The Geography Of Retreat
Hidden City has covered more churches and schools that have closed, are closing, or might be closing, than we'd really care to. John Vidumsky has plotted them on a citywide map to illustrate just how widespread the closings have been, and to place them into their geographical context > more
In “The Neck,” A History Of Stiff Resistance To Change
The Neck? South Philly swampland coveted by urban dreamers for more than a century was finally tamed for refineries, the Sports Complex, and FDR Park. The turning point: the six-year-long "pig wars" and the final end to South Philly's agrarian history. John Vidumsky recreates the showdown with pigs as proxy for the yeoman lifestyle and an interview with one of the last surviving homesteaders > more
In Kensington, A Secret “Punk Rock” Temple Of The Occult
Our master of the occult John Vidumsky finds himself inside a Thelemite temple, talking magic worship and DIY construction with the occult religion's local leader Frater Lux ad Mundi, whose name means “Brother of Light to the World” > more
Inside the Circle
Under the El in Frankford an ordinary sneaker store masks the only "atmospheric" movie palace in the city, the Circle Theater > more
Lost Goldmine Of The Wissahickon
Cavemaster John Vidumsky takes us beyond even the usual lost caves of the Wissahickon to this one, dug originally by the Roxborough Mining Company in 1763--and used by a modern-day hermit > more
© 2011-2013 Hidden City Philadelphia |