In Francisville

To state the obvious, Francisville has changed considerably since 2009. Back then, Inga Saffron wrote a story about the neighborhood, and started it thusly: "Francisville is by no means one of Philadelphia's hottest places to live -- at least not yet. Plenty of people have never heard of the modest

The Ridge Avenue Farmers Market was one of the most impressive buildings in Francisville and also functioned as the economic center of the neighborhood for almost a century. We've covered this building before, so please raise your hand if you remember that it was constructed in 1875 in the High

A couple of readers have reached out to us in the last couple days to let us know that construction has gotten started on a small mixed-use project at 907 Leland St. in Francisville. If you were paying attention when we last covered this property back in September, you'll know

Last week, we noted that developers had demolished an old building at 1624 Poplar St. and were planning a row of quadplexes in its place. In case you don't remember the visuals, allow us to jog your memory.In the pastView from last weekNoting our story and wishing to add some

A reader tipped us off recently that they noticed some demolition activity on the south side of the 1600 block of Poplar Street, but it seems that the demo contractors moved pretty quickly and were mostly finished their work by the time we were able to pay a visit. In

Francisville has grown by leaps and bounds in the last half decade, but some blocks in the neighborhood have remained in sad shape. Even Ridge Avenue, which has seen numerous new buildings sprout up in recent years, still has its share of blight and vacancy. A couple years ago, we

We first visted the 1500 block of Parrish Street over five years ago, when we shared the news that the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale planned to buy a warehouse at 1521 Parrish St. and make their home there, moving from a space near Drexel's campus. Part of that plan

Over the summer, we told you that the former home of Joy Chinese Restaurant at 723 N. 19th St. had been listed for sale and then gone under agreement in less than two weeks. At the time, we wondered about the future of this little building, which we suspected was once

News flash, Ridge Avenue is changing. Okay, this isn't as much a news flash as it is a reminder of the drum we've been beating for several years. But just because it's old news doesn't mean it's irrelevant or not worth mentioning regularly. After all, some blocks on Ridge have

We were making our way through Francisville the other day and a seemingly new chain link fence caught our attention at the corner of 16th & Cambridge. The 'Work in Progress' signs on the fence are a pretty good indication that something will soon be happening here.Chain link fenceBefore we