Biking around West Philly, the sight of St. Francis de Sales Church at 47th and Springfield Avenue hits you like a pleasant slap in the face. This church is enormous and unique; built in Byzantine style and loosely based on Istanbul’s incredible St. Sophia Museum. It was built using white brick, which brings a nice contrast when set against its golden dome-tops. So if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Currently there is scaffolding surrounding the entire church. It looks like some renovations are in order to repair and restore the building’s exterior. An entirely worthwhile project, it looks like this may simply be to reverse the effects of weather’s wear and tear. If anyone has the inside scoop, let us know. —Alex Graziano