Over the years, the rectangular section of Center City between 11th & Broad Streets, and Market & Spruce Streets has been divvied up and called different things by developers and realtors. But the current appellation - Midtown Village - serves it well: It resides in the dead-center middle of Center City, between the history-heavy mainstays of Old City and Independence National Historical Park, and the upscale cosmopolitan majesty of Rittenhouse Square.
As part of the larger umbrella known as Washington Square West, Midtown Village also contains the LGBTQ-centric Gayborhood, with its restaurants, galleries and hot spots; the popular dining destinations of the famed 13th Street corridor; and some of the biggest and best hotels and theaters in the city. The term “Gayborhood” was first used to describe OutFest by the City Paper, when David Warner described it as a “beautiful day in the gayborhood.” Philly Pride immediately began to use to the term the following year to describe the area of our gay pride parade formation. It has now become a universally recognized term.
