Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Nangang Metro Station (南港捷運站)
Saturday, December 27, 2008
In search of colonial Taipei: Zhongzheng District
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Then and Now: The Rush Hospital, 33rd St. and Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia
The Rush Hospital for Consumptives and Allied Diseases, completed in 1909, was designed by the firm of Brockie & Hastings, whose work consists mostly of estates in surburban Philadelphia. The Colonial Revival hospital building was purchased by Drexel University in 1961, and soon afterwards converted to classroom use. Today, the Rush building houses Drexel's College of Information Science and Technology.
As can be seen in today's view, the University is also in the midst of several building projects on or around 33rd and 34th Streets. Visible on the left side of the photo is the blue fencing for the expansion of the Daskalakis Athletic Center at 33rd and Market Street, which will push the building wall up to the sidewalk of Market Street, eliminating dead green space and vastly improving the pedestrian experience around it. Drexel's master plan also includes a new western wing to the Rush building, though whether or not this will materialize as anticipated in the current economic climate remains to be seen.
University Master Plan [Drexel Planning, Design, & Construction]
Sources: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
"Drexel University - PDC: Rush Building Info." Planning, Design, and Construction Department of Drexel University. 23 Dec. 2008. http://www.drexel.edu/depts/pdc/pages/buildings.asp?BID=10
Original Photo: Hess, Wenzel J. "Public Works-32150-0." 1931. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 19 Dec. 2008. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=31501
Sunday, December 21, 2008
A brief introduction: my Taipei neighborhood
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Brian goes to Europe
Just as I have gotten into the groove of things around here, I will be leaving the Philadelphia area tomorrow for a two-week visit to Taiwan, after which I will be studying at the University of Paris for half a year. At the latest, I'll be back at school here by September. As amazing as my time abroad will be, I will truly miss roaming around Philadelphia and Lower Merion. But please do stick around - I'm sure that I'll have way more than enough to blog about once I'm in Europe, and I've still got a bit of Philadelphia-area content which I haven't yet had the time to upload and write about.
Then and Now: 30-36 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore
Pictured here is 30-34 E. Lancaster Avenue before and after an ambitious first-floor facade renovation by the team behind J.R. Monaghan's Pub & Grille, which deserves enormous credit for filling the enormous black hole left behind by the dingy All Natural Market. The first-floor renovation was so successful that it's difficult today to imagine how abysmal the building looked less than a year ago without consulting a photograph. However, it would be unfair not to note that a good many facade renovations in Ardmore would not have happened without 50-50 matching grants provided by its Business Improvement District, the Ardmore Initiative, where I previously interned. The ability of BIDs, downtown development corporations, and other Main Street programs to leverage state and federal grant funds to encourage redevelopment can provide a crucial starting point for small town revitalization.
Original Image: "036-30 E Lancaster Ave." 2007. Lower Merion/Narberth Buildings. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 15 Dec. 2008. http://lowermerionhistory.org/buildings/data/buildings/images/originals/LancasterSouthSideE036-30_4208.JPG
Monday, December 15, 2008
Then and Now: the Ardmore Trolley and Llanerch Railway Station, Ardmore
Though Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs came to existence thanks largely to the efforts of the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad, it was not long before the city's rapidly growing streetcar and trolley network made its way into Delaware and Montgomery Counties. The Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company (later known as the Philadelphia Suburban Transit Company) first brought surburban trolley service to Llanerch and south Ardmore in 1902. Service was extended to Lancaster Pike three years later with the opening of the Ardmore trolley terminal, a short walk from the Pennsylvania Railroad's Ardmore Station.
Unfortunately, trolley service between downtown Ardmore and West Philadelphia did not survive America's postwar public transportation crisis. The Philadelphia Surburban Transit Company ended service to Ardmore in 1966, and the trolley station and tracks were demolished and replaced by a pocket park and (of course) an adjoining parking lot. The pocket park has subsequently been renamed Schauffele Plaza, and underwent a facelift several years ago as part of Ardmore's streetscape improvement project. It the only public park and seating area downtown, and is a stop for several SEPTA bus routes. Three of the PSTC's more fortunate suburban trolley lines are still operated today by SEPTA - routes 101, 102, and the 100 high-speed line.
Source: "Montgomery County: The Second Hundred Years - 1983." Lowermerionhistory.org. 15 Dec. 2008. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/first200/transportation_6.html
Original Image: "Ardmore Trolley and Llanarch Railway Stations, Ardmore." c. 1910. Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 10 Dec. 2008. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/photodb/full/115-4.jpg
Unfortunately, trolley service between downtown Ardmore and West Philadelphia did not survive America's postwar public transportation crisis. The Philadelphia Surburban Transit Company ended service to Ardmore in 1966, and the trolley station and tracks were demolished and replaced by a pocket park and (of course) an adjoining parking lot. The pocket park has subsequently been renamed Schauffele Plaza, and underwent a facelift several years ago as part of Ardmore's streetscape improvement project. It the only public park and seating area downtown, and is a stop for several SEPTA bus routes. Three of the PSTC's more fortunate suburban trolley lines are still operated today by SEPTA - routes 101, 102, and the 100 high-speed line.
Source: "Montgomery County: The Second Hundred Years - 1983." Lowermerionhistory.org. 15 Dec. 2008. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/first200/transportation_6.html
Original Image: "Ardmore Trolley and Llanarch Railway Stations, Ardmore." c. 1910. Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 10 Dec. 2008. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/photodb/full/115-4.jpg
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Nanzhou Handdrawn Noodle House
This is easily one of the best noodle soups to be found anywhere, and if I lived in Chinatown I would surely be a regular patron. Having grown up mostly in Taiwan, I've had my fair share of noodles. But I still do miss these when I'm back in Asia, which truly speaks to how great they are, and makes me infinitely grateful to live near a Chinatown as great as Philadelphia's. In fact one of the things I enjoy most about urban living is the ability to eat truly well, and hence there will always be a place for food on this blog.
