tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52825625023146713972011-09-16T09:52:12.131-04:00Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.comBlogger1771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-62111648593157943342010-09-04T10:20:00.001-04:002010-09-04T13:23:10.112-04:00

It's taken a while, but I've finally gotten settled in Los Angeles. For those who would be interested, I have also decided to continue writing from a new blog called Urban Diachrony. For for the time being, it will be a little more photoblog-like, and a lot lighter on written content until I get myself a bit more oriented here. Happy Labor Day weekend!Original photo: Butterfield, Chalmers. "

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-6608833301676947012010-08-02T09:00:00.002-04:002010-08-02T09:06:00.374-04:00

1970-2010Ximen Circle is a particularly fascinating place in Taipei's history in no small part because it was arguably the city's most fantastically complicated and chaotic intersection. Up until the end of the 20th century, streets branched out in seven directions, and furthermore, the entire traffic circle was bisected by a busy at-grade railroad crossing. Meanwhile, pedestrian circulation was

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-66536545296347298802010-07-24T10:53:00.003-04:002010-07-24T10:53:00.269-04:00

1970-2010Since the end of World War II, Taipei's Ximending district (西門町) has been one of the city's largest retail and entertainment hubs, as well as a major center of local youth culture. The neighborhood is one of few places in Taiwan to have retained its Japanese colonial period name, literally "west gate town," owing to its location immediately outside of Taipei's western walls. Though the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-8462652768517790812010-07-20T09:00:00.002-04:002010-07-20T09:00:08.954-04:00

1970-2010The Zhongshan and Minquan Road intersection is still busy today, although it's no longer one of downtown Taipei's most important crossroads. Most of Taipei's major avenues were reconfigured and landscaped in the 1950s and 60s; the trees running down Zhongshan Road's two median strips in the original photo appear to have been planted only several years earlier.The hotel building in the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-52934991904877109722010-07-13T10:21:00.001-04:002010-07-13T10:26:36.096-04:00

1970-2010In the 1960s and 70s, the side streets off of Zhongshan North Road, Section 2 housed a number of bars and nightclubs that were mainly popular among American servicemen and other expats. Pictured here is FuShun Street (撫順街), once home to a number of such establishments like the Queen's Club, the Hawaii Bar, and the Arcade Bar.40 years later, the American military presence in Taiwan is

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-53623238901761827072010-07-11T14:36:00.001-04:002010-07-11T14:38:03.788-04:00

It's not the most obvious place one would expect to find a bunch of old photographs of Taipei, but a website (on Tripod, no less) maintained by former U.S. military personnel stationed at Shulinkou Air Station happens to have a small but valuable collection of such photos. The 6987th Security Group was one of many American military units stationed in Taiwan between 1955 and 1977, during the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-78255135494304093642010-07-05T08:42:00.001-04:002010-07-05T08:42:00.424-04:00

I'm afraid that I have some unfortunate news for my Philadelphia area readers. Looking back now, my first post of 2010 was somewhat portentous, since my imminent plans to pursue graduate studies in linguistics are leading me to Los Angeles, California. Among other things, it means that the Philadelphia Then and Now posts are coming to an end for the foreseeable future.When I first created this

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-43381254115266163202010-06-29T10:25:00.001-04:002010-07-02T10:23:04.636-04:00

c. 2000-2010Today, the southeast corner of 8th and Walnut Streets is occupied by the base of the St. James apartment tower, completed in 2004 as one of the earliest finished projects in Center City's last residential development boom. In addition to substanially adding to the city skyline east of Broad Street, the project included a significant preservation component. The three remaining houses

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-25090823162369624202010-06-23T12:27:00.002-04:002010-06-23T12:31:24.112-04:00

1916-2010For many decades, the 1300 block of Spring Garden Street was one of Philadelphia's grandest blocks, anchoring the civic and institutional core of lower North Philadelphia. Six years before the consolidation of Philadelphia County into a single municipality, the Spring Garden District built its Commissioner's Hall at the northwest corner of 13th and Spring Garden Streets in 1848. Three

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-84723019987227090892010-06-17T10:53:00.001-04:002010-06-17T14:56:19.026-04:00

1965-2010The 601 block of Market Street was cleared in the mid-1960s to make way for a federal courthouse and office building complex, occupying the entire site bounded by 6th, 7th, Market, and Arch Streets. Part of the massive Independence Mall urban renewal project, it was designed by a team of architects including Carroll, Grisdale & Van Allen; Stewart, Noble, Class & Partners; and Bellante

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-15523559123371962242010-06-14T09:56:00.000-04:002010-06-14T09:56:00.107-04:00

1959-2010On October 13, 1856, a jewelry merchant named George Gordon purchased a four-story warehouse building at 300 Arch Street. By November 20, just over a month later, the original structure had been demolished, and construction had begun on a five-story replacement later known as the George Gordon Building. The Gordon Building is a relatively early work of cast-iron commercial architecture,

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-716512365164944622010-06-08T09:59:00.002-04:002010-06-10T01:03:39.366-04:00

1915-2010The building on Market Street by the Schuylkill banks that today houses the Marketplace Design Center was initially built as an automobile factory, circa 1920. Like many industrial buildings of its age, it had a loading dock on the ground level connected to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks by a short rail siding. Also visible in the top right of the original photograph is the B&O's

