Cross Section of Philly, via 5th Street (Upper North Philly edition)

This 5^th Street series is getting a little out of control. I never expected it to be 5 posts long. Thanks for allowing the geek out.  I suppose I need to sometimes. This post is getting into areas that I’m only familiar with by name mostly so they were total discoveries.  

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As stated in the last post I biked through West Kensington, which is oddly north of Old Kensington, but has the same post-industrial landscape.  According to Wikipedia, West Kensington was the home to Rocky in the movie series so they have that going for them.  However since the 1970s/80s the area has had a dramatic demographic shift. Beginning in West Kensington and continuing into the neighborhood of Fairhill 5^th Street becomes a vibrant commercial corridor that is the heart of the Philadelphia Hispanic community.  Over the past fifty years the two neighborhoods have predominately become home to Puertorriquenos, Dominicanos and Columbianos, so much so that the stretch of 5^th Street between Lehigh and Allegheny is formally known as El Centro de Oro or the Golden Block.  The area is also home to community groups such as Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha  (APM), Congreso de Latinos Unidos, and the  Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE) which are very active throughout the city’s Hispanic community. 

When traveling through El Centro de Oro I noticed a lot of construction activity, the neighborhood was completely redoing their streets. Naturally I was really excited to research what they were doing.  Apparently HACE, a Main Street organization, prepared design guidelines a few years back that called for the stretch of 5^th Street to evoke the Caribbean culture of the neighborhood.  Last year they secured financing from the state and city for the $3.8 million project and began construction. 

While I could find no design drawings of the proposed streetscape the project seems like it is nearing completion.  While I was there they were painting the sidewalk with a wavy yellow strip to suggest a yellow brick road.  Along with the metal palm trees the plan calls for the street might turn into THE most post-modern streetscape the city has done.  And there is a lot of competition for that designation surrounding Independence Mall.  The plans additionally will dispose of the overhead wires along the street, add new planters and benches, improve signage, and create pedestrian bumpouts at intersections.  I think I might have to bike back up here in a few months to check out the progress.  I’m really intrigued by metal palm trees.

While the 5^th Street was full of vitality, when biking back down 8^th street through Faihill there were certainly signs of a extraordinarily high poverty rate.  Crime, poverty and drug activity plague the area. I was forced to bike down Franklin Street through Fairhill on my return and I ended up in a small intimate street that was very typical of Philadelphia blocks.  However this stretch of Franklin Street contained barred in porches; nerve-racking when people decide to imprison themselves.  As I biked down the street I had a beautiful abandoned building in the vista. 

I snapped that picture while on my bike and then a car slowed down and stopped right in front of me. I awkwardly had to pass them while they gave me a death stare. So instead of stopping and getting more (or even a better picture) I bolted. 

The abandoned building is the old Thomas A. Edison High School/Northeast Manual Training Center. Originally built in the early 20^th century and it was expanded for a vocational school in the 1930s.  In the late 1950s, the Northeast Manual Training Center became Northeast HS, famous for Tony Danza’s foray into teaching. The building remained Edison HS, however with much less funding and more diversity. In the 1980s a new building was created for Edison/Fareira to the east and the original building was partially used as various other schools until completely abandoned in the late 1990s. 

There are several articles/posting about the building including this amazing video and a four-part blog photo series: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4. 

Just north of Fairhill is Upper Kensington (yes another one) and Hunting Park.  These neighborhoods are physically separated by the large Northeast Rail Corridor.  This corridor runs through North Philly and contains Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Acela trains, NJ Transit’s trains to Atlantic City, and SEPTA’s Trenton Line trains.  Needless to say it’s a very busy stretch of transit infrastructure, and as anything dealing with trains it once was a lot busier.  Much of the land along the two streets paralleling the corridor, Sedgley and Glenwood, is home to large vacant industrial buildings or land providing an additional barrier between neighborhoods.  And planners are always complaining about highways and interstates cutting through cities, rail also has serious implications on urban form.

This building at 5^th and Glenwood I thought was a one of the more interesting buildings I saw along the corridor, although it’s partially abandoned. 

Looking back down 5^th Street one can tell how much of an ascent there is to bridge over the corridor (many of the crossings are under the rail lines)

When traveling back to the Center City I crossed over a mini rail corridor along Sedgley Ave. on a bridge that looks as if it would fail the DOT standards for safe bridges.  Turns out it was constructed in 1906.

