In South Kensington

Considering its industrial history, South Kensington has numerous white elephants, though the former Gretz Brewery at 1524 Germantown Ave. might be the most obvious. We first wrote about this crumbling collection of industrial buildings back in 2012, sharing some history about the brewery that once occupied the property and wondering about its future.

Perhaps you've noticed 173 W. Berks St. at some point over the years and wondered about its history. From the looks of the building, it's clear it was constructed at some point in the 1800s, when Kensington was a manufacturing hub known as the Workshop of the World. There are

The northeast corner of 6th & Girard is home to a rather cool looking edifice which has fortunately survived years of neighborhood decline and what looks like less than ideal care from its owners over time. The building originally operated as the Sixth Street Farmers Market and was also used as

We were making our way through South Kensington recently, and some active construction on the 2100 block of N. 2nd Street drew our attention. Historically, the properties at 2130-36 N. 2nd St. were used for housing. In recent decades though, property values sank in the neighborhood and old buildings were demolished

A nice-sized multi-family development near 5th & Norris is progressing, but things are moving a little slower than we might have expected. A reminder, a project called Soko Commons is currently under construction at 2004 N. 5th St., a site that's been vacant in recent years and was a scrap

The Behavioral Wellness Center at Girard takes up the city block surrounded by Franklin Street, Thompson Street, 9th Street, and Girard Avenue, and has a very interesting history as a medical facility. The property was originally operated as Philadelphia Children’s Homeopathic Hospital, which was later renamed St. Luke’s and Children’s Medical

Things are moving fast in the Norris Square and South Kensington neighborhoods. To wit - less than four years ago, we drew your attention to 2000 N. 2nd St., a ten-story industrial building that was occupied at that time by a wicker wholesaler and was originally constructed as a silk

Things continue to boom on Front Street, with new construction and renovation activity changing the face of the long ignored stretch under the El. It still amazes us that developers are giving so much attention to Front Street, given the looming presence of the elevated rail tracks and the rumble

If you've been following the trajectory of South Kensington over the last several years, the replacement of an old industrial building with a mixed-use project is perhaps a bit old hat. Nevertheless, it's our job to tell you about new projects as they come along, and here we are with another

We told you about 1221 N. 4th St. back in the summer of 2018, noting that the attractive edifice was originally constructed in the 1890s and was used as the Engine House 29 until the opening of the less than picturesque fire station on Girard Avenue in 1979. It's actually a