What they are saying about the book: "Fascinating - full of wonderful detail and color." --Stephen Frank, Collections Curator, National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, April 28, 1999, Leonard W. Boasberg, a staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, in his review of THE JEWISH QUARTER OF PHILADELPHIA, A HISTORY AND GUIDE, 1881-1930, stated: "Boonin, a Philadelphia native whose parents came from Russia, has tramped over nearly every inch of the area [The Jewish quarter]. He has poured over reams of documents in archives, interviewed descendants of the immigrants, and obtained many never-before-published photographs. And in The Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia, A History and Guide, 1881-1930 (Jewish Walking Tours of Philadelphia, Inc., $29.95), published this year, he tells the story of the people who came here to live in freedom."

"A good deal of Boonin's research was done in back issues of the Jewish Exponent. The paper is cited innumerable times in the footnotes at the back of the book, all of which are as entertaining to read as Boonin's text." --Robert Leiter, Jewish Exponent, May 20, 1999.

"I've only had a chance to read the first sections, but I found the book most informative as well as entertaining. Your lively writing style and careful research has produced a very fine volume." --Dr. Jeanne Abrams, Director, Center for Judaic Studies, Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society, Denver, Colorado, April 16, 1999.

The never-before told story of the east European Jews who settled around South Street and in the area of Society Hill and Queen Village, an area known to the Jews as "the Jewish Quarter." In a few square blocks of colonial Philadelphia, the immigrants made a new home in their "adopted" country. Their arrival, viewed by the residents of the area in the 1880s and the 1890s as an "invasion," completely changed this charming remnant of Philadelphia’s past to a Jewish shtetl. Yiddish theatres (where Jacob P. Adler and Boris Thomashesky thrilled the immigrants), Talmud Torahs, mikvahs, catering halls, etc. quickly replaced oyster houses and beer saloons.

The book is both a history of the confined area and a street-by-street guide. The Jewish quarter covered from Spruce Street in the north to Christian Street in the south (called “Christie” Street by Boris Thomashevsky), and from 2nd Street on the east to 6th Street on the west. The book, which is 208 pages and in large format (8” X 11”), contains approximately 100 photographs, many never published before, and listings of all the halls in the area, the Yiddish theatres, the synagogues, rabbis, and much, much more. It also contains six pages from atlases of Philadelphia showing most of the properties in the area.