Old-Ass Building of the Week-- December 9th

The McGlinchey's Building

259-261 South 15th Street

Pic by Brad Maule

                      McGlinchey's is my kind of place. Smoky, staff hates your fucking guts, low low prices, Yeungling Porter on tap. This place's history has been a mystery for a long-ass time, so I finally buckled down and found it all for you. Check it out at the Hidden City Daily!
        

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- November 27th

The Philadelphia School

2501 Lombard

               I have some personal experiences related to this place, the Philadelphia School. No, I was not a student, but I did have to come here every day for about 8 weeks in 2005. Little did I know that this place has an extensive-ass history. Read all about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- November 13th

Flint Building

219 North Broad

               Ever notice this big bitch-bastard on North Broad? I sure as hell started noticing it when that big-ass sign was placed on top. Now you can learn all about it down at the Hidden City Daily! Also, donate to Hidden City!

Empty Lot of the Week-- November 5th

Buschong Automobile Row Lots

211-213 and 217-219 North Broad

            What a pisser. This perfectly usable space on the 200 block of North Broad Street between Race and Vine has been soiling up this block for the last 86 fucking years. The location has a history of being part of the early 20th Century Auto Showroom megacenter called Automobile Row. Despite seeing many occupants over a century of constant development, this piece of shit is now and has been a crappy surface parking lot. Two of them right next to each other, in fact. The story of this lot is told by how it splits into two properties: 211-213 North Broad and 215-217 North Broad.
            Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- October 22

O Havana Philadelphia Hotel

Somewhere by the riverfront in Fishtown

                   This is the most fun kind of Dead-Ass Proposal. Shit that's so silly and outlandish that the motherfucker is dead on arrival. Like the Philadelphia Wax Museum, this piece of shit proposal has little evidence of being serious and/or real.  There isn't even an exact location for where it was planned.
                  Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!
                

Empty Lot of the Week-- October 15th

Big-ass Billboard Lot

2046 Chestnut Street

             Goddammit, I hate this shitbird lot. Its only one address wide but pisses me off way more than the much larger one a couple of doors to the east. This craptonious strip of asphalt with its ostentatious-ass 800 square-foot advertising wall has been stuck in this configuration for at least 79 fucking years. Yeah, you read that right. SEVENTY-NINE FUCKING YEARS. How the hell has this been allowed to happen?
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- October 14th

Maule Building/Jewish Community Building

2101 Arch Street

Photo by Brad Maule

             Ever wonder about this building with its whacky glass curtain addition? I have the story of it for ya right here at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- October 8th

University City Science Center 2004 Master Plan

3400 to 3800 blocks of Market Street

                      The University City Science Center loves to generate Dead-Ass Proposals like its their hobby, but this one is definitely their most large-scale attempt. Had this happened, the construction would be done by now and the 3400-3800 blocks of Market would make the average passerby shit their pants with astonishment. The University City Science Center began developing on this part of Market Street in 1965 (they were in the Widener Building before that) and has had about 5 gorillion different master plans and building proposals since. Even though lots of new construction and development is taking place there now, it pales in comparison to this master plan.
                  Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- October 1st

James Forten School NIMBY Lot

414-416 South 6th Street

                         James Forten gets no goddamn respect. He was an African American figure about 1000 times more important than the same old handful of black leaders trotted out every February. This badass was a Revolutionary War hero, one of the earliest abolitionists, started one of the earliest (if not the first) racially diverse workplaces in America, and is arguably directly responsible for the entire black population of Philadelphia (and Pennsylvania). Did I mention that he lived seven months of his life in a dungeon in the lower decks of a British ship? Or that he once walked from Brooklyn to Philadelphia? Or that he was one of the richest self-made men in America? So what does James Forten get for all his great works, his suffering, his contribution to American life? AN EMPTY FUCKING LOT!!!!
                    Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- September 30th

Bird Building

1034 Spring St

Photo by Brad Maule

                         After about 15 false starts, I finally had to finish writing about the Bird Building, which has been bugging me with its difficult-to-find history since Philaphilia first started. Read all about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- September 24th

Philadelphia Wax Museum

1499 South Columbus Boulevard

Reversed South Street Bridge skyline view in the background, but the most current rendering, as far as I know.

