Naked Philly

The Delaware waterfront was once a hub of industry, as ships delivered raw goods, factories produced stuff while belching waste into the river, and other ships collected the new stuff and took it away. That's not the case anymore, at least not in the vicinity of Center City. Still, we've maintained some relics of those long lost days, like the impressive and vacant Municipal Pier No. 9. This old warehouse is an extension of Cherry Street into the water, running roughly the same depth as the adjacent Race Street Pier. Municipal Pier No. 9 is owned by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, and after achieving great success at Race Street, DRWC is looking to transform it into the Cherry Street Pier.

Current view

According to a press release, they've got some bold plans in store. While Race Street Pier is a lovely outdoor space used in a passive way, the vision for Cherry Street Pier is much more active. DRWC will reuse the existing building and divide the space into four separate concepts under one "roof." The Hub, a food and beverage space, and the Garage, a collection of reused shipping containers used as coworking and studio space, will be located near the entrance to the pier. In the middle of the pier will be the Platform, an open event space with a variety of purposes. At the end of the pier, the plan calls for the removal of the rooftop and the creation of an outdoor space called the Garden. Check out this site plan, to give you a sense of what we're talking about:

Thanks to a reader tip, we visited 52nd Street earlier this week to investigate a potential student housing project in a building with some wonderful bones. It turns out the renovation wasn't aimed at creating residential units, but will instead result in a very large clothing store in a greatly improved building when all is said and done. As we were discussing that property, we mentioned that the Lincoln Theatre once stood next door, probably the reason it's known as the Lincoln Building. The Lincoln Theatre was demolished in the 1980s but we happened to notice a different old theatre very close by which has miraculously survived the ravages of time.

View in 1926, from Cinema Treasures

The Locust Theatre, on the northwest corner of 52nd & Locust, opened in 1914, according to Cinema Treasures, and originally showed a mix of moving pictures and vaudeville shows. By the 1930s, they nixed the live entertainment, and moved to movies only. In the 1970s, when many cinemas were closing their doors, the building was purchased by the Bushfire Theatre Company. The mission of the theatre company is to offer "greater opportunities to African American professional and non-professional actors, playwrights, directors and other theatre personnel." As a fringe benefit, the company has maintained this amazing building for the last forty years.