Articles http://planphilly.com/articles Wed, 22 May 2013 08:21:44 -0400 en <![CDATA[PennDesign students develop a model for managing closed school buildings]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/22/penndesign-students-develop-a-model-for-managing-closed-school-buildings

This June, 23 Philadelphia public schools will be closed for good, adding around 65 acres to the city’s already heavy burden of vacant land. For the city, dealing with these soon-to-be-empty…

]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 08:21:44 -0400 <![CDATA[In Praise of Civic Horticulture]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/21/in-praise-of-civic-horticulture As University of Pennsylvania professor David Brownlee set the stage for last Friday's Civic Horticulture Conference, jointly presented by The Cultural Landscape Foundation and the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, audience members couldn't…

]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 12:15:34 -0400 <![CDATA[May 23-June 30: Hidden City Festival to illuminate overlooked sites citywide]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/21/may-23-june-30-hidden-city-festival-to-illuminate-overlooked-sites-citywide

Starting Thursday, and running for the next six weeks, the 2013 Hidden City Festival offers unique opportunities to explore places in the city through the lens of engaging artwork.

For this…

]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 11:11:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 21: Subaru considers Navy Yard | Grad Hospital retail | City Hall's Peregrine Falcons | costly concourse slips | Samuel Machinery reuse | Zagar's garage]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/21/may-21-subaru-considers-navy-yard-grad-hospital-retail-city-hall-s-peregrine-falcons-costly-concourse-slips-samuel-machinery-reuse-zagar-s-garage Happy Tuesday, Streeters. If you’re a registered party voter, don’t forget to head out to the polls for primary day today. Here’s the Committee of Seventy’s guide for who’s on the…

]]> Tue, 21 May 2013 08:33:48 -0400 <![CDATA[As Philly land bank momentum slows, proponents want administration to take lead]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/20/as-philly-lank-bank-momentum-slows-proponents-want-administration-to-take-a-stand Political progress on Philadelphia’s proposed land bank - which many advocates see as central to solving the vacancy and property tax delinquency crises - has ground to a near halt in…

]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 23:11:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Four Philly projects awarded ArtPlace America grants]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/20/four-philly-projects-awarded-artplace-america-grants Of the 54 creative placemaking projects awarded 2013-2014 ArtPlace America grants today, four went to Philly organizations planning to use art as a tool to activate public spaces and arts-based community…

]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 11:39:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 20-24: Lantern House | Primary Day | Delaware Valley Modernism | Paine's Park opening]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/20/may-20-24-lantern-house-primary-day-delaware-valley-modernism-paine-s-park-opening Wondering what's on tap this week? You can tour an award-winning stable-turned-live/work-space, celebrate Philly's new public space for skating, and learn about the misfits of modernism. And, don't forget to vote…

]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 10:45:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Look Up! The “concrete castles” of Doylestown]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/20/look-up-the-concrete-castles-of-doylestown
Henry Mercer was a great collector, but also an architect with a singular vision.
 
“Look Up!” is a PlanPhilly feature that encourages appreciation of our architectural and historical environment. The…
]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 10:05:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 20: Parks Roundup: Paine's Park praise | Mother Bethel AME burial ground below Weccacoe Playground | Improved Pleasant Hill Park | Ralph Brooks Park renovations planned]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/20/may-20-parks-roundup-paine-s-park-praise-mother-bethel-ame-burial-ground-below-weccacoe-playground-improved-pleasant-hill-park-ralph-brooks-park-renovations-planned Welcome to the working week, Streeters. We’ve got a roundup of park-related news to kick off your Monday:

Skateboarders and casual park visitors are invited to commingle at Paine’s Park, Philadelphia’s…

]]> Mon, 20 May 2013 09:01:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Nicetown building project kicks off with demolition pep-rally event]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/nicetown-building-project-kicks-off-with-demolition-pep-rally-event

The latest step in a unique building project in Nicetown will involve a 350-year-old French company, about 120 alternative high-school students and two long-vacant houses on Wingohocking Street.

Also in that…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 12:57:00 -0400 <![CDATA[PennDOT to rebuild hidden Broad Street bridge]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/penndot-to-rebuild-hidden-broad-street-bridge

Many Philadelphians have driven over one of the city’s structurally deficient spans countless times and not even known it was a bridge.

