Fill This Front: Robinson's Luggage

211 South Broad Street  

What a great spot.

         I tried to stay away from this one for as long as I could, hoping this spot would get filled... but its been nearly 11 months and this thing is still empty as fuck. What's worse is that this storefront has had only two tenants in its entire existence in its current configuration. Its location, its size, its length of window coverage, it all kicks ass. Let's get this thing filled.
             Though this building has been at the southeast corner of Broad and Walnut for over 100 years, this storefront was created when the Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company took over the building in the 1950s and mangled the shit out of it under the designs of Thalheimer & Weitz, known destroyers of Gilded Age awesomeness (ask Chestnut East). The first tenant was a Horn & Hardart location that lasted all the way until the company left Philly in 1982.

The Horn & Hardart right before it opened. PhillyHistory.org

                  In 1984, Robinson's Luggage came along and somehow stayed open at that corner for 29 years until finally folding this last December. It even survived after UArts restored some of the old facade.  Ever since, this prime-ass storefront has stayed empty, doing a whole lot of nothing. There's some sort of pop-up art exhibit type thing going on there now, but that's not gonna last.

The storefront in 2009 via the Google Streetview Time Machine

                  This is the 5,378 square foot space at the southeast corner of Broad and Walnut Streets. It has 148 total feet of window frontage that wraps around the corner. Both Broad and Walnut Streets are served by countless buses and the corner has its own stop on the Broad Street Line. The space isn't too far from the El and trolley lines either. This space was able to have two consecutive tenants that lasted well over two decades each. The place is being managed by Metro Commercial and is listed at a price of "Negotiable". Here's the listing. Get on this shit and FILL THIS FRONT!!

The blueprint. Metro Commercial

Butt-Fugly Building: Casa Farnese

1300  Lombard Street

"Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!"crete.

                 Where were the NIMBYs when this ugly piece of shit was built? Casa Farnese is a mid-60s assdisaster that has been effing up the 1300 block of Lombard for nearly 50 years. Out of place, too tall for the neighborhood, built with tax dollars, and an insult to its own intended residents. Like Guild House, this is yet another old folk's home that looks like shit designed by an ass-kissed architecture firm.
                This building exists because of a great Philadelphian, Andrew Farnese. This dude was a lawyer, a banker, a civic activist, president of the School Board, and pretty much everything else. I think he may have in fact invented sliced bread. Columbus Day is a holiday because of this dude.
               In 1959, Congress made available a HUD grant that helps non-profits build housing for the elderly. Farnese was among the first to apply for this grant. By the next year, a crappy vacant lot at the southwestern corner of 1300 Lombard, at the time one of the city's worst neighborhoods, was purchased and a large new senior housing building to be called Casa Enrico Fermi was proposed. They got a design by one of the hottest architects of the time, the firm of Stonorov & Haws, who were also busy with the design of Hopkinson House at the time.
             Unfortunately for them (and us), the design looks like the architect treated it like an art student treats a project in Art School. It was like he fell asleep while working on it the night before it was due so he put together a quick piece of shit and planned to upsell-it during the critique ("I MEANT to make it look like shit"). The building is a big white tombstone that sticks out like when someone has one big outsized tooth that sticks out from the rest. The place was built like a prison, probably because this was a dangerous neighborhood at the time. The Lombard and Juniper Street sides of the thing is surrounded by a huge impenetrable wall that makes the building seem 100 feet away from the sidewalk that runs right next to it. On the 13th Street side, there's a surface parking lot separated from the street by a prison fence without the barbed wire.

The meaning of "pedestrian friendly" in the 60s.

               The designers included a curvy entrance piece to lighten it all up a bit, but that just made it look more dated over the years. Also, the entrance to the underground parking garage is stuffed back on Juniper Street. Its nice that its hidden, but I feel bad for the Juniper Street residents that live next to and across from that entrance. If you want to see something funny, check out this driveway on garbage day when the truck struggles to get in and out of that ramp without smashing into the surrounding houses.
           At about this same time Casa Fermi was designed, Stonorov had a vision for these then-crappy parts of Center City whereby tall modernist buildings would be interspersed within the fabric of the old neighborhoods with the idea that somehow having big boxy white buildings around would clean up the blighted old places around it.

Stonorov himself presenting this idea. Check out the highway planned for South Street.

