In Bella Vista

A few months back, developers appeared before the Bella Vista Neighbors Association with plans to raze the building that's housed the Klinghoffer carpet showroom for years and replace it with three new homes. They also intended to build four homes across the street where a one-story garage previously stood.ShowroomIn a

If you're heading down 8th Street in Bella Vista, your eye is easily drawn to the handsome Columbus Hall building just south of Fitzwater Street. Located at 744-46 S. 8th St., the building was home in recent decades to Mama Yolanda's restaurant, now out of business. It was initially built

In 1880, the population of Italians living in Philadelphia was modest, according to an article by Stefano Luconi.  However, in the years immediately thereafter, a wave of immigration would make Philly second only to New York in the number of newly-arrived Italians.  During this first great influx, the settlement concentrated around what

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

Over the last few years, there's been a staggering amount of residential development near 8th & Christian, especially considering the fact that Bella Vista is already largely developed. Five homes replaced vacant lots on Darien Street. A nineteen home development took over a former surface parking lot between Christian and

You can tell just by looking that the 4-story building at the northeast corner of 7th & Christian has some history to it.  The sequence of its various stages, however, is a little hazy.  Without a whole lot of concrete information to go on, here’s what we’ve got on 825 S.

The little stretch of houses on Kater Street between 6th and 7th Streets is relatively peaceful today given its proximity to South Street.  However, its history is as a street of ill-repute and abysmal living standards. Originally called Bedford Street, this mixed bag of immigrant families earned a colorful description as “one of the

Around town, there are dozens of buildings that have become favorites of ours over the years. One such structure can be found at the northeast corner of 7th & Fitzwater.The buildingToday, its home to Bella Organic Cleaners. But when it was first built in 1893, it was home to the

It was over two years ago that we first wondered about 915-17 S. 11th St., the former South Philadelphia State Bank building. At that time, the building, built around 1919 and designed by Makenzie and Wiley, was home to a business called the Cambridge Spice Trading Company. And while you could tell

Over the summer, we told you that Mildred Court, a 25-home project in Bella Vista, had gotten the necessary approvals. Passing by the other day, we saw a site that looks quite different than it did just a few months ago.Looking down 8th Street over the summerLooking down 8th Street