Editor’s Note: West Philly Local is proud to present the second in a series of vignettes of local block captains drawn from Them That Do, a multimedia documentary project and community blog by West Philly-based award-winning photographer Lori Waselchuk. The first profile ran last week.

Maureen Tate became a gardener because of a killing.

In the 1980s, during the era Maureen calls the “The Crack Period,” Cedar Park neighborhood residents organized drug vigils on the corner of 49^th Street and Baltimore Avenue where they would stand in shifts all night and ‘stare down dealers’ to try to prevent them from doing business.

“We were trying to regain control of our streets,” Maureen explained.

Another intimidating location was the vacant lot at the corner of 49^th and Florence Avenue. “The corner lot was trashed all the time and it was dangerous,” said Maureen, who has been the block captain of 4800 Florence Avenue since 1982. “The neighbors were feeling really threatened.”

When a Vietnamese immigrant was murdered in his home next to that lot in 1983, she and her neighbors decided to act. They removed the trash, built flower beds and filled them with daisies, lilies, and tulips. They named it Florence Garden. “Our garden made us feel we were reclaiming that space and staking our presence.”

The transformation required patience, and several years of work. Maureen laughs when she thinks about how little she knew about growing things. “Everything I know about gardening, I learned at Florence Garden.”

She and a handful of others maintained Florence Garden for 20 years. It won second place in the city’s garden contest in 1989.

“It was beautiful.”

Eventually the city sold the property in a sheriff sale and developers built four townhouses.

Cedar Park is now experiencing a period of more stability and reinvestment. “It’s such a relief to see happy people on our street.” Tate remains very active on her block as well as with Cedar Park Neighbors. She continues to garden in public spaces, organizing crews to build and maintain flower beds around Cedar Park.

Early this year, it was revealed that a mixed-use high-rise tower would replace two historically designated brownstones on 38^th and Chestnut Streets, with construction completing in 2015. It seems that demolition of those two brownstones, formerly Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral’s parish house, is fast approaching, Hidden City Philadelphia recently reported.

According to Philadelphia License & Inspection records, a demolition permit was secured for the brownstones, located at 3723-25 Chestnut Street, on September 27 and updated on November 1 with an amendment for inclusion of a revised work plan. Once demolition completes, construction will begin this year on the $97 million project, developed and overseen by local firm Radnor Property Group (RPG) in partnership with the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. The end result will feature a 25-story residential tower offering 276 apartment units, retail on the ground floor, and a fitness center.  Continue Reading

The leaves are falling and the weather has turned a bit. It’s already October and we’ll be posting information on upcoming Halloween events in the area. This post is dedicated to spooky and ghostly happenings the staff at the Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion (40th & Woodland) have prepared for local residents and visitors. This is the first year that The Woodlands is offering so many Halloween-themed events – and they’re collaborating on a lot of them with other local organizations and businesses. Are you ready to get frightened? Then read on. (By the way, stay tuned for future posts on our annual pumpkin carving contest.)

Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours

This October, Curio Theatre Company and The Woodlands are teaming up to present Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours. For three nights only (October 24, 25, and 26), you can experience The Woodlands as you’ve never seen it by taking a guided tour after dark to some of the final resting places of the Cemetery’s most notorious residents. You’ll hear torrid tales, spooky stories, and scary spirits abound this Halloween (and you’ll even be invited to join the hauntings in a mausoleum). There are six tours every night, starting at 8:00 p.m., and a limited number of tickets ($20/person) are available. To buy tickets, click here.

The Return of Edgar Allan Poe

The night of mystery and macabre is back by popular demand. Literary historian and playwright Rob Velella returns to bring the work of Edgar Allan Poe to life on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 6:30 until 9:00 p.m. Valella will demonstrate some of Poe’s most loved works. After the performance, you’ll have the unique opportunity for a nighttime cemetery walk to visit Poe’s contemporary, Timothy Shay Arthur, at his eternal resting spot. Also a writer, Arthur was a fellow member of the literary coterie Seven Stars. Tickets for this event ($15) are available here.

All Hallow’s Read

Little ones and grown-ups alike are invited to this fun event. Books about monsters, pumpkins, goblins and ghosts, fall books, harvest books, and other seasonal reads will be hidden throughout the cemetery in age-appropriate sections and the book will be on on Saturday, Oct 19, 1:00-3:00 p.m. To sweeten the deal, cold treats from Weckerly’s Ice Cream will be provided! (In case of rain, this event will be held on Sunday, Oct 20 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.)

Halloween 

Finally, bring your kids for some treats at the mansion on Halloween day (October 31) from noon-4 p.m. before the tot parade in Spruce Hill.

To learn more about The Woodlands and upcoming events at the historic cemetery and mansion, visit: http://woodlandsphila.org/.

After six years of uncertainty and false starts, it seems that the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church will finally undergo demolition to make way for 7,000-square-feet of retail space—or so the Daily Pennsylvanian reports.

Photo by Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local.

