The Lehigh Park Center is situated in a neighborhood identified in recent times as West Kensington. In the mid-19th century, the neighborhood was dominated by textile mills—especially carpet mills—and related trades, such as dye works and yarn factories. Later, hosiery and knitting mills were established. Workers lived in rowhouses, within walking distance of their jobs. In 1928, 350 of the city's 850 textile firms were still located in the general "Kensington" area. But the number of firms dwindled during the Great Depression. Except for an uptick in business during World War II (mosquito netting and tarpaulins, among other products), the decline in manufacturing continued on a drastic, downward spiral.

In the 1880s, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children was built at 5th Street and Lehigh Avenue, a location bordering the wide, chaotic industrial corridor of American Street (where steam trains and horse-drawn wagons mingled). A century later, the community had lost virtually all of its original industry and with that, its traditional sources of livelihood. Many residents were dismayed by what seemed like the final blow: St. Christopher's Hospital planned to move to a new, undetermined site, where a major expansion program could be undertaken. Community members worried that this much-needed, neighborhood-oriented institution would abandon them altogether, and what's more, the soon-to-be-vacated complex would fall into ruin.

To address this concern, representatives of the hospital began meeting with a coalition of neighborhood organizations. St. Christopher's decided to build its new facility at Front Street and Erie Avenue, an accessible location to the people of the old neighborhood. The hospital began moving to this location in 1989. However, the future of the old hospital complex—a collection of buildings of various sizes and ages—was a more difficult issue to resolve.

19th-century view of St. Christopher's Hospital.

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