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-89281945026753527062010-06-03T12:54:00.002-04:002010-06-03T12:54:00.039-04:00

1959-2010After being cleared in the early 1960s, this segment of Dock Street as it appears today was rebuilt by the late local real estate developer and film enthusiast, Ramon L. Posel. In 1976, Posel opened the Ritz Three theater at the southwest corner of Dock and Walnut Streets (left of photo), followed in 1977 by a complementary two-story retail building across Dock Street. According to PAB,

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-22823536057307771622010-05-31T18:56:00.000-04:002010-05-31T18:56:00.438-04:00

1917-2010Up through the end of the First World War, this corner of Jewelers' Row conserved much of its late Victorian era appearance. Since then, through a series of alterations, the short block has lost many of its original façades and some of its former density. The building with the six-story tower on the far right of the original photo is the Times Building, built for the Times publishing

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-52151001954796125832010-05-28T09:16:00.002-04:002010-05-28T09:16:00.279-04:00

August 2008-May 2010In the fight against brick, stucco wins a small victory at Ardmore's Walton Apartments. Not much seems to be known about this humble apartment block, built in the early 1920s. Apparently, those in charge of the building's rehab have decided to replace only the top portion of the brick exterior, while leaving the rest intact (hopefully I'm not mistaken!).Source: Lower Merion

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-62600282269825317322010-05-24T12:22:00.000-04:002010-05-24T12:23:24.593-04:00

1963-2010Though not quite obvious from its current appearance, this vacant storefront on a quiet block of Chestnut Street gave birth to a true icon of 20th century American dining. In 1902 the Horn & Hardart Baking Company opened their first automat on the ground floor of the Pierson Building at 818-820 Chestnut Street. The automat, where diners purchased food and drink entirely from

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-2426030875471592522010-05-20T15:20:00.001-04:002010-05-20T15:31:43.045-04:00

c. 1902-2010The Stratford Hotel, originally named the Hotel St. George, was built sometime between 1875 and 1885 at the southwest corner of Broad and Walnut Streets. Eventually, the Stratford was acquired by the Hotel Bellevue, a highly successful establishment run by George C. Boldt, located directly across Walnut Street. In 1902, the Stratford Hotel was demolished to make way for Boldt's

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-77549369430729634042010-05-16T11:31:00.000-04:002010-05-16T11:31:00.495-04:00

1930-2010At the time of the Second World War, the Market-Frankford Line was fully elevated through West Philadelphia, emerging from the subway tunnel at 22nd and Market Streets. The original photograph shows part of the original "El" station at 32nd Street, completed in 1908. Barely visible in the background of the original photo is the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Philadelphia Station, which at

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-52078673987419330212010-05-13T13:26:00.001-04:002010-05-13T13:27:15.684-04:00

1965-2010Originally located at the corner of 5th and South Streets, the N. Snellenberg & Co. department store moved to Market East at the turn of the 20th century. At its height, the Snellenberg's department store occupied a full block of Market Street between 11th and 12th Streets, across from Reading Terminal.Snellenberg's was one of the earliest of Market East's large department stores to

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-90794346882355224872010-05-11T14:00:00.000-04:002010-05-11T14:00:01.814-04:00

1903-2010For the first half of the 20th century, Broad Street veered off of its linear path at City Hall, snaking around the west side of the public buildings on what could otherwise have been called "West Penn Square." A decade after the original photograph was taken, the four buildings facing Broad Street from the left edge of the photo had been demolished to make way for the Commercial Trust

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-17151688010191534312010-05-09T15:56:00.001-04:002010-05-09T15:58:50.225-04:00

Date unknown - 2010 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad entered Philadelphia's rapidly-growing passenger rail market in the late-19th century, opening its own passenger terminal in 1888 at 24th and Chestnut Streets, at the foot of the Chestnut Street Bridge. The station was designed by none other than the prolific Furness, Evans, & Co., who went on the build the much grander expansion to Broad Street

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-45817889344321810772010-05-04T16:01:00.000-04:002010-05-04T16:02:16.589-04:00

1928-2010 In 1928, the lower end of the Schuylkill River running through Center City Philadelphia was not exactly an inviting place to linger. Between Spring Garden Street and Spruce Street, the river's east bank was lined with freight depots, warehouses, and factories, while the west bank was home to an enormous stockyard and abbattoir. To top it off, much of the city's untreated sewage was

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-88520774338346131112010-05-01T12:21:00.000-04:002010-05-01T12:21:00.831-04:00

1930-2010 While the altered facades on the two corner buildings pictured are lamentable, one should perhaps be grateful that they are still standing at all. On May 3, 1984, flames broke out during renovation work for the Harrison Court building at 10th and Filbert (bottom left of original photo). Miraculously, only two people were treated for injuries from the conflagration. The fire however,

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-68700544349617635862010-04-26T10:16:00.000-04:002010-04-26T10:16:00.320-04:00

1930-2010On the left hand side of today's view is Abbott's Square, a gargantuan condominium complex spanning a full block of South Street and Second Street. Built in the mid-1980s, Abbott's Square takes its name from Abbott's Dairies, which operated a nearby ice cream factory on the 200 block of Lombard Street before closing in 1982.As in most of the city, trolley service on South Street ended in

