The 1400 block of Germantown Ave. in South Kensington looks awful. Blighted, empty buildings bookend overgrown vacant lots, despite new development springing up all over the area. If blocks could think, we suspect this one would be wondering when its time will come. And it seems, based on a couple

The stretch of South 2nd between Fitzwater and Catharine Streets is almost entirely residential today.  But nearly 200 years ago, this section of Queen Village was actually humming with industrial activity.  More specifically, the enclosed court at 783 S. 2nd St. was once a thriving soap production complex.  According to the Queen Village Neighbors Association (QVNA),

We've repeatedly visited the corner of 6th & South over the last few years, alerting you as new businesses have arrived and lamenting continuing vacancies. Most recently, we gave you the heads up that the long-vacant building on the southwest corner, most recently home to a McDonald's, was finally getting

Last summer, we brought a vacant building and some vacant lots at the corner of 42nd & Chester to your attention. We noted that both the building and the lots seemed like nice development opportunities, given their proximity to Clark Park and University of the Sciences. So it was with no

Last week, we gave you some details on the old Smith School in Point Breeze, which is currently being offered for sale along with a bunch of other shuttered schools around town. Today we look at the former Edward Bok Technical High School, located at 8th & Mifflin. It represents

It was just last month that we shared the news that developer Eric Blumenfeld had gotten a commitment for most of the funding he would need to finally renovate the Divine Lorraine. The blighted beauty at Broad & Fairmount has been vacant for over a decade, and we were cautiously

As Girard Avenue continues to grow with new retail locations filling in empty spots up and down the way, it seems the animals too are looking to get in on the fun. The Fishtown Neighbors Association recently supported plans for a veterinary clinic to open at 233-35 E. Girard Ave., close

Northern Liberties has experienced tremendous growth in the last decade plus, and we've documented plenty of examples of development pushing north of Girard Avenue into South Kensington. Though the 1200 block of N. Leithgow St. sits just across Girard, it has barely been touched by redevelopment, with vacant lots outnumbering

For almost a year now, the view from Kaplan's at 3rd & Poplar has been fascinating yet severely depressing. The former Ortlieb's brewery has loomed over this corner for a hundred years, a standing tribute to a long-gone age. The brewery closed in the 1980s, but its name has remained

Remember last summer, when we told you that a 7-11 had closed at 38th & Chestnut, and expressed surprise because those places never seem to close? At the time, we wondered what would replace the convenience store, speculating that the building would be demolished and replaced by a new apartment