But when imminent construction begins to disrupt traffic over…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 12:40:00 -0400 <![CDATA[From Above: Refining along the Lower Schuylkill, 1926]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/from-above-refining-along-the-lower-schuylkill-1926

In honor of the Lower Schuylkill Master Plan’s [pdf] release earlier this month, we head back into the past to look at a section of the Lower Schuylkill from above.…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:00 -0400 <![CDATA[State Senator drafting anti-SLAPP legislation after civic group's demise]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/state-senator-drafting-anti-slapp-legislation-after-civic-group-s-demise

State Senator Larry Farnese says he'll introduce legislation in Harrisburg making it easier for groups subject to intimidating SLAPP lawsuits to have the cases dismissed or recover legal costs after the…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 10:33:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 17-19: Barnes Foundation anniversary | Trenton Ave Arts Fest | Clark Park Party | Parkwood Farmers' Market | Brewerytown, Rittenhouse and Italian Market festivals | Dinner and Bikes with Elly Blue]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/may-17-19-barnes-foundation-anniversary-trenton-ave-arts-fest-clark-park-party-parkwood-farmers-market-brewerytown-rittenhouse-and-italian-market-festivals-dinner-and-bikes-with-elly-blue Clear your calendars Streeters. We've got a jam packed weekend of festivals, farmers markets and food planned for you.

ANNIVERSARY Barnes Foundation First Anniversary Party

Friday, May 17, 6 p.m. -…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 17: Sheriff's Office can't track funds | SEPTA delays budget votes | Squilla wants community group protection | Nutter sets $31M aside for firefighters' arbitration | 3rd Ward opens]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/17/may-17-sheriff-s-office-can-t-track-funds-septa-delays-budget-votes-squilla-wants-community-group-protection-nutter-sets-31m-aside-for-firefighters-arbitration-3rd-ward-opens Happy Friday Streeters! 

The Philadelphia Sheriff's Office doesn't have an accounting system despite the fact that tens of millions of dollars flow through the office annually and that the office has…

]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 09:16:00 -0400 <![CDATA[KieranTimberlake's renovation of Ortlieb Bottling House underway]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/16/kierantimberlake-s-renovation-of-ortlieb-bottling-house-underway

We know the Philadelphia firm KieranTimberlake for its high-minded contemporary design projects - from universities across the country to the future US Embassy in London - and these days they’re crafting…

]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 14:41:00 -0400 <![CDATA[May 16: SEPTA considers reduced fare hike | 5 charters renewed | Nutter proposes cigarette and drink tax | Council absent for budget hearings | First responders sue Conrail | Lawrence O'Toole photos]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/16/may-16-septa-considers-reduced-fare-hike-5-charters-renewed-nutter-proposes-cigarette-and-drink-tax-council-absent-for-budget-hearings-first-responders-sue-conrail-lawrence-o-toole-photos Good morning Eyes! Here's what's making the news this Thursday.

SEPTA's Board will consider a slight reduction in its proposed fare hikes, the Inquirer reports this morning. The reduction would…

]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 09:10:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Zoning board to rule on variances for Canal Street North after marathon hearing]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/16/zoning-board-to-rule-on-variances-for-canal-street-north-after-marathon-hearing First impression of Julia Chapman, the new chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment: she is a patient woman.

Chapman, a former aide to Mayor Michael Nutter in the early…

]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 07:49:00 -0400 <![CDATA[YouthBuild Philadelphia begins green renovation of two Nicetown homes]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/15/youthbuild-philadelphia-begins-green-renovation-of-two-nicetown-homes

Just months after overhauling a dilapidated Germantown house and turning it into a LEED Platinum home, YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School students broke ground on two homes just across the tracks at…

]]> Wed, 15 May 2013 15:52:19 -0400 <![CDATA[In Conversation With: Greg Heller on Ed Bacon and his legacy]]> http://planphilly.com/articles/2013/05/15/in-conversation-with-greg-heller-on-ed-bacon-and-his-legacy

On the eve of the official launch of Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Phiadelphia (University of Penn Press), author Greg Heller chatted with PlanPhilly's JoAnn Greco about…

]]> Wed, 15 May 2013 15:29:00 -0400