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-42831243835453948102010-04-23T14:24:00.000-04:002010-04-23T14:25:49.863-04:00

c. 1900-2010As far as museums go, the Betsy Ross House is one of Philadelphia's oldest, and has been at least partially open to the public since 1898. The building went through a major renovation in 1937, which included a redesigned facade designed by Colonial Revival specialist Richardson Brognard Okie. Shortly afterward, the former warehouse properties on its western side were demolished and

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-82333194842461125042010-04-21T10:04:00.001-04:002010-04-21T10:04:00.730-04:00

1939-2010The Merchants Exchange was commissioned in 1831 by the Philadelphia Exchange Company, a group of prominent merchants who had organized for the purpose of building a main brokerage hall for Philadelphia's fast-growing commercial center. Built between the city's waterfront and its banking district on Chestnut Street, the Exchange stood at the very epicenter of Philadelphia's commercial

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-44951307362146791062010-04-16T09:40:00.000-04:002010-04-16T09:40:00.049-04:00

1935-2010The Trans-Lux Theater first opened in 1934 as a newsreel theater, one of the many cinemas that once lined Chestnut Street west of Broad. Its design is attributed to the prolific American theater architect Thomas W. Lamb, best known for his classical revival theater designs from the 1910s and 20s. However, as the Trans-Lux attests, he managed to transition masterfully into Art Deco during

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-87982036435785832842010-04-14T12:29:00.004-04:002010-04-15T18:52:52.798-04:00

1931-2010The ground-floor storefronts on this corner of Sansom Street have been completely rebuilt since the 1930s. If you look closely at the grooves of the sidewalk curb however, you will find that it remains essentially unchanged.Original photo: Sack. "Department of City Transit-22539-0." 1931. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 8 Apr. 2010. http

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-42453384846198242122010-04-09T15:22:00.000-04:002010-04-09T15:22:00.369-04:00

Hot on the heels of the opening of the Gallery in 1977, the second major phase of the city's Market East redevelopment plan began to take shape. In 1978, the city began construction of the epic $325 million Center City Commuter Tunnel, including the underground Market East Station. The new commuter rail station was to be connected to the original Gallery by the Gallery II, a major expansion of

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-12539456167430376572010-04-07T09:03:00.000-04:002010-04-07T09:03:00.415-04:00

1917-2010The Jewelry Trades Building was built c. 1930 on the site of four lots on the western end of the block of Sansom Street now known as Jewelers' Row. The architect, Ralph Bowden Bencker, was one of Philadelphia's more prolific early Modernist architects in the 1920s and 30s, best known for designing the Rittenhouse Plaza apartments and the Ayer on Washington Square. The Jewelry Trades

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-77103796537178303702010-04-05T17:13:00.000-04:002010-04-05T17:14:39.440-04:00

There's been such a general dearth of new construction here in the past few months that I'd even lost track of the handful of mid-sized projects nearing completion. The opening of Drexel's new Recreation Center back in February flew right under the radar, but I managed to finally get a look at the completed product over the weekend.The Recreation Center as viewed from 33rd and Market Designed by

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-45604815425171421312010-03-30T16:25:00.000-04:002010-03-30T16:26:09.146-04:00

1979-2010The Charles C. Harrison Building at 10th and Market Streets was commissioned in 1893 by Charles Custis Harrison, a Philadelphia-born industrialist who had amassed a significant fortune as one of the founders of the Franklin Sugar Refining Company. The architects, the nascent Philadelphia firm of Cope & Stewardson, had recently completed a number of campus buildings for Bryn Mawr College.

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-55178519902186704552010-03-24T08:58:00.001-04:002010-03-24T08:58:00.259-04:00

1961-2010 The few extremely loyal readers of this blog may remember a very early post of mine featuring this same exact corner, whose history I was unable to find at the time. It would not have been such a mystery at all had I simply known where to look. Thankfully, as it is for all occupations, with time comes experience, and it is with great pleasure that I now return to this corner of Northern

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-61330510675846405352010-03-19T13:47:00.000-04:002010-03-19T13:47:54.495-04:00

1960-2010The corner of 10th and Arch Streets now boasts two of Chinatown's most important landmarks. The Trocadero Theatre at 1003-1005 Arch Street was first built as the Arch Street Opera House in 1870, designed by Edwin Forrest Durang, known primarily as an architect of Catholic churches. In its 140-year history, the theater has gone through at least 11 name changes and multiple interior

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-17865569423816311892010-03-16T08:03:00.000-04:002010-03-19T13:51:14.519-04:00

1959-2010One of the most important consequences of the City Beautiful movement was an enduring affinity among city planners for open spaces, grand axes, and vistas, which lasted well through the 20th century. Aesthetic preferences, however, tend to be poor justifications for massive and costly urban renewal projects within democratic societies. Thus, 20th century planners developed alternative

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-35183188154874397352010-03-12T14:00:00.001-05:002010-03-15T17:03:39.684-04:00

