In Bella Vista

Months ago, we wondered about 734 S. 9th St., a corner commercial space that was home to the wonderful Sarcone's before the sandwich shop moved to larger digs next door. At the time, a 'For Rent' sign had just come down and there was paper covering the windows.

We passed by

You would think that by now there wouldn't be any vacant lots left in Bella Vista, which is a fairly established neighborhood. Yet here and there, a handful of vacant lots have persisted, with developers slowly picking them off and building on them over the years. Notable examples include the

A large brick structure occupies half a block on 11th Street in the Bella Vista neighborhood, quietly serving as a conveniently located self-storage facility.   While the nondescript building, bound to the northwest corner of 11th & Catharine, does nothing to distinguish the location today, history does attach to it some distinguished

It was the summer of 2011 that we first clued you in that the Garden of the Arts, a community garden on the northeast corner of Broad & South was on the way out, and in its place would soon rise Southstar Lofts, a new mixed-use development by Dranoff Properties. It's been

942-44 Carpenter St. is a fairly desirable parcel. The 32'x70' (though maybe not exactly those dimensions, according to an old listing) would seem like the ideal location for a couple of new construction homes, even though the coffee shop immediately next door seems to open and go out of business

The other day, we were on our way to the bank and spotted a tiny sign on the side of 1334-48 Bainbridge St., a fairly large building that looks like it was probably built in the 1970s. The sign looked similar to the signs used by the Redevelopment Authority to

Some time ago, we noticed an empty corner store at 1116 Fitzwater St., half a block from the wonderful Hawthorne's (and conveniently located in the Hawthorne neighborhood). It looked as though perhaps some work was being done on the space, as the doors looked like they had been recently fixed

Few would guess by looking that the lot now occupied by Caribbean Delight and a wide brick-faced walkway on the 1100 block of South Street was once the site of performances by the early 20th century’s most celebrated African American performers.  In the century prior to that, the site was host

A three-story red brick building stands on the north side of Bainbridge between 9th and 10 Streets, serving as a multi-unit condominium.  However, the historical marker in front of the structure hints at its significance in improving the lives of Philadelphia’s African American citizens well before the start of the Civil War.  The

Many would agree that building trends of the last few decades have not held up well. Some structures that went up in the 1970s or 1980s are downright spit-take-inducing, and you find yourself wondering what the designers and builders were thinking. Other buildings are more innocuous, with designs that just