Proposed Historic District designation area in Spruce Hill (image courtesy of SHCA).

The Philadelphia Historical Commission, the City’s preservation agency, is calling for public meetings to consider the proposal to designate a part of the Spruce Hill neighborhood as a historic district. The agency will hold two public meetings, on Wednesday, April 17 and Friday, May 10, when property owners and other interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed district. Both meetings will be on Zoom.

The proposed historic district consists of 572 properties and the boundaries are shown on the map above. The map also shows parts of Spruce Hill already designated as Historic Districts and properties included in the Registrar of Historic Places.

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All are welcome to one of West Philadelphia’s oldest community traditions – the Spruce Hill May Fair in Clark Park. It will take place on Saturday, May 11, 12-6 p.m. at 43rd and Chester.

As always, this free, family-friendly frolic features live entertainment, food trucks, children’s games (including the wildly popular petting zoo) and scores of vendors and community service information tables.

The event is organized by the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA), which is inviting community groups and vendors to take part in the fair. Space is limited and priority will be given to local community organizations and artisans. SHCA will provide a 6-foot table, table covering and chair in a 10-foot space. Vendor fees are set affordably low: $40 or less for the day. No second-hand goods, commercial products or food table sales, please. If you have a truck/cart, please contact Evan Johnstone (evanjay@gmail.com). Prospective vendors should request a table online by Sunday, May 7. Follow this link.

The organizers will work around any threatening showers if at all possible and hold the event as planned. However, in the event of significant rain, SHCA may have to cancel the event on that morning. If you have questions, please email Monica Calkins, Spruce Hill Community Association, mcalkins@upenn.edu.

– Tony West

BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, returns to TD Pavilion at the Mann for two extraordinary nights of dance and live music – on April 26-27.

This year’s Festival at the Mann features works by Natasha Adorlee, Takehiro Ueyama, and Jamar Roberts, with live music by Grammy-nominated singer Jac Ross, composer Kato Hideki, and ensemble132!

Arrive early and enjoy pre-show festivities featuring local dance groups, live musicians, and circus acts.

More info and tickets are available here.

#BXMannfest

PGW gas pipeline replacement projects in West/Southwest Philly.

Philadelphia Gas Works company (PGW) has been gradually upgrading natural gas pipelines in the city, including in West and Southwest Philly (see link below). The pipeline replacement work began in some neighborhoods, like Spruce Hill and Kingsessing, last fall and is expected to be completed this spring. Residents of some streets west of 52nd and south of Walnut received notifications that PGW will be working on their block beginning this spring.

Each pipeline installation project may take up to six months to complete and includes the following phases:

1. Neighborhood Notification
2. Underground utility marking
3. New main installation
4. New service line installation
5. Property/neighborhood restoration

There may be pauses between phases.

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SEPTA recently opened a newly renovated 30th Street Station, which has been renamed “Drexel Station at 30th Street.” The transformed station has a doubled capacity and features more seamless transportation connections. The station is served by the Market-Frankford Line (now identified by the letter “L” in signage), five Trolley lines (“T”), the LUCY Loop, and Bus Routes 9, 30, 31, 44, 78, 124, 125, and is across the street from Amtrak’s 30th Street Station.

Drexel Station at 30th Street is part of the Schuylkill Yards development, a multi-phase project by Brandywine Realty Trust. Extensive renovations were completed as part of the station reconstruction project to better integrate the station into Drexel Square and the broader Schuylkill Yards district.

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The Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll is coming back again this year! University City District (UCD), the longtime event organizer, has scheduled two Strolls this summer – on Thursday, June 6 and Thursday, Sept. 5.

The event draws thousands of neighbors and visitors to enjoy dollar deals from participating local businesses and community vendors. In 2022, the price levels vendors can offer were expanded from $1 deals to deals for $1, $3, or $5.

Currently, UCD is accepting applications from both community food vendors and community merchandise vendors to join in this event as official participants. If you are a community vendor interested in selling either food or merchandise, please email Margaret Leidy Starke, Senior Manager of Events and Community Partnerships, at margaret@universitycity.org. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.

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