This bridge however provided some awesome vistas of the industrial landscape surrounding this area. 

Anyway, the neighborhood of Hunting Park is so named because of the large park that resides in the area.  The 87 acre, Hunting Park, has a sorted history. The area dates as far back as the 18^th century, when William Penn’s secretary, James Logan (of Logan Circle fame) decided to build his country estate here. His house still stands at the southwest corner of the park but is boarded up. In the early 19^th century the park was home to a horse racing track but that was scrapped when horse racing became illegal in the 1850s. The park has since been used as a passive/active recreational space. A little fact that I learned while researching, the park once had a carousel until 1967, when it was moved to Cedar Point, in Ohio.  I’ve ridden that carousel!

Until next time, please feel free to check out the other parts of this series:

Lower North Philly, Center City, South Philly

Cross Section of Philly, via 5th Street (Lower North Philly edition)

In continuation of my 5^th Street ride series this post is all about Lower North Philadelphia or, as known by many, “the area you don’t go” 

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After emerging from the tunnel, bypassing much of Old City and more importantly tons of automobile dominated infrastructure, I found myself in Callowhill. 

Callowhill is an area, in short, that was built up as an industrial district in the late 19^th century and continued to thrive as such until the mid 20^th century.  It is now a collection of old industrial buildings (some vacant, some are cool loft apt/condos), mid-century office buildings and parking lots. Lots of parking lots.  There are several plans for the area, to redevelop some of the buildings for medium/high density loft style housing, reconnect the area to Chinatown and there is even talk of turning the abandoned Reading Terminal viaduct into a High Line-esk park.  Also, the area does have some spectacular views of the city’s skyline. 

The Callowhill district is not very wide and after about 5 blocks, I crossed over Spring Garden and entered Northern Liberties.  Northern Liberties is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. As mentioned in a previous blog post the neighborhood is home to the site when William Penn struck a treaty with Native Americans.  Much like the Callowhill district the area was home to several industrial complexes, mainly breweries such as Schmidt’s and Ortlieb’s, along with a large number of residences for industrial workers.  After many of the factories downsized and eventually shuttered the neighborhood went into disrepair and began a renaissance in the 1980s as an artist/bohemian community. As seen in many cities across the U.S. this low-rent, artistic community became a catalyst for new development in the area and the neighborhood is now better known for interesting architecture, innovative planning projects (i.e. Liberties Walk and the Piazza at Schmidt’s) and hipsters. Even the hipsters are beginning to be priced out. The neighborhood’s main commercial corridor is along 2^nd street, but shops/restaurants and cafes can be found on the corners of many of the numbered streets.  After all that I don’t have many interesting shots of the neighborhood; I guess I’ll have to go back. 

The edge of Northern Liberties is Girard Avenue, a very wide, commercial corridor.  In 2005, SEPTA reinstated the trolley line that ran along Girard Avenue using historic 1947 PCC trolleys.  While planners typically advocate for fixed rail transit to help revitalize corridors, I’m not sure what the Girard trolley has done for the neighborhoods along it in the past 5 years. It seems more like a historical Disney ride than a functional transit line. The design of the stops and layout of the street does nothing to promote pedestrian safety and comfort along the 7 lane road.  The stops are not covered, and are essentially concrete steps in between moving traffic lanes. Additionally, the trolley runs only every 15 minutes during peak times and is not timed with either subway that it crosses, making it function more like a bus than anything else.  Sorry, that’s enough railing against Philadelphia transit for now, like much of SEPTA…they’re getting there. 

One the other side of Girard is the beginning of Old Kensington. To be fair there are a lot of different Kensingtons throughout Philadelphia’s Lower North/Northeast sections: Old Kensington, West Kensington, Upper Kensington, New Kensington…..  From what I can tell they are all fairly the same; historically industrial neighborhoods with vacant industrial lots, very underserved retail corridors and modest rowhouses.  I biked through two of the Kensingtons this ride: Old and West. 

Old Kensington is the industrial heart of the city; many of the factories located here were well known while Philadelphia was ticketed as the Workshop of the World.  I cycled past two relatively large industrial buildings that pretty much sum up the entire area, the vacant Drueding Brothers Leather Co. and the recently converted Sewing Factory Lofts. 

