farms along the Schuylkill River.
Several immigrant groups including those with Swedish, Irish, Eastern European and Italian heritage established communities and commerce on and around East Passyunk.
As the area developed, the Avenue became the main corridor and resource for daily life.
Today
East Passyunk has continued to grow thanks to the involvement, influence, and contributions of generations of immigrant communities both old and new, including Latino and Southeast Asian groups. We are a diverse and dynamic business community; a diagonal avenue paved with possibility. We stand together as a band of businesses, a feast of flavors, an Ave for all.
Honoring the past…looking to the future
Prior to 2020, East Passyunk’s branding inaccurately portrayed the silhouette of a Native American wearing a Western Plains headdress not generally worn by Eastern tribes, including the Lenape. This was rightfully seen as an unwitting slight against the original inhabitants of the region, and the organization recognized the need for change.
Through conversation, research, and exploration over months, East Passyunk updated its organizational logo and branding design, removing the misrepresentative imagery and incorporating several design elements to honor the Lenni-Lenape.