You’d be forgiven if you forgot about the big plans for the former pallet palace at 1700 Germantown Ave., on the triangular parcel bounded by 5th St. to the west, Germantown Ave. to the northeast, and Cecil B. Moore Ave. to the south. A multi-building project was pitched for the site years ago, adding apartments and – surprisingly – office and lab space. However, there had been little happening on site since then, save for the dog park/graffiti spot that went in back in the Summer 2018. Let’s take to the skies to remind ourselves of what we’re working with for this art-lined property. The ..read more

Germantown has unfortunately seen huge amounts of disinvestment over the past several decades, as our recent stops in the area have showcased. Perhaps the most controversial of all is the former Germantown High School at 5901 Germantown Ave., which was sadly shuttered over a decade ago, eventually selling for only a portion of the assessed value. As such, there was little known about what was happening here even last year, when there were plans in the works for a residential conversion. When we stopped by a couple of months back (see below), it was still unclear what exactly was happening at ..read more

When you think of 5th & Girard, on the border of the Northern Liberties, Poplar, and South Kensington neighborhoods, you may not realize that this intersection is home to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann. This grand church is the resting place for this ordained saint, with the spire and church bells at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church standing out amongst the rest of the corridor. And while this building is indeed lovely, we’re here today to visit 1026-28 N. 5th St., the brick building that sits just across the street to the west. The steeple of the National Shrine of St. J ..read more

Philadelphia has been homes to many famous bells over the years, from Raja Bell‘s hard-nosed D to David Bell hitting for the cycle, or perhaps Eagles’ founder Bert Bell or singer Patti LaBelle are more your thing. Or, perhaps, you are thinking of the most iconic bell of all, the omnipresent Liberty Bell. But did you know about the even larger Bicentennial Bell that was gifted by the Brits back in 1976? It long stood in the Old City neighborhood in an odd tower before going into storage about a decade ago as the building was demolished to make way for the Museum of the American Revolution ..read more

The drama and tension around real estate development are part of what makes it so darn captivating – at least if you’re a real estate blogger. But seriously, who doesn’t like a good mystery? Take, for example, the case of 932 Arch St., which is mysterious even for the way that “932 30th St Staion” comes up when you type the address into Google Maps. This SE corner of 10th & Arch has been up to something going all the way back to 2012, with check-in from 2014 discussing the already years-long delays. But fast forward another ten years after yet another visit in 2020, and things are just a ..read more

The SE corner of 16th & Washington is one that can get lost in the shuffle amongst all the nearby development. Currently on this property are a pair of one-story, brick buildings without much charm, save for the slight step-ups above the garage doors. But according to some preliminary plans, we may see something that seems better fit for the Washington Avenue of 2024. This would be quite a change from both the distant and recent past, where a much more modest pair of structures have graced this site for more than 100 years. Current view of the matching buildings on the southeast corner ..read more

Every time a surface parking lot in Greater Center City meets its demise, we muster up our best urbanist celebration as we toast to a higher-and-better use than surface parking. Two such lots in the Logan Square neighborhood – one at 23rd & Summer and another at 23rd & Cherry – have us dancing in the street, though not literally, as we are pretty close to one of the more harrowing exits from 676. Let’s take to the air to revisit the two surface lots that look much, much different today than they once did. Let’s start with the northern of the two projects, the now completed Edgewa ..read more

It wasn’t that long ago when the western part of Market Street in Center City was, shall we say, in need of some love. Formerly home to adult movie theaters, parking lots, and a handful of underutilized buildings, the area around the massive PECO parking lot wasn’t exactly a destination. But, as we anticipated earlier this year after demolition started last year, this area is now looking completely different, with 2300 Market St. filling the gap between its shiny new neighbors. Looking SW towards the 2300 block of Market St. in 2011 A rendered view of the same spot, surely a pipedream ..read more

While Philly is known for its quaint, historically paved streets in areas like Germantown and Society Hill, Trenton Ave. in East Kensington is one of the widest examples of a granite block street we can think of. Formerly home to a rail line that took the goods produced in this Workshop of the World up to (you guessed it) Trenton, this street is paved to this day with granite blocks as it cuts across the upper reaches of the neighborhood, though most signs of the tracks are now gone. It was just over two years back that we told you about one of those former industrial buildings at 2626 Trent ..read more

Few things are more relaxing than spending some time walking through the leafy canopies of springtime in the Spring Garden neighborhood. The blocks north of Spring Garden St. in this area are jam-packed with stately rowhouses and mature trees, offering a calm, lovely little nook not far from the energy of Center City. At 1921 Green St., however, the scene wasn’t always so picturesque. This corner was home to a one-story laundromat in the past, but, as we told you back in 2021, there were plans to knock down this building and turn it into ten condos. Our last visit saw the site recently clear ..read more