The Drueding Bro. was part of the area’s leather and tannery history and through what I can find closed in the 1960s, lying vacant ever since.  The buildings windows are completely broken out, the roof line looks so rusted that it is beginning to disintegrate, and some daring hoodlum (probably hipster) has sprayed the words Tape Radio across the middle floors of the building.  While researching this building I found this link that contains several photos inside the building and along the roof.  Pretty impressive. 

On the other hand, the Sewing Factory Lofts building is one of the courageous residential developments venturing far north of Northern Liberties.  The building contains 52 loft style apartments ranging from 1,400 to 2,200 square feet renting for $1,100 -$1,800.  While only slightly less expensive then comparable buildings nearer Center City, the building has lofts that are typically twice the size. I guess if you want a very large loft space, Kensington is the place for you. 

I suppose the price drop is because this is the scene right outside the building.

Many of the vacant lots across the neighborhood have either become defacto wildlife refuses or “temporary” homes of the homeless. Just to the west of this area is Ludlow and Temple’s main campus.  On my way back to the city I biked down 8^th street which afforded me and amazing view of Septa’s regional rail station. 

The station is set up on the train line and the view is possible due to the fact that there is a large vacant lot on the east.  The City, Temple and other various organizations have been trying to lure a developer here for a while. The area has been designated as a TRID or Transit Revitalization Improvement District, a state designation that allows municipalities and transit agencies to work together and apply for state funds to plan and study the area.  More importantly a TRID allows for the creation of an organization that can capture additional tax revenue and pay for capital improvement in the area, similar to a BID or business Improvement District.   The Asociacíon Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) is leading the development of the lot for the past few years.  However despite the TRID, and having federal funds in place the team is still attempting to find financing for a 164 mixed-income apartment and retail development.

For more information please follow the links here, http://planphilly.com/nutter-breaks-ground-parkway-temple-projects and http://planphilly.com/node/3631.  I know that I didn’t get all that information. 

Nearby the train station I was totally caught off guard to see a row of houses that seem to be fairly well kept sitting in the middle of a green and deliberately planted block, so naturally I decided to explore.  Biking down Darien Street I discovered this horse and immediately thought it was some urban farm project.

However, the landscaping was too passive to be farming. Then I discovered a sign along the NTI looking fence.  It turns out that it’s some sort of pilot project for the Philadelphia Water Department and or the EPA.  I’m a little over researched right now form looking up the TRID development, but the while idea seems to be a really cool.  There are rolling swales and planted lawn/trees to minimize stormwater runoff.

That's about all I can blog about for now.  Stay tuned, I'm only HALF way up 5th Street.  

Industrial Philadelphia: Lower North Delaware and Hunting Park East

This post is a continuation of the epic bike ride I took through the northeast. On that ride I biked through two industrial areas: the area that is just north of Fishtown along the Lower Delaware River and Hunting Park East. This conveniently (and nerd-aly) allows me to compare the two areas in a very plannertastic way.  Additionally, while doing research on this ride I came across an amazing Industrial Land Atlas allowing me to really geek out.  The atlas was prepared for the City of Philadelphia by the innovative planning and design firm, Interface Studios. I love these guys; they do some amazing work and have some of the most compelling and well designed infrographics.  Anyway, with this atlas I was able to really understand both areas.  I was inspired to make a map for this post. The following is a map of the two industrial areas and my bike ride for reference.

Lower Delaware Industrial Area

The Lower Delaware Industrial Area area stretches from the under-utilized Delaware Generating Station (near Penn Treaty Park, where I left off last post) to just north of the Betsy Ross Bridge, about 4 miles long.  According to the Industrial Land Atlas the area is approx. 950 acres with a land vacancy rate of 19%, a tad bit higher than the city’s average of 8.1%.  

Part of the reason for such high vacancy is the area contains one of the largest vacant parcels in the city, the former William Cramp and Sons Shipyard.  Dating back to 1825, the yard built the first battleship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Indiana and some of the first major American-built ocean liners.  The yard was sold in the 1920s and closed shortly thereafter, only to be reopened during World War II in order to build destroyers and submarines.  The yard officially closed in 1947 and has practically remained vacant ever since. In 2004, Pinnacle Entertainment proposed building a casino on the site, but the plan was abandoned and SugarHouse was late developed. Today the site has reverted back to natural grassland with a few trees having popped up throughout the decades. Along the edge of the site (where Beach and Richmond streets intersect) the roads are hard to maneuver and completely trash strewn.  However on the sunny day I went there were families traversing the cobblestone street on their way to Penn Treaty Park.  If that doesn’t show latent demand for a greenway I’m not sure what does! 