1954-2010Constitution Place was one of the earliest projects of Philadelphia's post-war modernist construction boom, built in 1956 over the remains of four mid-19th century commercial buildings on what was once the city's "Banker's Row." Construction of the 13-story office tower also coincided with the beginning of large-scale demolition on the south side of Chestnut Street leading up to the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-9657525264038781252010-03-05T09:25:00.002-05:002010-03-23T16:32:50.241-04:00

1972-2010When the Philadelphia Art Club formed in 1887, it purchased a former residence at 220 South Broad Street (at $100,000) for the establishment of its club house. Finding the existing building unsuitable for its needs, the Art Club organized an architectural competition, ultimately won by the 27-year-old Frank Miles Day. The renovated and expanded building opened in late 1889 sporting a new

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-79790357673334365222010-03-01T08:56:00.001-05:002010-03-01T08:56:00.832-05:00

1962-2010(continued from previous post)Dock Street's 100 block was rebuilt in two phases after its demolition. The rubble had barely cleared when the I. M. Pei-designed Society Hill Towers (1964) began to rise, set back from the street on an artificial hill. The triangular lot on the opposite side of Dock Street remained a surface parking lot for two decades before the opening of the Sheraton

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-65295671512082239992010-02-25T19:59:00.001-05:002010-02-28T21:00:44.984-05:00

1959-2010The first of a series of posts:There is too much that can be written on the heritage of Philadelphia's Dock Street, which, like its snaking path through the city's rigid grid, defies a simple explanation. Originally a natural creek along the banks of the Delaware, it was settled by industrial activity during the early 18th century, which quickly reduced the waterway to a hazardous pool

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-58147886339005152722010-02-22T17:45:00.001-05:002010-02-22T17:45:39.511-05:00

c. 1910-2010 The Palace Theater seems to be Ardmore's oldest 20th-century theater, first built between 1913-1919, and later remodeled in Art Deco style. At one point, it also housed the town's Woolworth's store. Next door, 12 West Lancaster Avenue certainly takes the cake for Ardmore's most hideously altered building façade, an example of low-brow postmodernist design at its very worst.Source:

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-67167448952646979882010-02-15T09:25:00.000-05:002010-02-15T09:25:00.397-05:00

1993-2010The Ardmore Theater, one of the Main Line's grandest historic cinemas, opened in 1926 on W. Lancaster Avenue. With over 1200 seats, the single-screen theater reigned as Ardmore's largest for over seven decades, and in 2000 also became its last one to close. In a surprisingly fast turnover, the Beaux-Arts style building was almost immediately purchased by Town Sports International, which

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-73692061403978862102010-02-12T14:37:00.004-05:002010-02-12T14:59:42.922-05:00

Photo taken August 7, 2009Get ready to say goodbye to Northern Liberties' largest vacant lot. Tower Investments intends to break ground next tuesday at 2nd and Girard on the first phase of the long-awaited Shops at Schmidts development. Half of the 100,000 square feet of retail space will be dedicated to a Pathmark supermarket, reputedly to be more upscale than its other stores. This development

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-35192937699815951952010-02-11T11:24:00.000-05:002010-02-11T11:24:49.785-05:00

1955-2010Chestnut Street, before and after the proliferation of roll-down security gates.Bender, Charles J. and John McWhorter. "Public Works-43013-11." 1955. Philadelphia City Archives. Phillyhistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 31 Jan. 2010. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=89645

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-35272523746480135542010-02-07T16:23:00.001-05:002010-02-07T16:29:26.355-05:00

February 5, 2010 - February 6, 2010This montage is not exactly of historical interest, but it gives a pretty good idea of the magnitude of the massive snowstorm that slammed the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. Philadelphia officially recorded 28.5 inches of snow, with Ardmore probably a few inches behind, making this one of the greatest snowfalls in the area's recorded history.

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-16933643695242591582010-02-03T08:26:00.001-05:002010-02-03T08:26:00.965-05:00

1955-2010Here's a shot of the former Barricini Candy shop at 1324 Chestnut Street, several doors down from the Bartons Bonbonniere shown in a recent post. Barricini's signage demonstrates that neon commercial lighting can be rather tasteful if done properly. The former Barricini and Famous Maid spaces are now occupied by the Greenhouse market and deli.Bender, Charles J. and John McWhorter. "

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-13042520074193845332010-02-01T09:25:00.001-05:002010-02-01T09:25:00.331-05:00

1956-2010The 17-story tower that stands at the southeast corner of Broad and Walnut was completed in 1911 as a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, designed by Horace Trumbauer. The first five floors of the tower's façade were remodeled in a Modernist style in the mid-1950s (pictured above), and the interior was also presumably also converted into offices at that time.211 S. Broad Street was hit hard by the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-4899380832849381952010-01-28T08:49:00.001-05:002010-01-28T08:49:00.194-05:00

c. 1920 - 2009According records held by the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Juniper Building at 1324 Walnut Street is the work of architect Arthur S. Love, completed in 1915. The original photograph however, has been dated as from 1921.In my view, this picture is a true gem within the city's amazing photographic records. It seems surprising that such an artful photograph should be found

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-23050073307902250642010-01-25T09:15:00.004-05:002010-01-25T19:35:14.525-05:00

