Philly DL'ers

come in and chat about the City of Brotherly Love. Rainy day today. Snow supposedly expected.

I LOVE Phyllis Diller....so sad when she died.
Dyslexians
I hate Philly. I'd sooner die than live there. That place is a cesspool -- and don't let anyone tell you different.
Philly DL'er here and I absolutely love Philly. From the south originally; been here 12 years. Snow I can do without!
PhabPhilly
Love Philly, and I live here. I went to the Kristkindl market on Friday, picked up some nice things, I will be back.
I used to visit Philadelphia sometimes as I used to know someone there before I moved to California over 20 years ago. 2 questions: do they still have 2 short organ recitals a day at Wanamaker's department store on the huge pipe organ there and does Headhouse Square still have a farmer's market?
anonymous
Lifelong Philly person here (not counting college and 4 years in another city for work)...love it and never want to leave. It's home. R2, we're very happy NOT to have you.
whiz%2C%20witout
I love a schmeer of Philly on a bagel with my morning coffee.
Anomynous%20
Yes and yes, r5. Although now it's a Macy's instead of Wanamaker's. Philly has a lot to offer. Great food, great arts and culture, and of course incredible and unparalleled American history. It's not clean like Boston, not homogenized like New York, not pretentious like Washington DC, but it's nice that its a quick ride to any of those mentioned cities. And the shit you see here on a daily basis can be a lot of fun. The trashiness here is like something out of an early John Waters film. Taking the bus is an adventure. We'll see more shitheads like r2 on this thread too. They are nancy-ass white marys who clutch their purses in Philly because they're scared of the you-know-whos. Trust me, we're used to assholes who come here and completely complain, complain, complain about how much Philadelphia sucks. Personally, I don't think that anyone who would say something as ignorant as "I'd sooner die than live there. That place is a cesspool -- and don't let anyone tell you different" is a very nice person to begin with. Come visit, OP. I bet you'd be surprised about what a cool, down to earth city this is.
r8, I once got the streetcar from Germantown to downtown and it started out racially mixed with mostly whites. By the time I got downtown I was the only white on the streetcar. I felt a little amused and nervous at the same time but it certainly wasn't the end of the world and nobody bothered me. I wondered if that is how a lone black person feels on a bus of mostly white people. In Chicago on the EL one time I was verbally "assaulted" (for lack of a better word) by a crazy white guy. I just got up and moved away from him to another part of the car among alot of black people and I felt much safer--is that an irony?
anonymous
The Macy’s Christmas Light Show at Macy’s Center City Absolutely divine!!!
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/holiday-light-show-at-macys-center-city/
More memories are coming back from over 20 years ago--I do know that Bookbinder's Restaurant closed a number of years ago and thought that was rather sad. I had a number of nice seafood meals there and at City Tavern. I realize both were probably touristy, but I'm curious to find out if City Tavern is still in business and if someone bought both Bookbinder's locations and made something of them. Another question, I recall being in the big Arch Street Quaker Meeting House built in the early 18th century; does anyone know the percentage of Philadelphia's population today who are Quakers? Is the studio from which American Bandstand was broadcast in the early 60s still around and used for something or is it long gone? Also, if anyone is familiar with the website Cinema Treasures, there is a rather extensive coverage of the Sameric Theater, also called the Boyd theater at one time. Can anyone update me on the status of it? I know it was in danger of being torn down but I think it was saved at the last minute by a group called "Friends of the Sameric". Another loss I can think of is WFLN, one of the greatest classical music stations ever. I loved the station identification: "your station for the arts in the Delaware Valley, WFLN, Philadelphia". Also there are 2 good articles in Wikipedia on both Pennypack Creek and Wissahickon Creek and the parks and wooded areas alongside their banks. I understand that even wild roaming deer and I think even a couple bears wander into those areas. I also recall Chew Mansion, something about "Lemon Hill" mansion (?) and Robin Hood Dell.
anon
Lifelong resident (and one of "those"). Born in the East Falls/Nicetown area and save for several years living in California and Asia (military), I've always lived here. Not perfect, far from it, but a lot more livable than people realize or give it credit for. I'm currently househunting in South Philly and have several great prospects. Lots of nice rehabbed homes going at good prices. I work in South Philly too.
r8, from what I've heard about Philly, the you-know-whos don't have a monopoly on assoholic behaviour. This white audience just booed people for the hell of it at a comedy show. Three comics in, Bill Burr came out and disagreed with their attitude. The visuals suck but the audio is good. He's right about Frazier, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DrNnkDjMVJqE%26feature%3Drelated
Philadelphia is my favorite city on the East Coast.
