Chester Pennsylvania - Philadelphia's Worst Suburb
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2023
- Today we visit Chester, Pennsylvania - a small city about 25 min away from Philadelphia. Like most American cities it has a storied past, and despite all it's current woes it still has some remnants of the good times hanging around which we will pass by today... but for the most part its a city that needs help.
Originally settled as Upland by the Swedish in 1644, and incorporated and renamed Chester in 1682, Chester is the oldest City in Pennsylvania.
This city, like most American cities hit its economic and population peak in the 1950's. The world war II rush was over, jobs were being shipped out to more cost effective locations and so people started to move. Prior to this great migration out of the city, in it's heyday Chester was a hub for textile factories, and shipbuilding but also had a burgeoning base in heavy industry. The city reached it's peak population of 66,000 people in 1950 but it has been losing people ever since. Today 32,605 people call Chester home.
With opportunities and jobs drying up, crime is a problem in Chester. It is one of the most dangerous cities in Pennsylvania and to be technical, one of the most dangerous in the country. Chances of being a victim to either a property or violent crime is 1in 21. In 2020 Neighborhood Scout ranked it 20 out of top 100 dangerous American cities.
On top of all these issues mentioned above, the city has filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. Today we take a drive tour of the roughest areas of the city to see what life is like on the average day in Chester, Pennsylvania.
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#chester #pennsylvania #crime
Chester isn’t a suburb. It’s the oldest city in Pennsylvania dating back to 1644 as upland and renamed Chester in 1682. My family lived there for many many generations until the mid 80’s or so when the last finally left. It was a mix of years and years of corruption and deindustrialization/globalization that killed this city. It’s sad really because it’s extremely rich in history and really was a beautiful place.
There are some beautiful old buildings and there are parts of these neighbourhoods that look like they're really trying and want to better the area.
My opinion it's way better then living in big city's ,,,
@@Mar-vj6unYeah go live there if you want the place ranks awful in evreything and a lot of those big cites have better job opportunities then this wreck of a place so yeah keep up that ignorant mentality because ur just wrong
I used to live in Chester, as a teenager. The reason why it turned into a ghost town is because in the 1990s the government decided to put the nation's largest trash incinerator in Chester, along with a sewage sludge incinerator, numerous chemical plants and various toxic waste sites. Hazardous materials from around the country are brought in by train to Chester everyday; studies have shown that blood lead levels and cancer risk are as much as 10x higher in Chester than the national average. It's a pretty open and shut case of environmental racism and anybody with the money to leave tends to do so.
Thanks for the history. Thank you for watching.
Wrooooooong I grew up in sun village in the 90s Chester was gone by then it was not easy being the only white kid in the hood but I survived and was always cool with everyone in my hood my mom grew up in the same house I did late 60s early 70s I heard the stories about avenue of the states I heard about the movie theaters still don't change the fact that the downfall started during the Industrial decline after the second world war it had nothing to do with trash or sewage it had everything to do with jobs and the economy you have no idea what you are talking about
@@ghettomericadon't listen to this guy
@@overlordshankoftheygftsqua1014 That's the main reason why I left, and heard the same thing from many people I knew that moved out of Chester. Not sure why anybody would make up something like that, and besides you can look up everything I said and see that it's true. You're telling me you grew up in Chester and never heard anything about the hazmat processing plants, landfills, refineries etc. And the sky high cancer rates in the area? I find that hard to believe especially in the past 10-15 years
100% true. Right in the lobby of city hall there’s a big board explaining all the hazardous pollution and cancer rise in Chester.
Dr King got his masters degree in Chester. Learned his speaking and preaching style in Chester also. Chester High marching band marched Mother's Day in Chester. The band was 7 blocks deep and lines of people would attend. Lots of good times and good memories from 1970's to 1990's in Chester.
Dr King did not get a master's degree in chester quit capping...
Lived here as a kid in the 1970s, lots of relatives also here before they moved on. Like a lot of American small towns, a victim of deindustrialization and globalization amongst other things. What doesn’t get conveyed by a simple video drive through is the city’s storied history. Dr Martin Luther King earned his theology degree in Chester, and the city’s connection to musical history through people such as Bill Haley and the Comets or jazz artist Ethel Waters.
Thank you for sharing. Very well put and thanks for watching.
In my lifetime 3 events that devastated Chester, the 9/13/71 flood that killed 10 people and destroyed several downtown businesses, 2/2/78 Wade chemical dump site fire to this day is still affecting the health of firefighters involved, and the 1989 closure of the Sun Ship and Dry dock company. To witness these events and see the affect on people and the city over time is hard especially for a city whose industrial decline dates back to 1950.