              From a development standpoint, the construction took awhile to get going, partially because Zoning's ass fell out from under it when they saw the plans for a 288-unit, 22-story building being proposed in this location. After going back and forth with the ZBA for years, construction finally started at the end of 1964 and went all the way through to 1966. After it was done, they fought with Zoning some more over the surface parking lot behind it.
             Andrew Farnese stayed on the board of the place and kept a law office there until his death in 2003. The place was renamed Casa Farnese in 2004. This ugly building has been housing seniors for almost half a century now. Though I hear that the place itself isn't too bad, the design has been outpaced by the rest of the neighborhood. A giant wall around the whole thing is definitely no longer necessary.
              Of course, I'm not the only one who thinks this. The Casa Farnese Preservation Program is an effort to renovate and modernize the building. The most drastic of the changes will be a new entry vestibule and lobby area built on top of the silly curvy thing that's over the entrance. Construction has already begun on this based on designs by Compass Architectural Designs of Voorhees, NJ.

              That's nice and all, but they have to do something about the street level presence this thing has on Juniper Street. I understand that the long concrete wall is probably just the top of the underground parking garage, so maybe it can't be totally removed-- but it can be improved. This building has some importance for being one of the earliest HUD senior homes, but its ugliness tarnishes all that. Casa Farnese Preservation Program, you have your work cut out for you.

"Wow, Gerdy! They're trying to make this building look less like shit!"

99 Years Ago in Philadephia: Start of October, 1915

Wistar Institute Scientist: Incest is Awesome!!

          At the start of October, 1915, the Wistar Institute created an uproar when one of its scientists, Dr. Helen D. King, determined that incest produced healthier offspring. How did she come to this conclusion? She experimented with rats. She interbred 21 generations of white rats and found that 30 percent of the 21st generation were bigger, stronger, and healthier than the originals.
        This finding freaked people the fuck out, which led them to run to their clergymen and ask if there was danger that the laws regarding familial intermarriage would change. The clergymen from every religion and denomination in the area then collectively went nuts, discussing it with each other and then with the public. Though none of them thought that this finding would lead to a change in the law, some feared that an evil force my one day attempt to breed a race of supermen through generations of incest.
         Other clergymen calmed the panickers down, stating how the fucked-upedness of the royal families of Europe prove that incest is definitely not best-- no doubt Carlos El Segundo got a mention.
        Dr. King got lots and lots of backlash and hatemail over this subject for the next several years. It got even worse in 1922 when she got even more generations of inbred rats going, creating a race of mega-rats. She eventually dialed back her opinions on inbreeding and focused on domesticating the Norway rat, for which she got much acclaim. One reporter wrote about her, amazed that "one of the greatest authorities on rats in the country is a very human and thoroughly feminine woman".

"I love you, Super-Rat!" -Helen D. King

Phillies In the World Series!

         AAAAAaaaaaaw shiiiiiiiit!!!!!!!!! For the first time, the Phils are going to the World Series! The first two games were scheduled for National League Park a.k.a. the Baker Bowl and Broad and Huntingdon, where the Phils would have homefield advantage against the Boston Red Sox. The Baker Bowl only had 19,000 seats at the time so William Baker refused Boston's request for extra tickets for visiting fans. When Baker met the owner of the Red Sox, Joseph J. Lannin, at the official ceremonies announcing the dates, rules, and locations of the World Series, he offered him a compromise but was flatly refused.
       After arguing and cursing each other out for several minutes, the National Commission finally ordered that Baker give in to Lannin's request for more tickets. Baker ended up having 3,000 extra seats built into the Baker Bowl to help accommodate everyone.
    

President Woodrow Wilson threw the ceremonial first pitch.

             This World Series was a big fucking deal and brought tons and tons of people to the city even though only a limited number of tickets were available. A whole mess of scalpers ended up getting arrested and Suffragettes proselytized to the huge crowds of people that milled around the Baker Bowl during each game.
           The Phillies won the first game in the series but got their asses handed to them in the next three. It should be noted that this was the second year in a row that Boston beat a Philly team, being that the Philadelphia A's (colloquially known as the "Macks" back then) lost to the same team in the Series of 1914. This 1915 World Series was the only one the Phillies would be in until 1950, where they got their dicks kicked in even worse by the Yankees. The Phils wouldn't even win a single post-season game until 1977 and wouldn't win a single World Series game until 1980. The Phillies just love to suck... I guess that's why we all love them? Read more about the 1915 World Series here.