1955-2010The building at 1316 Chestnut Street seems to date back to the early 20th century, and in 1955 was home to Bartons Bonbonniere, a candy shop. Since then, its upper stories have been lopped off, and I'm not sure what occupies the space now, if anything.Edit: Bartons, as I have quite recently learned, was a legendary purveyor of chocolates founded in New York in 1938, widely known as a

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-76026219167516615662010-01-23T09:49:00.001-05:002010-01-23T09:49:00.439-05:00

1962-2010 The neoclassical Girard Trust Bank building at the northwest corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets is one of the last and lesser-known works of Frank Furness, completed in 1908 after he had largely abandoned the uniquely exuberant style of his earlier work. Its great main hall is now the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, also housed in the attached Girard Trust Company tower (1931)

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-15947899686630663222010-01-21T12:07:00.001-05:002010-01-21T12:07:00.506-05:00

2007-2010Not knowing of any easily accessible repository of historic images of Taipei, I'm making do with some of my own photos from the past few years. Fortunately, the city seems to grow fast enough in a few places for these montages to be decently interesting less than 3 years later.This is part of the city's Xinyi district viewed from one of Taipei 101's elevated walkways. The 2007 photo

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-38840406821249276812010-01-18T09:27:00.001-05:002010-01-18T09:27:00.535-05:00

1965-2009Philadelphia has much to thank its educational and medical institutions for. In recent decades, despite the city's overall economic decline, these two sectors have achieved significant, stable growth, and now account for nearly 20 percent of the city's employment base.Unfortunately, much of this growth came with a hidden cost - the steady erosion of the city's older streetscapes.

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-70325212947328949322010-01-13T07:42:00.002-05:002010-01-13T07:42:00.337-05:00

1930-2009Commercial storefront awnings, once a ubiquitous presence in North American cities, have become somewhat of a rarity on South Street. Ishkabibble's Eatery, a true South Street institution at the age of 30, was the last of its neighbors to maintain an awning and a well-preserved storefront lintel/cornice. Presumably, the lintel is still there, "temporarily" hidden behind the new sign and

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1951-2009 (photo credits: Associated Press and Scott Harrison)Seeing as the six Philadelphia City Hall tower posts from this past fall have proved fairly popular, I thought I'd start off the new year with a related link - an LA Times interactive feature which pairs six 1951 photographs from Los Angeles City Hall tower with new photographs taken nearly 50 years later.The pictures reveal some of

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-6213991938189819662009-12-27T06:25:00.000-05:002009-12-27T06:25:00.368-05:00

1940 - 2009The corner of Montgomery and Anderson Avenues was once the estate of one of Lower Merion Township's most prominent residents, Dr. George S. Gerhard, founder of Bryn Mawr Hospital. Built in the 1880s, the house was converted in the early 1920s into a residence hall for the newly consolidated Main Line YMCA, whose main building was then on Lancaster Avenue. Likely due to budget issues

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-70550234381092708012009-12-15T16:58:00.002-05:002009-12-15T17:02:20.202-05:00

1962-2009In 1954, ten years after joining Philadelphia's Free Library system, the Mercantile Library moved to Chestnut Street into a new building designed by local firm Martin, Stewart & Noble. The building immediately won widespread praise among the city's architectural community; Martin, Stewart & Noble were awarded 1954's Gold Medal from the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-56443059287878806252009-12-05T18:48:00.001-05:002009-12-05T18:48:46.991-05:00

1936-2009The two-story office and store building at 1535 Chestnut Street was built in 1936, and originally housed a men's clothing store and steamship company office. Today its ground floor is occupied by a nail salon and Rite Aid pharmacy.Though not a particularly a particularly ornate building to begin with, it seems that its window panels and facade cladding have been replaced over the years.

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-74206726456343588832009-11-23T09:06:00.000-05:002009-11-23T09:06:00.669-05:00

early 1950s-2009The original photo shows the north side of Lancaster Avenue viewed from Ardmore's western border in its early days as a suburban strip, almost completely unrecognizable today.Though not usually considered as such, early 20th century suburban developers were pioneers in adaptive reuse. With a few interior modifications, the the ample setbacks and lawns of former suburban residences

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-73838115157558887942009-11-16T08:05:00.000-05:002009-11-16T08:05:00.262-05:00

c. 1920s - 2009Built sometime between 1913 and 1920, the nameless 3-story building at the corner of Cricket and Lancaster Avenues has long been one of Ardmore's most distinct buildings. It's a wonderfully detailed specimen of Renaissance Revival design, and given the high quality of craftsmanship evident in its construction, was almost certainly built for relatively wealthy inhabitants. Though

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-51946513801825160272009-11-09T09:00:00.001-05:002009-11-09T09:00:02.763-05:00

1965-2009Few visitors to Philadelphia today, standing at the corner of 13th and Sansom, would feel much indication of 13th Street's turbulent recent history beneath its glimmering boutiques and restaurants. Neither, ufortunately, is any of it easily apparent in the above montage.At the time of the original photo, 13th Street between Chestnut and Locust Streets was a fur district dotted with bars

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-62934611011772448962009-11-05T16:21:00.002-05:002009-11-05T16:22:54.709-05:00

1952-2009After years of decay and abandonment, the southwest corner of 2nd and Laurel Streets, like many others in North Philadelphia, was reduced to a mere ghost of its former self. The corner building at 940 N. 2nd Street, once a produce market, now houses nothing more than a weed tree behind its sealed walls.Thankfully, one has every reason to believe that better days are ahead. The 100 block

