When the housing bubble burst and the recession hit in 2007, plans to convert Creswell Iron Works on Cherry Street into apartments tanked. The quaint collection of industrial buildings is now headed for demolition. Michael Bixler has the details

The Shadow give us a classic example of adaptive reuse from the 1980s, when the residential conversion of an old typewriter factory in Logan Square led to a wave of new development

Development of the lot at 20th and Arch has been cursed since the Kahn Building was demolished in 1929, only 8 years after its construction. Ironically, an easy to miss, colorful little Gulf Oil station has survived at the spot for 85 years–long enough to be placed on the Philadelphia Register. The Shadow serves up a big slice of history on this heartening little hut

Harry K. investigates the rationale and planning for Benjamin Franklin Parkway over a century ago, as well as a series of other unrealized diagonal streets that were proposed, in a calculated, efficient way, to add European sophistication and cultural grandeur to the city

When the Family Court relocates to its new building on LOVE Park later this year, it will vacate the French-inspired structure on Logan Square it’s called home for over 70 years. Max Ufberg digs in to see what will become of the New Deal-era murals, as well as a looming sculpture of a prominent judge, when the building is reborn as a luxury hotel

150 years ago, while the Civil War raged, Philadelphians attended the Great Sanitary Fair on Logan Square to support the troops. Harry K takes a look at the event, which raised more than a million dollars and helped pave the way for the Centennial Exposition of 1876

In 2008, PMC Property Group demolished the former St. George’s Hall and the Fernley & Fernley Building at 19th & Arch; last year, they started construction on 1900 Arch, the apartment building rising there now. Christopher Mote reports that PMC has also obtained a demolition permit for the circa-1869 brownstone next door, the Francis McIlvain House

With origins as a lumber company at 25th & South, the William Henry Maule Company grew to be one of the largest seed companies in the world. After bouncing around various offices, Maule built an eight-story headquarters at 21st & Arch, now occupied by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. The Shadow Knows the varied life the building has lived in the 100 years since it opened