Crowd chases Jewel Thieves through Center City

           It was a dark and stormy... day. Two jewel thieves that had been plaguing jewelry stores all over town saw the weather as a good opportunity to smash the window at the Kennedy & Bros Jewelry Store located at the southwestern corner of Juniper and Drury Streets (now the location of Mamou) with a hatchet and take all the loot, valued at $30,000.
          John A. Covington, described in the reports as a "negro porter", was a customer at the Kennedy & Bros store while this happened. He heroically ran out the door and pursued the men down Drury Street, yelling "Thief! Thief!" The hubbub attracted the attention of two nearby mounted policemen and a traffic cop. Eventually, the two robbers were being chased by the police, Covington, store clerks, messenger boys, wagon drivers and the street children that were hanging around at the time.
         They ran down Juniper Street, shooting their guns at the crowd (missing each time) and one slunk into the Witherspoon Building while the other ran down Juniper. The angry mob ran into the Witherspoon Building after the one thief, forgetting the other, crowding through the hallways of the old building. Frank Tabasso, a 15-year-old messenger boy, found a case containing $5000 worth of jewelry obviously dropped by the thieves. He got swarmed by the crowd, which tried to take it from him, but held on tight.
        The thief that ran into the Witherspoon Building got away through the Walnut Street side and blended into the street. The other, Nathan Heller, was arrested at 13th and Locust Streets in front of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Ends up the two robbers were from NYC... apparently the "no snitchin'" rule was around back then too, because the other robber was never found.
      As for young Mr. Tabasso, he returned the stolen jewelry to the Kennedy & Bros store and was commended for his honesty. Mr. Kennedy gave him a small reward and told him there would be more to come.

Frank Tobasso and the smashed up Kennedy & Bros display window.

Fill This Front: John C. Clark Legal Stationers

1326 Walnut Street

             Empty for five fucking years with nary a "for lease" sign, "for sale" sign, or even an L + I violation notice! How they hell do you keep a building like this empty for five years without doing shit with it? C'mon!!! There's all kinds of stuff you can do with a building like this and in this location-- what the fuck is going on here?
             This building was built in 1912 as the Kleem & Keen Investment Bank under the designs of one Richard Conover Loos. It continued on over the decades as other investment banks. Here it is as the Tremble & Company firm:

There it is on the left in 1949. PhillyHistory.org

                 In 1951, the facade was made into its current configuration when the Colonial Federal Savings Bank moved in. They installed the billboard on top (of which the frame still stands) in 1952.

            In 1977, the 160-year-old John C. Clark Legal Stationers, the oldest in the business, moved into the storefront and stayed for the next 3 decades. Then, out of nowhere, they disappeared. Their website it defunct and their phone number goes unanswered. No one knows what happened to them, except that the company won't be making it to its 200th anniversary in 2017.
            Five years after they've gone, the building at 1326 Walnut has been sitting there vacant and unused, a 5,300 square foot pile of empty. This place is in a great location, served by a shitload of public transit options and close to offices, residences, AND hotels. Tons of foot traffic, the works. Do you want it? Well, its not for sale, for lease, for anything. What in the fuck is going on!?!? Somebody needs to investigate this shit and FILL THIS FRONT!

Old-Ass Building of the Week: The Lofts at 1307 Sansom

112 South 13th

Photo by Michael Bixler

              I've always loved this skinny bastard-- learn all about it at the Hidden City Daily!

Fill This Front: Mexican Post

104 Chestnut Street

             I hate it when a storefront that was filled for decades+ loses its occupant and ends up empty for a long period of time. This is the situation with the old Mexican Post on the 100 block of Chestnut Street. That bitch-bastard held on to this place for 24 and a half years before calling it quits. Now's the time to fill this place back up with... I don't know, something.
             This storefront, being in Old City, is pretty old. Going through all the iterations of this storefront over the decades would make this article reach the Orias System. The last time I started a Fill This Front about a building this old it ended up becoming in a Hidden City story. Therefore, I'll just go over its fairly recent history. In the 1950s, it did time as part of Old City's old role of being a wholesale goods district.

Selling wholesale wool in 1959. Image from the PAB.

                 By the end of the 1970s, it had become a bar called the Penny Pot Tavern, referencing a place with the same name from the 17th and 18th goddamn Centuries.

