September 20, 2019
A 19-story mural has been created on the side of the University Square senior community building at 3901 Market Street. The author of this masterpiece is Faith XLVII, an internationally-acclaimed street artist from Cape Town, South Africa. The giant 11,000 square foot artwork was created for Mural Arts Philadelphia.
An inscription on the mural reads: “Maneto Philadelphia: Optimism is a Strategy for Making a Better Future.” The Latin word “maneto” is part of Philadelphia’s city seal and means “to remain” or “to endure.”
The dedication ceremony for the new mural will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m.
The mural, entitled The Silent Watcher, was inspired by the cultural, historical, and social aspects of the neighborhood. It features a strong archetypal female figure towering above pedestrians with a contemplative gaze. Continue Reading
September 15, 2019
112-114 S. 43rd Street.
The Spruce Hill Community Association Zoning Committee will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 16, and one of the proposals on the agenda is construction of a new 12-unit apartment building on S. 43rd Street between Sansom and Chestnut.
The project involves consolidation of two lots – 112 and 114 S. 43rd St. – into one with demolition of the existing structure at 114, according to a Spruce Hill Zoning Committee announcement. The project envisions the construction of 12 units with four bicycle spaces and no parking. Property is in CMX-4 zoning, which requires four parking spots. Continue Reading
September 9, 2019
On Monday morning, SEPTA, local officials, including mayor Jim Kenney, and community members gathered on Woodland Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets to celebrate the completion of the Woodland Avenue Bridge Replacement Project. The bridge, which carries SEPTA Trolley Routes 11 and 36, and crosses the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line, has been fully replaced.
The bridge was originally built in the 1920s and had severely deteriorated due to age, weather and traffic. SEPTA partnered with the City of Philadelphia and PennDOT to manage the design and construction of the replacement bridge. Funding for the $7.3 million project was made possible by Act 89 of 2013, which has provided a large funding source for transportation infrastructure improvement projects throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The project began in Spring 2018 and was completed last month. Both trolley lines and street traffic were detoured during construction.
September 6, 2019
If you have a car parked along Baltimore Avenue between 49th and 51st Streets, you should move. Same goes for 50th and 51st from Pentridge to Catharine. Cars should be moved by 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6. or they will be towed, according to police.
All of this is for the N2N Festival in Cedar Park this Saturday, Sept. 7, featuring Salt-N-Pepa.
Cars can be parked again on those streets starting 12 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8.
September 5, 2019
An uptick in thefts from autos was reported back in May in the 18th Police District, which covers West Philadelphia neighborhoods south of Market Street, and the number of such thefts and car break-ins has remained high throughout the summer, according to several crime alerts from police.
Last Thursday, a string of thefts from cars parked on the 4800 block of Hazel all the way to the 5100 block of Hazel was reported. The thefts took place between the early morning hours of 2 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.. Check out this video: Continue Reading
August 30, 2019
Here’s some encouraging news about Penn Book Center, the independent bookstore at 34th and Sansom whose owners Ashley Montague and Michael Row announced last spring that they were struggling to stay in business and would close their doors permanently in May 2019. According to this week’s announcement, the store will stay open thanks to new owners, Matt Duquès and Diana Bellonby.
After Penn faculty and students launched a campaign to save the store, which included a petition signed by more than 5,000 people, the University of Pennsylvania, the store’s landlords, extended the lease for the summer to give Montague and Row time to work out a new plan to stay open. Duquès and Bellonby, who were in the process of moving from Alabama to Philadelphia, heard of the campaign and soon began negotiations to buy the store which was founded in 1962. Continue Reading
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