Back in the day (and by that we mean like ten years ago), things were radically different on the Frankford Avenue corridor than they are today. As the years have fallen off the calendar, Frankford Avenue has become one of the premier commercial corridors in Philadelphia, with an enviable mix of

For many decades, until around 2008, a pair of industrial buildings covered the property at 2304-18 E. Sergeant St., despite the fact that the immediate surrounding area is primarily residential. Given the industrial history of the neighborhood, this wasn't an unusual situation, but we nevertheless have to think that most neighbors

Washington Avenue is many things to many people. For contractors, it's a centrally located hub where they can pick up building materials and illegally park in the median with relatively little fear of getting a ticket. For the building supply companies that sell stuff to those contractors, it's a wide

The property at 1811-13 Ridge Ave. has been sitting vacant for at least the last twenty-five years. This was not an unusual sight for most of those years, as Francisville was in a severely depressed state, with the Ridge Avenue corridor beset by blight and vacancy. Of course, it's old

Though they looked different, the two homes at 403 and 405 S. 26th St. had a fairly classic Fitler Square look to them. The northern home had a white stucco front with black window trim and and a matching and intact original cornice. The southern home had purple shutters and a

You may recall, a couple weeks back, we told you about plans to renovate the building at 1201 Wharton St., which would represent a new chapter for a structure that's had a number of uses over the years. As we told you previously, we believe the place was built as a storage

The introduction of a new zoning code in Philadelphia in 2012 resulted in numerous positive outcomes. The new code relaxed parking requirements. It codified the involvement of community groups in the zoning process. It dramatically reduced the number of enumerated building uses, simplifying permit application and plan review. And there's some other

We were making our way through town up 20th Street the other day, and some rooftop work at 20th & Spruce caught our eye. At first glance, we thought it might be an expansive pergola- but objectively, this didn't make a lick of sense.This ain't a pergola, folks- it's a

A reader reached out to us the other day, having noticed a demolition notice posted on a building just south of the intersection of 9th & McKean. The suspicion here was that a sizable project was in the works, since this corner is dominated by an auto shop called Mike's Car

1100 and 1102 S. 27th St. sit just a few steps away from Grays Ferry Avenue. These properties have been sitting vacant for at least twenty-five years, which is consistent with many other properties in this part of town. Also consistent with other properties around here, they're now being redeveloped.