I%20live%20in%20D.C.
Love Philly. I live in the suburbs, but I also love the city and surrounding areas including the South Jersey shore. Lived in New England for 10 years and hated it. The first thing I noticed on moving back here is the people are MUCH more open, down to earth and friendly. There was truly a marked difference.
phillyfrau
I only know it by "Cold Case." Is the show accurate in its depiction?
Much closer to "Sunny", R16.
Hey, yo, I'm a lifelong Manhattanite - all my adult life, anyway, 33 years - and I've recently decided I'm think Philadelphia is kind of groovy. A question: What about the neighborhood west of the Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice, around Spring Garden Street and Broad? I was walking around there a couple of months ago, and it seemed very abandoned-industrial and totally interesting and fun, like funky parts of NYC in the early '80s before they got gentrified.
Philly is fabulous! Magnificent, yet manageable.
All you people who love Philly. Support the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet. World-class orchestra and first-rate classical ballet company that does a lot of Balanchine and other renowned choreographers. Arden Theatre Company, the Walnut Street Theatre, the Wilma Theatre and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Subscribe, already! I had a breakdown when Susanna Foo's closed on Walnut Street three (?) years ago. And Beppo di Buca just shut too. Damn! Used to love to sit at that table in the kitchen.
NY%27er%20who%20loves%20Philly
R20, I was busted when they closed Cuvee Notre Dame several years ago. As far as Belgian cuisine goes, Monk's simply doesn't hold up. Have yet to try any of the other places.
No answer to my question? The neighborhood west of Spring Garden Street and Broad Street? Any info on it?
The neighborhood west of spring garden and broad? North of Spring Garden it's known as (wait for it) "Spring Garden". It's residential, gentrified over the last decade or two, and wall-to-wall rowhomes. I don't think that's what you're referring to. South of Spring Garden it's known as "Community College" or just North Center City. Besides CCP there are some office buildings and a few apartment/condo buildings. Some loft-type residential buildings but nothing truly "industrial" anymore. I have no idea what "Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice" is. But North Broad st. is pretty "blah" until you get to Temple. In between Spring Garden and Temple it's just North Philly slums. I wonder if you're mixed up about your directions? East of broad at spring garden is the warehouse district, which is very industrial looking but recently began gentrifying as residential. Anyway, what exactly are you asking?
[quote]I had a breakdown when Susanna Foo's closed on Walnut Street three (?) years ago. Susanna Foo...all I can say is I'm glad the site of her restaurant is now a Chipotle. As Bette Davis would say, Ha. Thank you for what you said though, r20. The theater scene here is very young and vibrant. There's something for everyone. I can't even keep track of all the new little production companies that seem to be opening daily. The arts are keeping Philadelphia alive. We are working hard at making Philadelphia a major arts destination. Don't forget to visit the Barnes next time you come visit.
It pains me to see so many commercial space for rent signs on Walnut Street, Market Street and everywhere else. As a friend who lives in the Philly suburbs says there are such wonderfully unique buildings everywhere in Philadelphia. And it's true. The Academy of Music is one of the most gorgeous opera houses in this country. And the acoustics in Verizon Hall are better than they ever were in Carnegie Hall and I love just being there in the auditorium. So beautiful. I remember Walnut Street in the mid-70s having tonier shops. And there was that fabulous dress shop, Nan Dushkin, on Rittenhouse Square.
NY%27er%20who%20goes%20to%20Philly%20a%20lot
The hipsters have all moved into areas like South Philly.
What are apartments and rents like? Are they mostly row houses? What's the U Penn or Temple student cuteness ratio? Are any places still gay-cruisy like in the old days, like Rittenhouse Square?
yep, rowhomes. Depends where you are looking. I think the rents are high, but it's cheaper than NYC (1200 for 1 bdr). Traffic sucks and crime is rampant.
