For years, Springfield Beer Distributor was a beacon of hope for beer lovers, sitting conveniently under the South Street bridge and willing to deliver the kegs to your door. A shiver went through the neighborhood a few years back when people learned that CHOP would be building a large facility on the eastern side of the Schuylkill and Springfield would be relocating to Oregon Avenue. And we may have heard a loud collective sigh of relief when word came out that Springfield would instead be moving to the 2200 block of Washington Avenue. We confess, we were among the relieved.
Despite Springfield making the move several months ago, their airplane-hangar-looking buildings under the bridge has remained. Until recently, that is. The buildings are now in the process of being demolished. And it looks really cool.
We would have to imagine that it won't be long before the metal framing also disappears, erasing the physical traces of the old beer distributor. But we'll always have the memories.
Of course, once the beer distributor buildings are gone, it will be time to demolish the former JFK Vocational High School, which we told you about last month. After that massive building comes down, it will be time for the CHOP construction to get started. Look for everything to wrap up by 2017 or so.
Ah, gotta love a looong construction horizon.