Curbed Cup 1st Round: (6) Washington Sq. West vs (11) Manayunk

Washington Square West

There’s no denying that Washington Square West is one of the liveliest neighborhoods at the moment. On any given night, locals and tourists stream down 13th Street to gather at popular restaurants like El Vez and hip vegetarian spot Charlie was a Sinner, or browse through the many shopping boutiques mixed in between. The neighborhood is a mix of these trendy locales and lots of LGBTQ-friendly establishments (hence the name Gayborhood), as well as historic and stately rowhomes, like those along Portico Row. With its placement right in the heart of Center City, sandwiched between Rittenhouse Square and Society Hill, it’s no wonder homes here are continuing to push past the $1 million mark.

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Manayunk

“It may be separated from Center City a good ways, but it’s a nice little place of its own.” That’s how one resident described this hill-top neighborhood that’s tends to attract a mix of young professionals and recent grads. All eyes tend to focus on the development boom in Center City, but Manayunk has experienced its own build up in the last year, too, as evidenced by the slew of new residential properties that line the Schuylkill banks. Still, the row homes that cling to the hilly streets manage to maintain the neighborhood’s character and charm and its Main Street, with its “friendly restaurants and shops,” rivals many retail corridors in Center City. The newly-opened Manayunk Bridge as a pedestrian- and bike-only path—the first for the river—is just the cherry on top.