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-33992563380036577212009-10-27T18:22:00.006-04:002009-10-29T21:08:39.381-04:00

By the end of the year, the City of Philadelphia will put out its request for proposals (RFP) for a 20-year street furniture contract to replace its current one. Though the exact elements of the contract have yet to be decided, it will very likely include new bus shelters, bike racks, newsstand corrals, and information kiosks. This presents a major opportunity for Nutter's City Hall and Deputy

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-70214430835194970252009-10-26T19:46:00.000-04:002009-10-26T19:46:51.698-04:00

1969-2009Though most of South Philadelphia avoided the rampant destruction and abandonment that plagued other parts of the city, its historic building stock nonetheless suffered from its fair share of neglect and insensitive facade alterations. Built in the early 1880s, the Church of the Crucifixion has had its original Gothic Revival facade marred by the replacement of its arched windows with

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-39260788952449874612009-10-13T09:00:00.001-04:002009-10-13T09:00:07.822-04:00

c. 1900 - 2009Perhaps no episode in the sad decline of Market East is as scarring as the disintegration of the Gimbel Brothers Department Store. Though not a home-grown institution like its many competitors (Strawbridge's, Wanamaker's, Lit Brothers, etc.) the store became a dominant landmark along Market Street. At its height, the Gimbels empire occupied the entire block of Market Street between

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-73896757900423905382009-10-08T09:05:00.001-04:002009-10-08T09:05:00.319-04:00

Date unknown-2009Oddly enough, the squat stucco building at the corner of Lancaster and Anderson Avenues is in fact one of downtown Ardmore's oldest commercial buildings. The Merion Title & Trust Company built its first Ardmore office in 1897 before relocating in 1917 to a new classical revival edifice built adjacent to its former home. The original structure at the heart of town also housed a

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-22382821347726897812009-10-06T08:38:00.002-04:002009-10-06T08:38:00.272-04:00

1969-2009The 1600 block was not spared the gradual 20th century conversion of Sansom Street to a de facto service street dominated by parking garages and loading areas. This handsome commercial row on the 1601 block managed to survive until 2000, when it fell victim to one of the greatest crimes against historic preservation in Philadelphia's recent history, senselessly cleared to make way for a

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-41952666613661243022009-10-02T20:38:00.001-04:002009-10-02T20:38:41.147-04:00

1969-2009Hemmed in by towers and skyscrapers, the south side of the 1500 block of Sansom Street contains a row of narrow 2- and 3-story buildings housing a motley crew of small locally-owned shops, bars, and restaurants that feel far removed from their surrouding streets. By and large, these businesses would be unsuitable for the larger floor spaces or higher rents on Chestnut Street or Walnut

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-6837914937925062592009-09-29T16:48:00.000-04:002010-02-28T21:00:44.992-05:00

1959-2009As the result of the gradual replacement of older buildings with poorly-designed new additions with minimal ground-floor retail presence, 4th Street suffers from an excess of blank walls and the typically moribund street life that plagues Old City's western edge. The boxy Continental Building (1970) on the southwest corner of 4th and Market is just about as bland as Modernism could ever

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-42540101412482725592009-09-26T17:32:00.003-04:002009-09-26T21:55:23.003-04:00

(enlarge for detail)In 1917, with the Fairmount Parkway finally taking shape after years of planning, stalling, and demolition, the Fairmount Park Commission commissionned 34-year-old French architect and planner Jacques Gréber to prepare the final plans for the Parkway's layout and building siting. So it was likely with great confidence that he returned to Philadelphia from his Paris office

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-79505686864124469182009-09-20T14:31:00.001-04:002009-09-20T14:31:38.495-04:00

c. 1890-2009Pictured here is the Pennsylvania Railroad's original station building at Haverford, named Haverford College Station until the 1890s. As with Wynnewood and Narberth, Haverford's station also served as the town's post office in its early days, which shows how instrumental the PRR was in the creation of Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs.From former property atlases, it seems that

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-17740803698768537722009-09-14T21:06:00.006-04:002009-09-14T21:39:11.680-04:00

Drexel University's forthcoming addition to its Daskalakis Athletics Center is taking shape along the 3301 block of Market Street, and right now things are looking blue. In a weird way, the construction site feels like a temporary art installation; once the blue housewrap gets covered and the fencing goes down, the final product will have very little of its current color. The expansion will

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-34874848837282779612009-09-12T15:27:00.002-04:002009-09-12T15:27:51.871-04:00

1912-2009This is a street level view of what was formerly Broad Street Station's viaduct and massive train shed north of Market Street, now part of Penn Center. Though it definitely lacks activity outside of the workday, it remains a functional downtown district that seamlessly connects with its adjacent neighborhoods. In that respect, Philadelphia fared much better than many other cities which

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-38028805129994211532009-09-09T09:22:00.001-04:002009-09-09T09:22:00.189-04:00

1915-2009In Philadelphia's collective memory, Broad Street Station seems to be best remembered not for the station building itself, but for its massive elevated viaduct which ran along toward Filbert Street toward the Schuylkill River, infamously known as the "Chinese Wall." Indeed, the railroad viaduct posed an enormous physical and economic barrier between Logan Square and the fashionable