               Alright, so this proposal isn't technically dead, but it might well be Dead on Arrival. This concept for a Philadelphia Wax Museum has been floating around for at least 5 years and might have even existed since 1997. Its hard to tell if the proposal is serious or even REAL. Though the idea of a wax museum honoring great Philadelphians is not too bad, the implied execution of it seems near impossible.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- September 17th

George Gordon's Lot

300 Arch Street

Pathetic!

              Ok, so Old City has a whole shitload of surface parking lots and even a few completely unused slumlord-owed patches of vacant land. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure that this little lot irks me the most. That's right. This corner of landscaping at the southwest corner of 3rd and Arch with that ugly green metal box on it is indeed an empty lot and has been such for 50 goddamn years.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- September 16th

Parke Building/ Markley Building/ Bank and Trust Company of West Philadelphia

17 South 52nd Street

Pic by Brad Maule

                  This is yet another building that I've wondered about forever. Many attempts I've made to research this building over the past 2.5 years failed, but I was finally able to get the skinny on this big bitch-bastard on 52nd Street once and for all. Check it out at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- September 10th

Penn's Landing Tower

735 South Columbus Boulevard

            It seems that all Ensemble Real Estate can do for Philadelphia is an ensemble of Dead-Ass Proposals. Though they did finally get something done recently (Courtyard by Marriott in the Navy Yard), these motherfuckers seem to be full of broken promises. This, the Penn's Landing Tower, is just one of many.
            Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- September 3rd

 Poplar Stores Tabas Family Foundation Lot

Bounded by Delawares Avenue, Poplar and North Penn Streets

                    Upon first inspection of this lot, it seems pretty innocent. A large triangle of land created by the fork between Delaware Avenue and North Penn Street with the first segment of Poplar Street running along the back. It looks like the front lawn of the Yards Brewery, a clean, green, public space sporting some barely legal billboards. Nonetheless, you should know that this is a perfectly-buildable, privately-owned patch of empty lot.
                 Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- August 28th

Center City West a.k.a Universe Square


30th and Market



Design by Harari Yahya and Wan Zawber. Photo: University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign

                        This right here stretches the definition of "Dead-Ass Proposal", being that this was never seriously proposed for construction. This is a series of designs made by architecture grad students in 1992 showing possible ideas for the extension of Center City across the Schuylkill. While a completely pie-in-the-sky idea back then, the leaping of highrise architecture into the West has become a reality in the here and now.
                       Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- August 20th

Schuylkill River NIMBY Lot

210 South 25th Street

                     This poor empty lot. Its never even had a real building on it. A sad, flat, decrepit piece of shit decade after decade. Now that this little triangle of land finally has the chance to be filled, a whole slew of NIMBYs have swooped down to try and stop it for mind-numbingly silly reasons.
                     Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- August 19th

Wharton Hall

2601 Wharton Street or 1268 South 26th Street

Pic by Brad Maule

                   Check it out-- this building in the Gray's Ferry neighborhood was pretty much forgotten... Until now!! Read all about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- August 13th

New Philadelphia Housing Authority Headquarters

2012 Chestnut Street

                Though a bunch of folks hated it, I always thought this proposal for a new PHA headquarters wasn't such a bad idea. It removes a blighted building, fills the empty lot next door, and brightens up a pretty bleak Center City block. Nonetheless, the powers of hardcore preservationists and good ol' classic Philadelphia government agency sketchiness brought it down.
                 Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- August 6th

Reading-Inquirer Lot

East Side of 16th Street between Callowhill and Hamilton Streets

As seen from 16th and Callowhill

                     This is one sad empty lot. It has changed over and over again through the decades, but has remained a depressed piece of shit every time. This surface parking lot has gone through so many reincarnations and transformations that they become hard to keep track of. Yet for the last 150 years or so, this lot hasn't had one bit of luck.
                   Read more about it at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- August 5th

Brown & Bailey Box Factory

410 North Franklin Street

Photo by Brad Maule

                  I've always wondered about this old-timey facade that doesn't face a street, but a parking lot. Found out more at the Hidden City Daily!

