Development Neighbors In Spruce Hill Mobilize As Arvilla Eviction Nears Affordable housing nonprofit Mission First evicts residents of The Arvilla in West Philadelphia, displacing a community of low-income families. Ali Roseberry-Polier has the details
Preservation Historical Commission Inches Its Way Back To District Designations After a long, mysterious hiatus, historic district nominations are back on the City’s agenda. Next stop: Wayne Junction. Starr Herr-Cardillo reports
History With The DNC, A Peek Inside Election Days Of The 1980s The DNC has a former West Philly resident revisiting days of ward committees, election judging, and driving the election results to City Hall Annex. Philadelphia big D- and little d-democratic life
Photography Seeing Between The Ci-Lines: St. Andrew’s Chapel Awakened With Art And Geometry Temporary art installation Ci-Lines opens this Saturday inside the ornate, vacant St. Andrew’s Chapel on Spruce Street in West Philly. We spoke with the project’s artist Aaron Asis about community engagement, vacant and abandoned site activation, and urban preservation
Architecture In West Philly, Redemption For A Strip Mall Our pages are filled with stories of churches being demolished and replaced with prosaic architecture. But sometimes the process reverses. In West Philly, the University City Chinese Christian Church has transformed a languishing unfinished strip mall with subtly elegant modern architecture
Development Find Out About 4224 Baltimore, Starting Tonight A developer has plans to build 92 units (with only 6 parking spaces) on the corner of 43rd & Baltimore, across the street from Clark Parkābut they’re open to suggestions. Clarkmore Group LLC and the Spruce Hill Community Association begin their community engagement process this evening at the International House
History In West Philly, Finding The Source Of Barnes’ Fortune The source of Barnes’ fortune? Vivienne Tang traces it to a pharmaceutical factory in an old hotel (which, incidentally, now houses a pharmacy), where Barnes hung his paintings and taught his employees his theories on art and learning
Preservation Demo Approval For 40th And Pine Mansion Upheld By L&I Board The Board of L&I Review votes 2-2. The tie vote means the defendant–the University of Pennsylvania–wins, allowing demolition of the Levy Leas mansion at 40th and Pine. An appeal will go to the Court of Common Pleas