As I biked further north along Richmond Ave, then eventually along Delaware Ave again, I found areas that were still productive industrial uses, huge uses. Some of the highlights area as follows:

Riverside Material, at the corner of Richmond and Allegheny, a company specializing in asphalt materials. The company occupies only a small portion of a land parcel on which was home to the Reading Company’s terminus for anthracite coal. 

Westway/Kinder Morgan Petroleum terminals, I don’t have much information on the area but I have this awesome picture that shows a bridge of pipes that cross the extremely wide Delaware Ave. 

Tioga Marine Terminal, a 116 acre shipyard that is fairly active.  According to the Industrial Land Atlas a fun fact is that the terminal is home to ships that bring much of the region’s fruit in from Chile. 

A large waste water treatment plant

Lastly the Richmond Generating Station, an abandoned relic similar to the Delaware Generating Station that is used only during peak load periods.  It has been the back drop for two movies filmed in the area:  12 Monkeys and the Decepticons’ lair in Transformers 2.  Unfortunately I have no good pictures of the building.

Further past the intersection of Lewis and Delaware is a bridge over the Frankford Creek which looks like it was built by a local Boy Scout troop. I, of course, had the desire to check it out.  After biking through a puddle, crossing the bridge, and snapping a few photos, I came face to face with TWO semi-trucks attempting to cross the rickety bridge.  It was scurry.

An interesting point in this ride along the Delaware was the discovery of a small park, at the end of Allegheny Ave, named Pulaski Park. Named after a Polish commander in the American Revolution the half acre sliver is owned by the New Kensington CDC and seemingly used primarily for fishing. The park is about as forgotten as the person for whom it’s named.  With geometric mounds and very straight paths that lead to a rather bland plaza, the park looks as if it was designed in the 1970s and hasn’t really been touched since (with the exception of a new-looking railing along the river).  There are no trees in the tree wells, two benches, one of which is busted, and an area of rocks which you could go down onto through a 7 foot chain link fence. Additionally, I was fortunate to be in the presence of a very grumpy fisherman (pictured) and an odd many doing some sort of yoga on the rocks/tires below. 

Hunting Park East

After journeying through several non-industrial neighborhoods I ended up at the corner of Luzerne and I Streets and the edge of the Hunting Park East industrial area. Sidenote: Who knew that Philly had lettered streets? AND they go all the way to O St. in the neighborhood of Juniata. This area is located between the Juniata and Hunting Park neighborhoods of North Philadelphia, just west of the Frankford Creek.  According to my research the area is 821 acres and is privy to a considerably lower land vacancy rate than the Lower Delaware, 10%

One of the fun facts I learned from the Industrial Land Atlas is that the area is home to one of the nation’s largest Coca-Cola bottling plant/distribution center, along G St. between Erie and Luzerne Avenues. The plant produces 30 million bottles of Coke a year and employs 1,200 people. I guess that would have been a serious closure if Coca-Cola went through with their threat if the soda tax was passed, luckily it wasn't. The area has much smaller industrial parcels and therefore many more business scattered among its acreage. Some of the larger manufactures/warehouses are: Conoco Phillips, Case Paper Company and J.B. Hunt Distribution Center.  In addition to the smaller parcels, the lower land vacancy rate and the fact that the area is sandwiched between two dense neighborhoods gives the Hunting Park East industrial area a much more diverse feel than the Lower Delaware.  It’s more vibrant in a way, scattered among the industrial buildings are shopping centers, school and civic buildings attracting much more traffic than found along Delaware Ave.  This provided quite the quandary for me on my bike as people were much less aware of their surroundings as they sailed down Luzerne Ave, but there were many more cars for me to watch. 

One last note, even though the Frankford Creek lies east of the industrial area, it is just as disgusting if not more so than when it enters the Delaware.  In fact, it’s like a mini-L.A. River in this area.