Bella Vista

Italian immigrants first settled this neighborhood, bringing with them their food and their customs. The Ninth Street Italian Market is a living testament to that today. As the oldest still-operating outdoor market of its kind in the United States, it has grown and expanded with the times and now offers delicacies from the area’s prominent Mexican and Vietnamese outgrowths, too. You can buy meats, cheeses, prepared meals, and all other sorts of delicious goods from the Market, and it is a major, central part of neighborhood life.

The Market is situated on Bella Vista’s popular Ninth Street corridor, which is also where you find some of the best dining in the area. It’s not limited to Italian, Asian, and Latino food, either. The thriving food scene on Ninth Street blends in well with the Market. Then there’s Washington Avenue, which is anchored at one end by an immense Vietnamese shopping/ dining plaza. On Washington, you see and taste even more of Bella Vista’s tremendous diversity and great food.

Within the Bella Vista catchment area are three public K-8 schools: Andrew Jackson Elementary School, William M. Meredith School, and George W. Nebinger School. All these schools are considered in-demand and desirable. The three lower schools feed into Furness High School.

Bella Vista’s tree-lined streets are perfect for walking and biking, so residents don’t need a car to get by. It’s the proximity to just about everything one needs that makes Bella Vista a truly great choice for Philadelphia living.