Nanzhou Handdrawn Noodle House
927 Race St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Friday, December 12, 2008
Then and Now: 17th and Ludlow looking south, Philadelphia
The shops on the right side of the original photo were replaced by the United Plaza building (and plaza) in 1976. The hotel building now that houses the Westin was finished in 1990 alongside Two Liberty Place and its enclosed shopping gallery and rotunda.
Source: "United Plaza, Philadelphia." Emporis.com. 11 Dec. 2008. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117954
Original Image: "Department of City Transit-39618-0." 1959. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 1 Dec. 2008. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=59339
Source: "United Plaza, Philadelphia." Emporis.com. 11 Dec. 2008. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117954
Original Image: "Department of City Transit-39618-0." 1959. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 1 Dec. 2008. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=59339
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Then and Now: The Williamson Store, Ardmore
The Williamson Store originally stood at the southeast corner of Lancaster Avenue and Ardmore Avenue, and was completed sometime before 1908. The block housed four storefronts and was one of the first brick structures to be built on Lancaster Avenue, heralding a wave a commercial development that would quickly transform the then residential avenue into a fully built-out town center within two decades. Unfortunately, the stores and estates on downtown's edges were the hardest hit by the pressures of auto-centric development after WWII. Today, Lancaster Avenue any west of here quickly disintegrates into a world of surface parking, strip malls, and car dealerships. Not pictured behind Bryn Mawr Trust's prefab fortress is its always spacious parking lot (how much parking does a bank need anyways?)
Source: "Properties on the Main Line Pennsylvania Railroad from Overbrook to Paoli."Atlas. Philadelphia: A.H. Mueller, 1908.
Original Image: "Williamson Store, Ardmore." 1911. Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 8 Nov. 2008.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Then and Now: Southwest corner of 18th and Arch, Philadelphia
The handsome Philadelphia YWCA building was completed in 1891 across the street from the Arch Street Presbyterian Church. Shortly after the original photo was taken by the Historical Commission, the building was demolished in the summer of 1980. After sitting vacant for nearly 30 years, the site is now the proposed location of the American Commerce Center, a supertall to rise over 1500 feet upon completion. The proposal has thus far been cruising through the approvals process with enthusiastic support from city hall and the Planning Commission. Anything else you could possibly want to know about the project can probably be found on its Skyscraperpage thread.
Source: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings.
Original Image: "Historic Commission - PAB-20526-4." May 1980. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 23 Nov. 2008. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=9141
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Then and Now: 6-10 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore
The three-story Tudor revival building which once occupied 6-10 East Lancaster Avenue was completed in 1911 next to the Ardmore and Llanerch trolley terminal. The Randegg Block, as it was known, was demolished in 1946 and replaced several years later by the nondescript one-story building which stands there today. It's interesting to wonder why the property owner decided not to include residential units in the new building, and the comparison gives the uncanny impression of watching a shrinking town. The original photogragh seems like it was taken sometime before the 1930s, at a time when Lancaster Pike moved at a significantly slower pace. I can only imagine what the views from those bay windows must have been like.
Source: Lower Merion Township: Searchable HR Database. Lower Merion Township Historical Commission. 5 Dec. 2008. http://www.lowermerion.org/Index.aspx?page=437. Search: 6 E. Lancaster Ave.
Original Photo: "Lancaster Avenue Retail Stores, Ardmore." Lower Merion Historical Society Archives. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 5 Dec. 2008.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Then and Now: 16th and Chestnut looking east, Philadelphia
Original Image: "Department of City Transit-39795-0." 1959. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 1 Dec. 2008. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=52371
Monday, December 1, 2008
Then and Now: Southeast Corner of 11th and Arch, Philadelphia
The elevated parking deck that now runs over 11th Street between Filbert and Arch Streets was built in 1984 to accomodate the expansion of the Gallery at Market East. The Hilton Garden Inn was built on top of the garage in 2000, at which point the tacky pastel columns were added by Cope Linder Architects in an attempt to make the garage somewhat less unpalatable. The 11th Street underpass is home to one of the few Wawas left in Center City as well as a Chinatown Bus stop. Its key redeeming feature however, is the presence of Dim Sum Garden, an unassuming little joint which is one of the few establishments in the region that makes highly recommendable Shanghainese soup dumplings (or xiao long bao - 小籠包) and other authentically delicious Chinese fare. So I guess it's not all bad.
A nice overview of the Gallery [Labelscar]
Craig Laban couldn't keep Dim Sum Garden a secret [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Because one review doesn't do it justice [PhilaDining Blog]
Source: Belden, Tom. "Hilton Garden Inn to rise in unused space above a Center City garage." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 19 Apr. 1999. Newsbank Access World News. Haverford College Library. Haverford, PA. 1 Dec. 2008.
Original Photo: "Historic Commission - PAB-41209-0." 1960. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 1 Nov. 2008.
A nice overview of the Gallery [Labelscar]
Craig Laban couldn't keep Dim Sum Garden a secret [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Because one review doesn't do it justice [PhilaDining Blog]
Source: Belden, Tom. "Hilton Garden Inn to rise in unused space above a Center City garage." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 19 Apr. 1999. Newsbank Access World News. Haverford College Library. Haverford, PA. 1 Dec. 2008.
Original Photo: "Historic Commission - PAB-41209-0." 1960. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 1 Nov. 2008.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)