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!