Crime is "rampant" in the slums. There are plenty of safe neighborhoods in Center City/adjacent and South Philly. Every Philly thread always descends into an ongoing argument about the crime rate. I've lived here 30 years, work in CC, take public transit 5 days a week, go out regularly after dark (and well past midnight) and I've never witnessed or been the victim of a crime. Most of the crime is from the drug trade in far-flung slums that you'll never set foot in. Anyone who doesn't get this is clearly unfamiliar with day-to-day living in the city.
r23, wake up. Learn what is happening to your city. Here's a link to a piece from planphilly.com about the Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice, on Spring Garden Street near Broad; I quote: "Developer Eric Blumenfeld is dreaming up a new future for the vacant Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice on Spring Garden Street east of Broad. Blumenfeld is in contract to acquire the building and wants to redevelop it into a mixed-use commercial arts and residential property." How do I know more about your city than you do? I've been there like 4 times. If yo go west of that building, into that neighborhood, you find something like what Williamsburg, Brooklyn was like in 1983.
http://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/2012/03/22/developer-dreams-on-an-artsy-future-for-old-school-at-spring-garden-and-broad/
[quote]How do I know more about your city than you do? Just a hunch, but I'm guessing your extreme OCD is part of it.
No, r31, maybe I'm just observant.
The row homes in South Philly are being gutted and turned into apartments which are being bought up by hipsters and college kids. Gay families are getting bigger and bigger. I remember the South Philly Review interviewing straight residents about it, and they were overjoyed, bringing up the fact that they've noticed how much work they put into their homes, and how neighborly they are. On my former block in South Philly, there are three gay couples currently living there. A lot of the old vacant factories are being bought, and are going to be turned into condos. It's weird to see all the Starbucks in the neighborhoods, and people sitting outside of them at the tables provided at sundown. The city has a lot of crime, but then every city does. I see a lot of those zip car lots all over South Philly now. Definitely due to the rise in college kids. There was a horrible area near Spring Garden? I can't remember, but it was really dangerous. The college kids moved in, and it is now the trendiest place around. It has great stores and restaurants. It's mind-blowing. They pushed all the trash out. I miss South Street. It doesn't have that starving artist thing happening anymore. :( It now has crap like Whole Foods. Very corporate.
It was June, I was wandering around, I ended up in a neighborhood up above Spring Garden Street near Broad, there was a seemingly abandoned old elevated railroad thing that reminded me a little of NYC's Highline before it was the Highline, and the neighborhood up there seemed very in-the-midst-of-being-taken-away-from-working-class-black-people by an influx of hipsters. Am I wrong?
Wasn't thirtysomething supposed to be set in Philadelphia.. BTW, isn't Philadelphia a wonderful & beautiful word?
Okay, Philadelphians, you get a whole thread all to yourself, as if at last to get a chance to prove to some portion of the world that your city is in fact all that, and then: You don't show up. Why don't you show up? Why is this thread so lame and half-hearted and dull? Can't you answer simple questions? Do you know anything about your city at all? Any half-assed New Yorker would've been ALL OVER some of these questions, offering ten different interesting answers. Are you why Philadelphia is a national joke? Just wondering.
"Any half-assed New Yorker would've been ALL OVER some of these questions, offering ten different interesting answers." Because they're all unemployed.
Do they still hold The Assembly?
[quote]I've recently decided I'm think Philadelphia is kind of groovy. then... [quote]'Are you why Philadelphia is a national joke?' Didn't take you long to change your mind.
Trolldar R36 and read the whole thread. She's clearly insane. My favorite part is when she berates us for not answering her questions when none were really asked in the first place.
r40, why "she?" I'm a guy. Honestly, the assumptions people make about gender on DL. You are all living in medieval times. I don't know anyone who is more aggressively wedded to stereotypes about men and women than DL posters. You all are pathetic. And I did ask questions. I asked if anybody knew about that neighborhood around Spring Garden Street and the Thaddeus Stevens Practical School. And I got treated like I was some kind of wacko. And my saying Philadelphia is groovy is not inconsistent with my awareness that Philadelphia is a joke. I know why you can't get laid.
Philadelphians! Why can't you appear?
I guess you don't care enough about your own city to have much to say about it.
Well how many Dataloungers even live in Philadelphia? Well, I do. So I'm one person. And I've already put in my two cents. R34, the Reading Railroad Viaduct is supposed to be converted to a park just like the High Line. I hope it happens and soon.
Best Philly movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DPR4tnO6fxio
"It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"
I guess the place must be really lame, after all. Two cents is all you can manage, motherfucker? Philadelphians are dullards.
Philly is the Detroit of the East.
r47 & r48 are so typical it's boring.
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What are "homemades." Jacki Weaver's character in The Silver Linings Playbook talks about making them. What are they?
If I have a whole week to spend in either Philly or Boston, where am I guaranteed a better time (nightlife, arts, history)? I'm leaning towards Philadelphia because of the history, but friends are trying to steer towards Boston.