Despite being added to the National Historic Register in 1986, the former Spring Garden School, located at 843 N. 12th St., has been sitting blighted and vacant for decades, a white elephant in the middle of the Richard Allen Homes PHA development. We first pondered this building back in 2012, wondering whether

A reader tipped us off that the parking lot at 1314 Spring Garden St. closed down recently, as we confess, we were caught by surprise. You can see, this parking lot got plenty of use when it was operational, and it seems strange that the owners would shut it down.Alas,

All too often these days, churches are finding it impossible or impractical to continue to operate out of buildings they've enjoyed for decades. The reasons for this phenomenon are myriad, including contracting congregations, congregants that have moved away and have to travel to attend services, parking challenges, and building maintenance issues,

The 900 block of Spring Garden Street is really odd. It's home to Roy Pitz Barrel House, Sazon, and W/N W/N, three quality restaurants, and also a gun range. The block is bisected by the tail end of the Reading viaduct, and the former Spring Garden Station sits vacant and blighted

The Frankford Chocolate Factory at 2101 Washington Ave. is proof positive that even a neighborhood with homes selling for seven figures can enjoy the occasional white elephant. This building has a fascinating recent history, but has sat vacant for over a decade, leaving neighbors wondering if and when it will finally

It was about a year and a half ago that we told you about Schuylkill Yards, a massive development endeavor from Drexel and Brandywine Realty Trust on the blocks surrounding 30th Street Station. How could you forget, it's the post where we introduced the Dutch concept of “woonerf,” which is a space where

We aren't sure why you'd ever find yourself at the corner of 6th & Berks, but if you do, you'll quickly notice something a little out of the ordinary. On the southeast corner stands a relatively new two-story building that strongly resembles a barn that was designed by a contemporary

Right before he kicked the bucket, Smiler Grogan told a group of assembled motorists about a buried treasure underneath a big 'W' in Santa Rosita State Park. This conversation set off a hilarious set of circumstances that culminated in a misadventure with a fire truck and ended with Ethel Merman slipping

Philadelphia is home to some of the most amazing architecture in America, with a rich stock of fabulous buildings scattered across the city. While we've got more than our share of great structures, we've also got some duds. Case in point, the one-story stucco building at the southeast corner of

If you want to develop a large project in Philadelphia, the zoning code compels you to go through the Civic Design Review process. Your architect has to assemble a packet that can run dozens of pages in length, with floor plans, renderings, elevations drawings, stormwater management plans, a complete streets guide,