In West Philly

Over the past several years, numerous multi-unit projects have been built in and around University City. The reason behind this is a no-brainer- the proximity to multiple universities, the easy access to transit, and the developer-friendly zoning combine to make an ideal situation for builders who intend to target the

We last covered the Garden Court Plaza building in early 2018, at which point we provided a little bit of history regarding the property on the northwest corner of 47th & Pine. A refresher, the building was commissioned in 1926 by Clarence Siegel, the developer that was responsible for many other buildings

In the 1950s, 52nd Street was a destination commercial corridor in West Philadelphia, home to multiple movie theaters, jazz clubs, and enough stores that people in the neighborhood rarely needed to travel to Center City to do their shopping. Like many commercial corridors in town, 52nd Street fell on hard

We've always been a little confused by the surface parking lot at the northeast corner of 34th & Chestnut. That's not to say that we don't understand why a parking lot would exist at this corner- with a location that's incredibly convenient to both Penn and Drexel, it certainly makes

Almost exactly four years ago, we brought the Saint James Pentecostal Church at 4101 Ludlow St. to your attention, speculating that it was perhaps the reddest church ever. We described the history of the edifice, noting that it was originally built in 1846 as the home to the Monumental Baptist Church, which was one of the

We were looking at some aerial images of West Philly last week, which is of course a very common activity that normal people do all the time. Right? Hey, stop looking at us like that.As we were saying, we were looking at some aerial images and something caught our eye near

Philadelphia is a first class city, home to several large corporations and a host of small businesses, but "Eds and Meds" are the biggest drivers of the local economy. The eds are the local colleges and universities, like Penn, Drexel, Temple, and University of the Arts, to name a few.

The 3800 and 3900 blocks of Walnut, Locust, and Spruce were once typical West Philly streets, albeit with a strong bend toward Penn-related uses, including frat houses, small apartment buildings, and small businesses catering to the student population. Penn controversially purchased the four square blocks in the late 1960s and

We've been looking at two potential projects on the 4400 blocks of Chestnut and Ludlow for half a decade, following along as the plans have evolved over the years. First, in 2015, we told you that Orens Brothers intended to build a pair of apartment buildings at 4415 Chestnut St. and 4415 Ludlow

Historically, there were a couple of homes at 3933 and 3935 Powelton Ave., and as was the case with many large homes in the area, they eventually got carved up into small apartment buildings. But time was not kind to these buildings, and both were torn down in the late 1990s or early 2000s, along