Empty Lot of the Week-- July 23rd

Chestnut Street Bridge Lot

2320-2330 Chestnut Street

              Sometimes, when an empty surface parking lot gets decorated too heavily, we all forget that there's supposed to be a fucking building in its place. This is one such lot, disguised by art, shameful in origin, and with little or no chance of being filled in the next 1,000 lifetimes. It doesn't seem like a big deal-- a little sunken lot with a beautiful mural on it. Nonetheless, that's no excuse to keep a lot empty for over 50 fucking years.
             Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- July 22nd

Garrick House aka Paschall Residence aka Old Yellow Mansion aka General Howe's Headquarters

6840 Paschall Avenue

Pic by Brad Maule

                     Old-Ass Building? Ancient-Ass building! This house is 290 years old, easily the oldest building I've ever written about. A Revolutionary War- AND Civil War-related site, this motherfucker is now occupied by some crappy church. Check it out at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- July 16th

The Horizon and The Tides

901 North Penn Street

Old 2003 rendering.

                Waterfront Square, the luxury condo gated community on North Penn Street on the Delaware Riverfront, was proposed in 2003 by its original developer, a partnership of Isle of Capri Associates and a Tel Aviv-based developer, as a 5-tower, 968 unit juggernaut on nearly 10 acres. However, only three of the towers got built. The last two, called the Horizon and the Tides, have fallen into the Dead Proposal black hole... or have they?
                 Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- July 9th

Social Service UArts Cemetery Lot

310-316 South 13th Street

                 This is the emptiest lot I can think of. It doesn't look too serious: a 60-foot wide parking lot behind a University of the Arts dorm. Nonetheless, the emptiness of this lot becomes clear when you realize that this piece of land has NEVER had a building on it. Ever! This 60 foot gap on 13th Street has been there forever. Only a few feet under that asphalt is some original virgin Philadelphia soil. Now that's an empty lot.
                Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- July 2nd

1200 Bank

1200 Chestnut Street

                   It only takes one NIMBY to fuck up a multi million dollar, fully-approved project that would have saved an historic building and created tons and tons of tax revenue. 1200 Bank would have been a kick-ass establishment to have at a corner that sorely needs it, a proud symbol of Philadelphia's continuing renaissance. Nonetheless, the grand Philadelphia tradition of NIMBYism helped take it down.
                Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Four of the Crappiest Parts of Center City

                     

                   Nowadays, development in Philadelphia seems to be focused heavily on neighborhoods and districts surrounding Center City. Its almost like there's an attitude that Center City is finished, nothing left to do. Well, as we all know, that is not the case. Here's four areas of Center City that are in desperate need of the right developer's touch. For the purposes of this list, I'm using the most strict definition of Center City: Vine to Pine, River to River.
                    Check it out at Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- June 25th

Eakins Oval Surface Parking Disaster Area

The Southeastern End of Eakins Oval

                How the fuck does a ROAD become an empty lot? Who thought this would ever be a good idea? This shitbag parking lot has infested Eakins Oval for almost 50 years and is finally in the process of being wiped the fuck out. To be fair, its not like this lot goes totally unused. Though it just parks cars for 99% of the time, its also the jumping off point for charity walks/marathons and serves as the meeting area for tours and shit. Also, the big events on the Parkway often put this ~460 foot long piece of asphalt to good use.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- June 24th

William Welsh House

1122-24 Spruce Street

                 On the 1100 block of Spruce Street, a wide, stone-faced building stands out from its red brick neighbors. Like the old Lincoln Institute around the corner, this 156-year-old masterpiece constitutes yet another piece of relatively forgotten Native American history in Washington Square West.
                  Read more at the Hidden City Daily!