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-9078539604584319802009-09-06T15:00:00.002-04:002009-09-08T17:09:03.990-04:00

1915-2009North Broad Street has always been home to an odd jumble of uses. By the early 20th century, the lower end near City Hall housed a small group of offices and institutional buildings, followed by concentration of large factories and warehouses between Vine and Spring Garden Streets. This general land use pattern remains hardly altered almost a century later, the largest single addition

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-7646941914303704092009-09-04T17:26:00.001-04:002009-09-06T13:37:03.911-04:00

1914-2009Like many of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods, Northern Liberties had its own neighborhood market shed occupying the median of two blocks of N. 2nd Street between Fairmount Avenue and Poplar Street. The market stalls were demolished in the 1930s, coinciding with the general decline of neighborhood markets and the emergence of grocery stores and supermarkets. Headhouse Square in

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-28613152377848325652009-09-02T07:40:00.004-04:002009-09-02T07:40:00.370-04:00

1903 - 2009When the Dundas-Lippincott residence was built in 1839, Broad Street was still very much on the fashionable western periphery of Philadelphia, whose commercial activity was still clustered around Washington Square and present-day Old City. By 1900, the Dundas-Lippincott house was in its final days. The city's wealthy elite had firmly reestablished itself near Rittenhouse Square and the

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-47687719964377185302009-08-30T15:10:00.001-04:002009-08-30T15:19:47.805-04:00

1952-2009The original photograph seems to have been taken in anticipation of a period of major changes for West Philadelphia in the vicinity of the ever-expanding University of Pennsylvania. Soon after, Woodland Avenue's trolleys went underground into the expanded subway-surface tunnel. Woodland Avenue was closed to traffic east of 37th Street to become the University's Woodland Walk.The shops on

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-8985821936834070952009-08-27T20:28:00.010-04:002009-09-08T17:09:03.991-04:00

1915-2009Though it seems much less gargantuan by today's standards, when John Wanamaker's Department Store (Now Macy's, bottom right corner) opened in 1910, it's grandeur and size were entirely in a league of their own. Designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, at 15 stories and over 270 feet, Wanamaker's was by far the tallest building on Market Street east of City Hall, even dwarfing its

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-52602634836700381852009-08-24T11:50:00.001-04:002009-09-08T17:09:03.991-04:00

1915-2009At the turn of the 20th century, Broad Street south of City Hall had become Philadelphia's new center of business and finance, and home to the city's first cluster of skyscrapers, long before subsequent growth along Walnut Street west of Broad or the explosive development of Market West and Penn Center. The stretch received several major additions in the 20s and 30s, the most visible

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-1669225526005229732009-08-21T11:04:00.001-04:002009-09-08T17:09:03.992-04:00

1915-2009I'm think the original photographer, a certain N.M. Rolston, would be more than a bit puzzled were he around today to look over Reading Terminal, only to see no railroad viaduct leading out of the trainshed, but a skybridge connecting to an enormously wide (and still growing) Pennsylvania Convention Center exhibition hall. The trains still run today, just underground in the Center City

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-12002356954232860992009-08-19T12:18:00.002-04:002009-08-22T09:37:18.031-04:00

While the South Street Bridge's redesign has received a good deal of press recently, PennDOT has finally finished its resurfacing and rehabilitation project the John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge after over two years of closures.29th Street's new sidewalkI'm happy to say that it's a solid improvement over the regular old highway bridge it once was. The new pedestrian-scaled lights on the bridge

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-19442370277363074362009-08-18T10:04:00.000-04:002009-09-08T17:09:03.992-04:00

1915-2009One of the true gems to be found on PhillyHistory.org is a small series of photos taken in 1915 from City Hall tower's observation deck. Roughly 500 feet above ground, it remains the city's tallest observation area open to the public, and its location at the heart of Center City lends it the most magnificent view of central Philadelphia.Although the city has changed significantly in

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-69354564626567296902009-08-15T16:47:00.000-04:002009-08-15T16:49:01.764-04:00

1952-2009Nothing quite looks the same on the 1100 block of Market Street. Snellenburg's is gone, The Gallery II is now across the street, and the streetscape has gotten new lights, paving, planters, trees, newspaper boxes and stands, trash cans, bus shelters, and even a reconfigured subway stop. It's a nice surprise then to see the streetcar pole for the former Route 23 trolley standing right

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-43072995290072080522009-08-11T18:04:00.000-04:002009-08-11T18:04:58.280-04:00

1913-2009The southwest corner of Broad and Spring Garden (photo left) had become a gas station by the early 40s, before being replaced in 1958 by the State Office Building and plaza. Central High School on the center right (which will hopefully have its own post soon) was succeeded by the decidedly less inspiring Benjamin Franklin High School, also completed in 1958.Sources:1. Philadelphia

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-127646948022199192009-08-09T15:34:00.000-04:002009-08-09T15:34:48.333-04:00

View north of Independence Hall, pre-1950sWhat the folks at the Independence Visitors' Center won't tell you is that the heart of Philadelphia's "most historic square mile" is ironically also the worst preserved section of the city's downtown. Shortly after the National Park Service's creation of Independence National Historic Park around Old City and Independence Hall in 1948 (which involved its