It’s a city. I was born here. My uncle had a bar here. His cousin had a bakery. In the 70,s I’d hang with my uncle at his bar. Anyway RIPmto my family who grew up there. Years ago!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve heard good things about Chester in its better days. Also thank you for watching. Glad you enjoyed.
As long as the Ukraine is ok.
It's like watching an old skool rap vid without the people on the street
Including the public housing section, I would say the average age of vehicles shown in this video is around 6 or 7. Average in the US overall is over 12.
The priorities of living in a consumer based society.
I was thinking to myself, the vehicles look very modern for the areas shown in the video.
Bro visit Wilmington Delaware next. It’s about 15 minutes away from Chester and 30 min away from Philly. A lot of people call it a “mini Philly”
It’s not a mini Philly at all. I’m from Chester and live In Wilmington De, Wilmington in 10x’s better the only issue is so many of our Pennsylvanians have moved from Chester and Philly and brought all of their same problems.
Nowadays there is no one hanging outside in Chester. I was in Wilmington yesterday and seen a line full of dope fiends. And blocks on blocks of people outside hustling
I think it was 8th st
No one calls it mini Philly.
Chester isn’t a suburb, it’s a city inside of a suburban county.
Yes we are a city.
Born and raised in Chester, was born in 95’ and this place is far from the suburbs and it’s definitely not apart of Philly. If Chester had Philly money they would tare it down and restart somewhere else. Only thing keeping it up is the history and all the plants
It's Delaware County Pennsylvania quite literally a Philadelphia Suburb! 8mins i95 south of Philly
If you think driving thru bad hoods in Atlantic City to get to a casino is something, you need to drive thru Chester at night to get to the Harrah's Casino. And it's right next to a damn prison, for God's sake! My advice is: windows up, doors locked, and Glock in your lap, just in case. I've never seen a city with so many historic buildings, wasted so badly.
14:30 I remember seeing a shooting take place at that corner near the convenience store some years ago. I remember pulling my car over, and ducking down below the windshield. 🚓
Because these areas were built in a different era. The people who built these communities that are now deteriorated once worked different jobs along the Delaware River. That is a past time. Philly was deteriorated and bombed out along the river and throughout the city also. Gentrification and renewal projects and investments changed Philadelphia. Camden New Jersey is the same.
Wonder which is rougher…. Camden or Chester? Chester looks pretty beat up and deserted.
I thought Camden was bad until I visited Chester during the late 90's
camden got better
Been to both lived in Chester till I was 14 and let me say Chester makes Camden look wholesome
@@microlithic8354Chester looks more Midwest rural than a city
Say chum, where is this delectable little quaint town. It's such a delight for the eyes if you're into boarded up graffiti tagged buldings.
Hey there. Ha ha. Just about 25 min south of Philadelphia. Thanks for watching Michael.
Chester,PA sure did has gone to Hell in recent years.
the 22:51 and 24:45"s are destroying everything. But Chester, has some hidden good parts
And to think Chester is in the suburbs.
Looks like a nice place to live
Yeah ur definitely a troll💀
10:32 looks like Chicago south side where the chi was filmed and close to where lil durk from normal ave.
Great selection of bandos. Looks like the British got the best of that place! Wow.
I was born 1970 on 3rd street cross from William Penn projects use to see bar fights all the time
It always been bad smh
13.40 it go down in the Bennett 🤦🏾♂️
The oldest city in Pennsylvania. It was once beautiful and well cared for.
alot of good memories when i grew up there , the boyd theater, furillos , hangin out at the boys club in the penn , even heading to the armory for the dances on fridays .. but given the place being used as a chemical dumping ground , corrupt city officals, HUD.project money being funneled to Nacrelli , the iacona family (whom I work for , for a small bit of time) and others.. it got drained of any value as a city.. 70s and 80s were pimp(if you didnt look at the crack being shovelled all over the place) but as in every story .. there had to be an end
Thanks for sharing and thank you for watching! It seems to be the same or similar story in these cities particularly on east coast and in rust belt.
Tht ain’t Philadelphia at all buddy thts Chester Pennsylvania cnt confuse the ppl my guy
Camden New Jersey Entered the Chat
This is where The Cheetah is from. Fredia Gibbs. 💪
she is the sista from another mista .. glad she got out and did alot with her fighting and such ..we did have a few legends come out of chester albeit , some ended with true legacy ; Ethel Waters ,and some ended in tragedy (r.i.p Brandi wells)
Why are the sidewalks so wide?