According to the DP, construction on the former house of worship, which stood at 125 S. 40th Street for 136 years, is expected to be complete by April 2014, but the developers, P&A Associates, have yet to release a specific work timeline. A search on Philadelphia License & Inspections site, though, does return multiple hits for the church address, one being a new construction permit that was issued in June to architectural firm Albert Taus & Associates and contractor Joe Freidman Construction Corp. If finished by next spring, the humble Romanesque-style two-story church—a gaping shell of its prior appeal—will become home to Dunkin Donuts, Whirled Peace Frozen Yogurt, Zesto Pizza and a fourth yet-to-be-identified commercial space.

Designed by leading mid-nineteenth century architects Samuel Sloan and Addison Hutton, the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church was home to three congregations before it was sold to P&A for $2 million in 2007. The previous owners, St. Joseph’s Baptist Congregation, worshipped in the village sanctuary for 50 years until it moved to a larger space six years ago, according to Hidden City Philadelphia. Prior to St. Joseph’s, it served First Church of the Covenanters from 1908 to 1954, which took over the church from Centennial Methodist Episcopal—the budding congregation that originally purchased the land in 1860 and erected Methodist Episcopal in 1871. Continue Reading

At the corner of Lancaster and 38th, the curved facade of Hawthorne Hall stands just as it did 100 years ago when fraternal organizations and civic associations were its main occupants. But inside is a whole different story: cabinets have been transformed into doorways, attics into twisted dining halls, dust-covered rooms into art galleries.

This makeover is the work of the Rabid Hands Art Collective, which transformed the space into an art exhibit celebrating the building’s mysterious history for the 2013 Hidden City Festival.

Last weekend, the nonprofit news site Hidden City returned to Hawthorne Hall for a guided tour of the Powelton area. Powelton–bordered roughly by Lancaster Ave., Haverford, Race and 32nd Streets– is a mix of student housing and large Victorian mansions and duplexes.

Photos by Alex Vuocolo.

As tour guides Rachel Hildebrandt and Caroline Acheatel explained, Powelton was once home to a class of entrepreneurs and business managers from the mid-1800s that were excelling in new industrial fields. These individuals spread into West Philadelphia as railways and bridges were built across the Schuylkill River and the area’s large agricultural estates were subdivided into neighborhoods.

But Powelton is more than frat houses and old mansions. Hildebrandt and Acheatel, both employees at Partners for Sacred Places, guided the tour through a mix of inconspicuous cultural landmarks and historical buildings, including backyard museums, the building where Alfred Barnes (of The Barnes Foundation fame) built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and a church adapted for affordable apartments.

The tour’s strong suit was that it explored the interiors and unknown histories of places many of us pass by everyday.

The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum, for example, is just off Hamilton and 38th on a quiet stretch of residential homes. Without venturing down the museum’s alley entrance, you might never know that a courtyard formed from connected backyards contained original art from two generations of the Tiberino family.

The Cloisters, a church converted into apartments at Spring Garden and 38th, is equally discreet. Besides a large banner reading “now renting,” there is little to suggest that within its stone walls there are over 64 units of affordable housing.

To discover more of Philadelphia’s past, keep an eye out for Hidden City tours around the city.

– Alex Vuocolo

Hawthorne Hall. Photo via Hiddencityphila.org.

West Philly neighbors and friends have a great opportunity to learn more about the Powelton and Garden Court neighborhoods and their hidden architectural gems at a series of neighborhood walking tours that begin on Saturday, Sept 21. Here’s more details:

• Two Powelton Village tours, organized by Hidden City, will take place on Saturday (Sept 21). Each event will start with a tour of Hawthorne Hall, home to a remarkable installation created for the 2013 Hidden City Festival. Then participants will get a chance to check out the Divine Tracy once owned by Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement, the Hotel Powelton (Albert Barnes’s first factory), the Cloister, a gorgeous church converted to apartments, and more.

The tours will be led by Rachel Hildebrandt, a writer for the Hidden City Daily, who has an MA in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and now works at Partners for Sacred Places, and Caroline Acheatel, who is also of Partners for Sacred Places.

The tour hours are: 1:00 p.m.  –  2:30 p.m. and 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. and the starting point is Hawthorne Hall, 3849 Lancaster Ave. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) and spots can be reserved here (Tour I) and here (Tour II).

• Also beginning Saturday, Sept 21, there will be a few chances to explore the Garden Court neighborhood. “Farm to Ford” is the name of this historical walking tour. Organized by Garden Court Community Association, it is scheduled for Sept 21, Oct 5, 12 and 19 (all Saturdays).

During this tour you will learn the history of the neighborhood from its rural beginnings to today. You will also find out which children’s author made her livelihood here and discover a “secret” garden typically closed to visitors.

The tours will run from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the starting point is in the courtyard of the Lea Elementary School, on 47th, between Spruce and Locust Streets. Tickets are only $5 (only cash accepted) and the organizers would appreciate if you RSVP at: GCCAtour@gmail.com. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.