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!