1977. Image from the PAB.

              A place called Louie Linguini took the spot after that and then, on May 15th, 1989, the space became Mexican Post. At the time, Old City was in the midst of a massive revitalization as a bar and restaurant nexus. Mexican Post was a welcome addition at the time, staying open late to accommodate the drunks. The lunchtime crowd of tourists/nearby office workers and the late night partiers would provide enough traffic to keep the place open for 24 and a half goddamn years. The owner also managed to open other Mexican Posts in Wilmington, the burbs, at a big-ass location on the Parkway, and evenin the food court at the Comcast Center.
             Unexpectedly, in November of 2013, the Old City and Parkway locations both closed. The owner told the Insider "he has lost confidence in the city's restaurant climate" and that "

Old City in particular is wiped out". Yeah, right. The restaurant climate in Philly is so badass right now that you can't walk out of your front door without getting slapped in the face with a vegan chili-flavored goose knuckle sandwich on a hand-rolled quinoa-spelt flour bun. What the fuck was the guy so bitter about? Even the most successful restaurants last an average of five years, he got nearly 25 out of this one! Old City in particular is wiped out? Tell that to Han Dynasty and High Street on Market.

             Well, the place has been up for lease since last December and after 10 months is still empty. Let's bring it back. This is a 1,500 square foot space. This street has tons of foot traffic-- during the day by tourists and nearby office workers and at night by drunken revelers who won't even notice when you jack up the price after 10pm. This location is very accessible to public transportation, located on a whole mess of bus lines and close to an El stop. There are numerous hotels nearby as well, one on the storefront's very block. 

            The space is leasing for $6495 a month and is handled by US Realty of Ardmore, PA. Here's the listing. You do this place right and you can't lose. FILL THIS FRONT!!

Butt-Fugly Building of the Week: Penn Center House

1900 John F. Kennedy Boulevard

Its just keeps on going!

             I've avoided talking about this piece of shit right here for two reasons: 1) There isn't much to say about it 2) Its so fucking ugly I actually feel bad for it. Worst of all, in its time, it was considered the bee's fucking knees.  Penn Center House, from 1959, was following a big trend in Philadephia, the co-op. The 2101 Cooperative Apartment Building was the first, built in 1953, and the trend continued throughout the 1950s and early 60s. 
           The shitty design is from mid-century blahchitect George S. Idell, whose other fuck-ups include the 2101 Cooperative Apartment Building (whose own website does not show any exterior photos of the building due to its nastiness), the Ambassador Towne House (now called Riverwest Condominiums), the Rittenhouse Claridge, the Rittenhouse Savoy, and a third Rittenhouse Square apartment building that was thankfully never built. Though all those buildings are also cocky doo doo designs, Penn Center House really takes the cake. Here's his original rendering, which is actually a little more interesting than the real thing.
          You'd think his guy would know better. He was pretty old by the time he designed this shit-- he studied under such badasses as Paul Phillipe Cret and worked with Wilson Brothers at one point. This dude knew what good shit was and even helped design some of it in the early 20th Century. When the mid-20th Century rolled around, Idell must have lost most of his eyesight or something. His buildings from that era almost look like he couldn't see the paper so he just kept tracing his t-square until he got a grid of windows and said "Whatever, good enough. Facade details? Get the fuck out of here!" 
             This disaster of a building has the Penn Center-era massing-- that is to say the block-long, too-short, grid of bricks and windows. For some reason, the architecture and planning geniuses of the Penn Center era thought what we now call JFK Boulevard should have a building on every block matching the size and shape of Suburban Station... but without the awesome facade. This ends up creating a long boulevard of rectangular walls that create a really shitty urban environment. This one's a little shorter than the others but from the street it makes no difference. Thankfully, one of these wall-buildings, the old Sheraton Penn Center Hotel, was demolished (to make way for a building that was never built called 1777 JFK), so the trend gets broken up by the setback of the Comcast Center.
            Penn Center House's street level doesn't do shit other than display a mid-centuryesque decorative cinderblock grille pattern. Behind that grille pattern is a big-ass parking lot that's visible if you look in one of the holes. Walking down the south side of the 1900 block of JFK Boulevard is difficult-- the building just keeps going and going and going like some fucked up architectural purgatory. It makes the Kennedy House and Sterling seem like exciting dynamic buildings in comparison. Its hard to photograph this building unless you have a badass camera with a lens wide enough to get it all in. In order to properly capture how shitty this thing looks from the street, here's a fully functional streetview. Look around on this and tell me that Penn Center House does any damn good on this block:

View Larger Map

       
What trash... there's really nothing else to say. This building could probably be saved if it got a huge facade redo and some better street-level shit... but it would have to be one helluva design. Oh well, we're stuck with it. Fuck.