Lost Building of the Week-- June 18th

Vulcanite Building

1710 Market Street

The building as it appeared in 1899. Source: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project

                 Check out this beauty from a time when even a small-time office building was something to design the crap out of. The Vulcanite Building, besides having one of the coolest building names ever, was a masterpiece of commercial design that only stood for 34 years and came to an unceremonious end to make room for a project that never happened.
                Read more at Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- June 18th

Walnut Street Theatre Tower, World's Tallest Old Folk's Home

825 Walnut Street

                 This is the kind of Dead-Ass Proposal that really pisses me the fuck off. A highrise in a location that sorely needs it, a project that would have had huge success for multiple reasons, a replacement for a decades-old surface parking lot. This would have been a major landmark for the city and world record-breaker. What a disappointment.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empy Lot of the Week-- June 11th

Pat's and Geno's Shame Lot

Corner of 9th/Wharton/Passyunk

Pitiful. Look how many out-of-towners see this lot at any given moment!

               What in the fuck? This area is a major Tourista Zone! Why has this lot been empty for over 20 years? Why was it ever allowed to get empty in the first place? What an embarassment. Hopefully, this shitty motherfucker can get filled in soon. Don't get your hopes up-- there's a mural.
               Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- June 10th

Banater Maenerchor Hall

2007 North 2nd Street

Pic by Brad Maule

                  Legendary Philaphile Brad Maule challenged me to find out as much shit as I could about this cool-looking bitch-bastard of a building. Check out the results at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- June 4th

Joint Library and Conservatory

Southeast Corner of 6th and Walnut



Holy Crap! Image from the Athenaeum of Philadelphia

           This would still be a landmark today if it was ever built. A massive Egyptian Revival library that would have become a National Treasure. Though it never saw a lick of construction, remnants of its near-existence can still be found today, 180 years later.
           Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Lost Building of the Week -- June 4th

People's Trust Company

1133 Arch Street



This old postcard shows a rendering of the building from before it was built.

           Now here's a building from when they knew how to build buildings. The People's Trust Company Building ruled the corner of 12th and Arch for eight decades. Its unusual design and construction made it a marvel in its own time... but that crap didn't matter when the Pennsylvania Convention Center came along to knock it out of existence.
          Read more at Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- May 28th

Washington Masonic Three Banks Lot

709-713 Chestnut Street

               This lot is the kind that lasts forever. Its not like there's a lack of parking around here-- there are parking garages and larger surface lots all over the place. Its that fucking mural. That's what will keep this shitty lot alive forever. Though the murals we find all over the city are meant more as placeholders than actual development, there have been plenty of incidents whereby development covering a mural has caused a NIMBY explosion.
              Read more at the Philadelphia Citypaper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- May 28th

Henry C. Lowden Residence

4424 Market Street

              Here's another one I've been researching on and off for quite a while... read all about it at the Hidden City Daily!!
  
     

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- May 21st

Tun Tavern Reconstruction

109 Spruce Street

        

Old conjectural drawing of Tun Tavern superimposed (badly) onto the site of the proposed project.

               In last week's Empty Lot of the Week, I examined a dirty pile of empty land at the corner of Spruce Street and 38th Parallel Place, between Front and Second. At the end, I appealed to the sky for an answer as to why the city has been sitting on this space for the last 40 years without nary a sign of life, besides a brand new sidewalk that was just installed--the first one this lot has ever had! In the comments section of that piece, Philaphile Bob Bruhin brought up the fact that a re-build of the legendary Tun Tavern was once set to happen here but never happened. A Dead-Ass Proposal!
               Read all about it at the Philadelphia Citypaper's Naked City Blog!

LOST BUILDINGS ARE BACK!!!

           After an 8 month hiatus, Lost Building of the Week is back!!! They will be hosted by the Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog!

Northern National Bank

2300 Germantown Avenue

Holy crap!!! Image from the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.

