The neighborhood consists primarily of nineteenth and twentieth-century rowhouses interspersed with corner stores, 22 churches and a few larger architectural landmarks.

On the eastern half of the neighborhood is the Scottish Rite affordable housing complex which consists of two multi-story apartment buildings that cater mostly to elderly and low income individuals.

Moyamensing was originally chartered by the Dutch governor Alexander d'Hinoyossa, and in 1684, William Penn confirmed the title.

It continued to experience significant in-migration from the south prior to, during, and immediately after World War II.

The result was widespread abandonment of properties in SWCC and the decay of the South Street business corridor.

The Grammy Award winning musician and local resident Kenneth Gamble founded Universal Companies in Southwest Center City to revitalize the neighborhood.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is expanding in the western part of the neighborhood and opened its first facility in 2017 along the Schuykill River.

It replaced the Springfield Beer Distributor and the former JFK Vocational Center (earlier the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies), which were demolished.

The hospital has hired a consultant to plan the traffic patterns around the area as they did for Delaware Waterfront and New York's Battery Park.