In West Philly

Several months ago, we directed your attention to the 3600 block of Haverford Avenue, where we spied some heavy machinery moving dirt around. At the time, we took the opportunity to remind you about the recent history of the block. For those not in the know that don't feel like

Michael's Custom Cuts is a little barber shop/hair salon in West Philly where we've been getting our haircuts for longer than we can remember. And many people can say the same thing, as we're pretty sure this business has been operating out of a space near the corner of 40th

The Garden Court Plaza building at 4701 Pine St. possesses an altogether unique presence in West Philadelphia, an Art Deco building standing fourteen-stories high in the middle of a mostly low rise residential area. The building was designed to be the centerpiece of the Garden Court neighborhood, which runs from 46th

We were perusing the ZBA calendar the other day and discovered that 4108 Haverford Ave. is tabbed for redevelopment. This property looks like it was originally built for industrial purposes and probably got some use as a warehouse at some point early in its life. Most recently though, the building

Penn's campus technically ends at 40th & Walnut, but off-campus student housing for the university extends far to the north, going all the way up to Haverford Avenue (and beyond). Despite the countless projects we've covered around here over the years, we believe that the area is still ripe for redevelopment. Properties on

The 4200 block of Filbert Street seems like it was a city planner's mistake a hundred plus years ago. The incredibly narrow block extends west from 42nd Street, and ends in a dead end before getting halfway to 43rd Street. We looked at historic maps, and the block has always

It was about a year and a half ago that we told you about Schuylkill Yards, a massive development endeavor from Drexel and Brandywine Realty Trust on the blocks surrounding 30th Street Station. How could you forget, it's the post where we introduced the Dutch concept of “woonerf,” which is a space where

The University of Pennsylvania wants to increase its dormitory offerings, and a green space at the edge of campus will fall victim to this aspiration. The southeast corner of 40th & Walnut is home to a branch of the Free Library, and a field wraps around the building with frontage on

There's a triangular parcel that's bordered by Mantua Avenue, Fairmount Avenue, and 34th Street that's been sitting vacant for as long as we can remember. Google Street View confirms it's been vacant for at least a decade. We know that at one point there were roughly a dozen homes and apartments

A couple readers have reached out recently, wondering what's happening on the north side of the 3600 block of Haverford Avenue. You may recall, several years ago, there was a plan floating out there to build a supermarket in Mantua, spanning four city blocks between 36th and 38th Streets, Haverford