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!