South Philadelphia began as a satellite town of Philadelphia, with small townships such as Moyamensing and Southwark. During the Industrial Revolution, the area saw rapid growth, in part due to mass immigration from Ireland, and eventually saw its urbanization border that of Philadelphia. This led to its incorporation into Philadelphia in 1854.

The area continued to grow, becoming a vital part of Philadelphia's large industrial base and attracting immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, and many others countries during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These immigrants became the basis of South Philadelphia's unique and vibrant culture that would develop over the next several decades. Recently, South Philadelphia has gone through a period of rapid change. An increase in immigration has given South Philadelphia significant populations from Vietnam, China, Puerto Rico, India, Russia, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, as well as smaller populations from dozens of nations across the world.

The recent revitalization of Center City Philadelphia has lead to gentrification in Fitler Square, Graduate Hospital/Southwest_Center_City , which led to skyrocketing prices of housing in Queen Village, and Bella Vista, and some other parts of South Philadelphia. Also, previously, for various reasons, many second and third generation South Philadelphians began moving en masse to South Jersey when the Walt Whitman Bridge was opened in the mid 20th century.

These events have resulted in perhaps the largest change in South Philadelphia's culture in nearly a hundred years