They probably just feel like it honestly
It’s a lot of space there
The majority of the city used to have rowhomes up to the side walk, thus a wider sidewalk for a further setback from the road. Now since a HUGE percent of these rows have either been burned out or torn down all that's left is the sidewalk.
All the cars are like New though
Chester used to be a beautiful city. What happened?
Documentary is inaccurate and offensive to someone (like myself) who have worked there, lived near there, and built relationships with people from there. 1. Chester is NOT a suburb of Philly. William Penn settled Chester first, and Chester is it's own city. 2. The camera person drove around a 10 block radius of Chester the entire video. They missed nice areas like Seaport Drive, The Warf, the Victorian houses around Widener University, Chester Park, the Kimberly Clark factory, the soccer stadium, the casino, and the new hotels popping up. Nor did anyone record the brand new single homes on Kerlin Street that was built several years ago. No one drove pass Widener Charter School where a mural my son and his classmates made as children is still on the wall.
I used to work in the building, on the left, at 18m:30s... I used to leave my office in pitch darkness and never feared it.
I gave this video a thumbs down 👎🏿; inaccurate and corny!
Must be a national holiday...The Brothers are all "sleeeping in" today!
A city cannot be a suburb to another city. Chester is a city so not a suburb of Philly which is several towns away up the Delaware River. I do have to laugh when I see videos like this. Yes, Chester has a lot of problems because the manufacturing plants that helped build Chester all left. The Philly Navy Yard going was a nail in the coffin and malls opening up killed many towns business districts in the area. But you only show the main roads. I noticed the well kept little pockets are missing, the huge post office building that is still a main sorting hub for the area, the well kept area around city hall and the early American courthouse which is the oldest in the country. Videos like this also never show the 1/4 of Chester that is cut off from the main city by I-95. We have many nice and maintained houses over here, Widener University and Crozer Hospital are also here. On the far end of East 24th Street the first Friends Meeting House still stands. Founded by William Penn, this Quaker Meeting House is still active. We also have buildings on the Crozer Hospital property that were part of the Crozer Theological Seminary which is where Doctor Martin Luther King got his religious training., The church he was Associate Paster for still thrives in Chester.
Chester is NOT a suburb of Philly. You can't even take a direct (1 bus) to get to it. West Chester is closer.to Philly than Chester.
Upland.
Naming Chester a suburb of Philly is like naming Jamaica Queens a suburb of nyc! So please stop!
Use to be a nice Town
When 1970s? Cuz Chester been horrible since i was a jit and I'm 36
@@smoove35251thank you cause i’m 28 and it’s been a death zone since I was born
Probably anytime before crack
greatest country in the world!!!
Laziest citizens too
@jed6403 meanwhile we have a longer work week on average educate yourself before speaking
Why is this allowed to happen in one of the richest countries in the world 🌍
Because these people have no respect for themselves or especially others.
Wow, don't you like diversity?
@@dickinsteinblowitz7102 I’m talking about the drug addicts I don’t care what colour they are !🙄
Because these areas were built in a different era. The people who built these communities that are now deteriorated once worked different jobs along the Delaware River. That is a past time. Philly was deteriorated and bombed out along the river and throughout the city also. Gentrification and renewal projects and investments changed Philadelphia. Camden New Jersey is the same.
@@jed6403wrong
This is what happens when you don’t treat people equally . Low wages , no upward mobility for certain peoples
Not for nothing but Umm, Camden is actually the worst. Just sayin
Thanks for confirmation. I’ve heard many debates on the subject. Thank you for watching
tell that to the people who witnessed the highest murder rate in the country during the 90s
@@overlordshankoftheygftsqua1014 ok. Six in one hand and a half dozen in the other. You can have em both
Wow it was cool to see where my mom worked back in 70 s and 80s Levy's furniture on 3rd st
Why doesn’t the local or county governments just demolish these buildings or how about sending some of the newly arrived immigrants the the “United States of Amerikkka” here. I’d bet that they would repair some of these house’s as it would be better than what they have in their native lands.
Jesus wept😢😢😢
0:51 Those folks are still waiting for BIDEN HARRIS to save the day🤣 When on earth are people going to wake up to the fact that politics are mockery of the sheep?
I bet this place was a booming open air drugs market years ago....girls on every corner ,now look at it.
Better than inner city it's how u live y showing run down side positive side libary public trans career link social security soccer stadium casino Kimberley Clark Delaware river everybody who can buying buildings it was once the place to be and now it's coming up again people from here know
Relax. Build back better Biden has only been working in politics for 40 plus years....4 more years promise... it will be fixed!
Late stage liberal democracy.
the city turned into a ghost town because of drugs and section 8. the incinerator follows state and federal epa reguations.