Many Philadelphians take the nameless shopping district along the southern part of the city’s Delaware waterfront for granted even through the auto-oriented area of strip malls and big-box stores feels more like the Northeast than South Philly. Nonetheless, the vestiges of the area’s industrial roots are visible in all directions-- the

As we've reminded you on numerous occasions, Kensington was once known as the Workshop of the World, producing all kinds of stuff, from hats to chairs, dyes to toxic chemicals. As a result, the neighborhoods in the River Wards are a mix of homes which housed the factory workers and the

Traditionally, 1802 Francis St. was used as a side yard for 1804 Francis St., the home next door. It was well maintained, fenced-in, landscaped, and an old listing indicates that it was also used as a small garden. When the owners of the home at 1804 decided to sell last

Ask ten people and you'll probably get ten opinions on what to do with the Delaware River waterfront. Historically, the Delaware was the center of commerce for Philadelphia, bringing goods in, shipping goods out, and providing countless jobs in this endeavor. As times have changed and shipping has become less

In the 1960s, the City condemned four square blocks between 3rd and 5th Streets, Christian Street and Washington Avenue, to establish the Southwark Public Housing Project. As we've told you previously, PHA built three towers here, ultimately demolishing two of them in the early 2000s and constructing a couple hundred

We'll forgive you if you've never heard of Dakota Street, as it's one of those streets that disappears and reappears in Fishtown, seemingly with little rhyme or reason. It's even more understandable if you couldn't find the 2300 block of E. Dakota St. on the map, since it doesn't show up

It takes a lot to impress architecturally in West Philadelphia. This section of the city is home to more amazing edifices than we can count, ranging from institutional buildings at Penn and Drexel, numerous churches, the Provident Mutual building, and more Victorian homes than you can shake a stick at. Among

When we first brought the former Gretz brewery at 1524 Germantown Ave. to your attention over seven years ago, we wondered whether the handsome but blighted property could get redeveloped or whether it would eventually fall down or get demolished after decades of vacancy. The latter scenario seemed quite likely less than

Isn't it great that we live in a big city with hundreds of little convenience stores dotting the neighborhoods, allowing us to skip a grocery store trip if we only need a can of beans or a couple tomatoes? Sure, the grocery store has more options and better prices, but that little

If you've spent even five minutes in Fishtown over the last number of years, you've surely caught wind that Frankford Avenue is one of the most exciting commercial corridors in Philadelphia. Countless businesses have opened on the corridor, including independent stores, local chains, bars, restaurants- and national retailers are even starting