            The worst kind of lost building is one that survives and keeps on truckin', only to get unceremoniously demolished in the end. This, the Northern National Bank, is the quintessential exemplar of this phenomenon. A building that kicked ass all over the place until getting ripped the f down like a rotten old wooden shed.
            Read more at the Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- May 14th

Hidden Grasshit Lot

Northeast Corner of Spruce Street and 38th Parallel Place

            This pile of dirt and grass is NOT part of the Korean War Memorial Park to the north and east. This is a straight-up empty lot that's managed to stay hidden due to all the open space around it, disguised as part of the surrounding park and plaza. Empty for over 50 years, this shitty patch of fuck has witnessed the entire history of our great city.
           Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- May 13th

Kaplan Career Institute Philadelphia Campus

3000 Market

                  Here's a building that's manage to stick it out while all its brothers have fallen away. This relic of the industrial past of University City has stayed in continuous use since 1907. Read more about it at the Hidden City Daily!

 

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- May 7th

African-American Hall of Fame and Sculpture Garden

George's Hill, Fairmount Park

No rendering exists, but here's the bust of W. Wilson Goode that was to be included in the project. Source: Zenos Frudakis

                In the melange of Philadelphia's numerous Dead-Ass Proposals, you'll find cool things that would have been awesome if they happened, shitty things that were better off dead, and boring things that wouldn't have mattered anyway. Then you have one like this--- shit so outlandish that you can't believe how close it came to actually getting executed.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- April 30th

Metropolitan Hospital Lot

Bounded by the 8th, Vine, Franklin Streets and the Metroclub Condo



From the Franklin Street/Franklin Square side.

             This right here sure turned out crappy. This shitbag surface lot is just one of many in the area surrounding Franklin Square. With endless auto traffic lining its perimeter, this 40-year-old lot will probably never go away. Nonetheless, there is a small glimmer of hope that it might some time soon.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- April 29th

The Yamaha City Building

81 Fairmount Avenue

                   I've always wondered about this set of houses that have been combined into one big-ass building. After months of finding bits of info about it here and there, I've finally assembled (most of) its full history. Read about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- April 23

101 Sky

101 Spring Garden Street

               Is this fucker even dead? This staid-looking asstower has been promised for the last eight years and still hasn't seen a stick of construction. Read more at the Philadelphia Citypaper's Naked City Blog!

           

              

Empty Lot of the Week-- April 16th

Spring Garden Violation Shit Lot

1200-1212 Spring Garden Street

           


Blarf!!! Billboard-palooza!

                This corner looks like shit. This isn't even the only empty lot at this location! How the fuck did it get to this point? With all the improvements happening nearly every few blocks in Philadelphia, how did this lot get so neglected? Fuck this lot and everything it stands for. An abandoned property whose tax delinquent owner is making a shitload of money on its FOUR billboards. That's right, FOUR. Oh, and fuck Clear Channel for leasing the billboard space from this slumlord. This all gets exacerbated by the fact that this neighborhood was once one of the best in the city!
                 Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!


             

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- April 15th

Northern Liberties National Bank

300 North Third Street

                      This old bank is a relic of ancient Northern Liberties. Check out my write-up about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week-- April 9th

Centennial Tower

Fairmount Park

               Now this is crazy as shit. This was Philly's attempt at an Eiffel Tower-style structure well before Eiffel was ever a thought. Had it been executed, this gigantic tower would still be the tallest building in the city.
                Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

Empty Lot of the Week-- April 2nd

Drexel Greenville Pre-NIMBY Lot

3428-3442 Lancaster Avenue

               Lancaster Avenue gets no damn respect. This road was once a major thoroughfare-- one of the most important single streets in early America. This surface lot that sits on its 3400 block sucks ass. Though the lot's days SHOULD be numbered, a small group of angry NIMBYs is determined to keep it a surface lot for the rest of time.
              Read more at the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog!

                 
             

Old-Ass Building of the Week-- April 1st

Northeastern Title and Trust Company/Flomar Building

3160 Kensington Avenue

Photo by Brad Maule for Hidden City

                This big-ass building down at K & A is like the Kensington Empire State Building. Read all about it at the Hidden City Daily!