Just yesterday, a reader gave us the heads up that a new construction fence had appeared on the 1000 block of Mount Vernon Street. As is our way, we decided to check things out posthaste.New fence on the 1000 block of Mount Vernon St.Closer lookWell wouldn't you know it, that

A single vacant, blighted building can bring down the rest of the block. And when such a building stretches over an entire city block, it's lousy for the whole neighborhood. Such has been the case with the former Mount Sinai hospital at 4th & Reed, closed since 1997. Since the

We've always wanted to live next door to a park. And who wouldn't? We'd appreciate the natural light, the fresh air, and the sounds of children playing and dogs barking. And we're not even picky! We don't need a big park like Rittenhouse Square or Dickinson Square Park, we'd be

We were so excited to attend the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition meeting last November where developer Bart Blatstein presented his plans for the long-vacant lot at the northeast corner of Broad & Washington. We can't say we expected the project would be in the ground by now, but we were at least hopeful.

The former umbrella factory building at 5th & Master is one of the most prominent blights in South Kensington. Over a year ago, we were hopeful that the building was finally getting renovated, but it still looks awful today. From several locations around the area, this shell of a building

Over the years, we've occasionally passed by the shuttered Par Four restaurant at 2201 Penrose Ave., wondering when and if it would spring back to life. The other day, when we visited Siena Place around the corner, we were again reminded that this place exists, and it seemed like a nice

The 400 block of Wiota Street is a rather quiet residential block in West Powelton, just north of the very bustling 4000 block of Baring Street. Prior to this decade, the street, and many of the surrounding blocks, were rife with vacant lots and structures. Now, due to its proximity

When we checked in on repairs to the wooden Camac Street the other day, we noticed that 1222 Locust St., the former Lincoln Apartments building, is under heavy construction. It's been over a year since our last visit to this property, at visit that was spurred by a construction fence

Boy, it sure is a bummer that the zombified remains of the Snellenburg's department store on Market Street got demolished.</sarcasm>If we may be serious for a moment, it's actually really wonderful that this horrible building, mutilated beyond recognition from its original splendor, is no longer with us. When we last checked

One block in Brewerytown seems to be having all the fun. Last week, when we spied some unfortunate demolition at 29th & Thompson, we also happened upon a new foundation at the corner of 28th & Stiles. That parcel is actually the combination of two properties, 1225 and 1227 N.