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Est. 1878

For over 140 years, Philly House has been a physical and spiritual sanctuary, empowering the homeless, hungry and hurting of Philadelphia. Today, we remain the second oldest homeless shelter in the country.

historic photograph of sunday breakfast association homeless shelter

A living legacy of John Wanamaker, we’ve served the homeless, hungry and hurting since 1878 to work to activate others’ God-given potential.

What started as an outreach to serve breakfast to homeless men on Sunday mornings, has grown to become Philadelphia’s only provider of three meals a day, 365 days a year, serving more than 10,000 meals each month to anyone who walks in our doors.

Today, we are the city’s largest and longest-running shelter, providing a safe, clean refuge off the streets along with deep, intentional engagement to see a long-term impact.

Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission is now Philly House! This is an exciting time for us as we now have new name and logo that better reflects the broad spectrum of all the various ways we collectively serve the homeless, hungry and hurting in Philadelphia.

Through the Years

Well-known businessmen John Wanamaker (Wanamaker’s Department Store); John B. Stetson (Stetson Hat Co.); W. Atlee Burpee (Burpee Seed Co.); and former Gov. James Pollock established The Sunday Breakfast Association of Philadelphia. More than 250 men attended the first meeting at 11th and Wood streets, where they were served a hot cup of coffee and a roll before church.

The Sunday Breakfast Association of Philadelphia hosted The New Year’s Dinner with 1,200 guests.

To accommodate the victims of The Great Depression, the board purchased a building at 1120 Vine Street to house more people in need.

Sunday Breakfast moved to 6th and Vine streets. This building contained 800 beds, and became the largest rescue mission on the East Coast. Other features included a chapel, work force development education, and a playground for neighborhood children.

The building at 6th and Vine streets closed to make way for city improvements and the construction of the Vine Street Expressway. At that time, the Mission moved to its current location at 302 N. 13th Street.

The Sunday Breakfast Association of Philadelphia became Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission and continued to serve people exercising homelessness through meals, shelter, and long-term care.

In response to COVID-19, the Mission faithfully served Philadelphia's most vulnerable. Opening the first COVID-19 quarantine space for homeless men in April 2020, the Mission was a leader in homeless services during the pandemic. The Mission served more than 3,000 people and helped provide lifesaving care to more than 100 COVID-positive individuals who had nowhere else to turn as they became ill.

Having expanded well beyond the initial purpose in 1878 to serving breakfast to men on Sunday mornings, the organization changed its name to Philly House. This better reflects the broad spectrum of all the various ways Philly House serves the homeless, hungry and hurting in the city.