Back in October, we gave you the early skinny on Fitler Dining Room, while lamenting the fact that it wasn’t named Bedford Cafe and it wasn’t coming to 20th & Kater. Last week, the restaurant opened its doors for the first time at 2201 Spruce St., a corner that’s seen some interesting changes over the past several decades. Surprisingly, we’ve been able to come up with some images that really show the building’s evolution, thanks to Google Maps and Phillyhistory.org.

In 1971

Less signage but pretty similar in 1995

Fast forward fifteen years, this was Meme, which replaced the original Melograno

And now today

As you can see, the building has changed dramatically as the surrounding neighborhood has continued to improve as the years have passed. Even with the building’s most recent changes, the look of the first floor has been upgraded considerably. With the addition of alcohol to the offerings at this corner, along with the pattern of success established by the owners at Pub & Kitchen, we have no doubt that this new venture will be a hit. Assuming that’s the case, it might be quite some time before the building goes through any more renovations.

Which is just fine by us, we really think it turned out wonderfully.