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-24005733066682101502009-08-07T09:00:00.001-04:002009-08-07T09:00:06.677-04:00

1950-2009Alongside 30th Street Station just across Market Street, Philadelphia's former main post office is one of the city's most imposing civic buildings. Its architects, Rankin & Kellogg, were also responsible for many of the city's most iconic early 20th century buildings, including the Architects' Building, the Inquirer Building. and the Provident Trust Company tower. The structure was also

Brian Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17000077921166261812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5282562502314671397.post-54694459485973062812009-08-05T09:57:00.000-04:002009-08-05T09:57:00.606-04:00

1953-2009Though the Salvation Army does lots of good, charitable deeds, I can't quite say as much about their building preservation savvy. It's sad to see perfectly good tall shop windows go to waste under an ugly layer of stucco, not to mention the awful aluminum mansard roof imitation.Original photo: Cuneo. "Department of City Transit-29897-0." 1953. Philadelphia City Archives.

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Here in Philadelphia, SEPTA runs a very extensive bus network that (at least on weekdays) provides good and frequent service on most city routes. This is probably one of the city's most well-guarded secrets. For just about anyone who's never needed to get somewhere by bus, the whole thing's an enormous, inscrutable mystery. In many ways, it comes down to a simple problem of signage.Can you spot

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1960-2009The entire block between 12th, 13th, Market, and Filbert Streets disappeared sometime around 1990, replaced by an enormous 1200-room Marriott in 1995 as part of the massive redevelopment project that created the Pennsylvania Convention Center and transformed the upper end of Market East. As far as massive buildings go, the Marriott's design isn't bad. Unlike certain very underperforming

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1960-2009Save for its grandest buildings - the PSFS Building, the Reading Terminal, and Wanamaker's Department Store - little remains of pre-1950 Market Street east of City Hall. Hardly any of it seems to even suggest to unknowing passersby that the half-mile strip known as Market East was once one of the nation's most legendary retail districts, before it falling to neglect, destruction, and

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1929-2009Here's a continuation of the Parking in Prominent Places theme that began two posts ago. In the early 20th century, due to downtown's westward expansion, skyrocketing land values and improved building technology, the old town houses that flanked Rittenhouse Square began to gave way to the luxury high-rise apartments we know today. During that transitional period, the southeast corner of

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1963-2009Original photo: "Historic Commission-12404-21." 1963. City of Philadelphia Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 19 Jun. 2009. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=148293

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1957-2009 Up through the 19th century, the plateau Beaubourg, just a short walk from the market stalls of les Halles, was much like any other large swath of working-class Paris - crowded, dense, and miserable, perhaps just a bit more than average. In 1906, when the city began identifying areas in greatest need of renewal (i.e. demolition) the neighborhood, conspicuously located in the center of

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1984-2009The former Bonwit Teller department store tower went up in 1927, the work of local architect Clarence Edmond Wunder. In the past decade or so since Bonwit Teller closed, the first floor has been occupied by a Daffy's. Source: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.Original photo: Gouldey, Dick. "Historic Commission-22100-10." 1984. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org.

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Essentially built from the ground up in the 1970s, Taipei's "East District" (Dongqu - 東區) remains the city's premiere dining, shopping, and nightlife mecca. While its bustling main avenue, Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路), is home to its major restaurants and department stores, some of Taipei's best city life is to be found in the district's little side streets and alleyways.In terms of scale and pace,

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1916-2009It's often hard to see the potential of neglected buildings before seeing them in their original state. While urban renewal largely flattened Arch Street between 8th and 5th Streets, the 900 block, including these three buildings, and was later spared from redevelopment by the Chinatown area's poor economic status. Sometimes, poverty plays an unexpected role in historic preservation. On

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The Piazza at Schmidt's, photo by Philly SkylineAmong Philadelphia's major real estate development firms, Tower Investments is a most interesting case. The firm had a rather unexceptional beginning in 80s and 90s as a builder of generic, auto-oriented, big box shopping centers, which unfortunately often found themselves near the city's Delaware and Schuylkill riverfronts. Then sometime in the

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1963-2009The 3900 block of Walnut Street has seen its fortunes rise and fall. The duplex at 3931-3933 Walnut Street that still stands today in somewhat shabby condition was completed in 1887, the work of William H. Decker, whose works included several grand estates and institutional buildings in the then-booming West and North Philadelphia streetcar suburbs. The 20th century brought with it both

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(continued from previous post, part 1 below)Interestingly, both the Ben Franklin Parkway and the Avenue des Champs-Elysées are just about one mile in length. Yet Paris and Philadelphia are very different cities, and the two avenues are inevitably quite affected by their different urban contexts. Take these two satellite views from Google Maps for comparison.The Parkway has only two blocks on its

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One of the first things anyone learns about Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway is that it was inspired by and modeled after none other than the world's most famous grand axial boulevard, the Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris. One small bonus of spending time in Paris is the great opportunity to think about the two avenues by comparing them side by side in photographs. As fond of Paris as I

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1959-2009Original photo: "Law Department-L-8183-0." 1959. Philadelphia City Archives. Phillyhistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 11 Jun. 2009. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=161847

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