Down South

 We're not going out-of-state again this time, but we are taking a trip down to Philly's famed South Street (known for being the meeting place of hippies). But before that, lets see what's going on in the suburbs.

Penn Fruit/Burlington, Clifton Heights, PA

Sorry about the less-than-ideal nighttime tour. I heard this place was getting demolished imminently and this was the only chance I got to see it before the wrecking ball came. It opened as Penn Fruit's flagship store in 1955, and closed a little while before the rest of the chain in the 70's. New up-and-coming chain Burlington Coat Factory moved in not long after. This was their 7th location, which operated here still using the original logo up until Wawa bought the property in 2017. Burlington and both of the outparcels were evicted and demolished in 2018. Wawa has yet to break ground. When they do finally open, it will most likely replace the store down the road, which at #9 makes it the third oldest surviving store in the chain (Stores 7 and 8 are the others. 1 was replaced in 2016 and 6 was torn down and rebuilt last year).

Thankfully, they left a light on inside. The store still had Penn Fruit's general shape, though Burlington added a drop ceiling below the barrel roof when they moved in.

These signs stand as a reminder the store's name once included Coat Factory.

A check cashing place and former Beneficial Bank (which closed prior to the eviction) were attached to the Penn Fruit. 

There was a former Pizza Hut in the parking lot, which closed in 2014. I want to say it was something after them, but if there was it must have been incredibly short-lived since it doesn't show up on any Streetviews.

Looking up at Penn Fruit's tower, which in more recent years was doing double-duty as a cell tower. If you look closely, you can see panels covering the "PENN FRUIT CO." letters.

Sears Hardware, Exton, PA

Sears operated out of here from 1991 to 2005. Deals took over the left half in 2009, and converted to Dollar Tree in 2012. Interestingly, it didn't replace Dollar Tree's older location in town. The right half became an Indian grocer around the time Dollar Tree opened. They surprisingly have kept the Sears interior intact. Neither tenant made use of the old Garden Center in back, which by 2018 had fallen into such poor shape that the township made them remove the roof.

Applebees/Plaza Azteca, Exton, PA

Applebees opened here in 1991. It's the only inline strip mall location I had ever seen. They closed in 2012, and the space was quickly taken over by Plaza Azteca. They added their signature stucco treatment to the front, but kept many of the Applebees elements, such as the gooseneck lamps, intact.

Ruby Tuesday/IHOP, Exton, PA

Ruby Tuesday also opened here in 1991. It held on a little longer than Applebees, but closed in 2016. IHOP then opened in 2018, marking their entrance into Chester County. One in Delaware County opened the year before, but prior to that we had to go to Ardmore or Wilmington to get IHOP. It was a welcome addition- so welcome in fact that it was nearly impossible to get a seat for the first six months they were open.

GNC, Downingtown, PA

I'm not sure what exactly is going on with this space and the Subway next to it. They both closed around the same time in 2017, and the center's leasing plan shows this space as part of Wegmans. The shape of the center made these stores triangles, so they have no rear entrance. They're pinched in back between the actual Wegmans space and Five Below, and small enough that I don't see how it would be worth it for Wegmans to expand into them.

Subway's even smaller than the GNC.

Linens N Things/HHGregg/Best Buy, Downingtown, PA

LNT was an original tenant to when the center opened in 1990. It closed with the chain in 2009, and was replaced by HHGregg. They went under with the chain in 2017. Best Buy relocated here from across the street in 2019. The new store is significantly smaller than the one it replaced.

Before Best Buy moved in, the space was kept exactly how Gregg's left it. Despite carrying a similar line of merchandise, Best Buy did a total gut remodel.

All of the unsold fixtures were left where Gregg's had them during the liquidation sale.

I don't believe this part of Downingtown has any strict building codes, but neither Gregg's nor Best Buy redid the façade, which is unusual for both of them. I'm guessing the Landlord wanted to keep the center looking uniform.

Melrose Diner, Newbold, Philadelphia

Despite the tragic diner shortage in Center City, South Philly's are still going strong. This one's the most popular. It's been here since 1935 and is famous for its bakery. It's even been the subject of a Wonder Years song. The current dining room was added on in the 50's. It's been kept respectfully updated over the years, modern but with nothing done to change the character. Last year, it suffered a serious fire in the dining room and reopened after a few months of remodeling. I hear they've done a neat job with it, so as soon as indoor dining is legalized again I want to check it out again.

Linn Cleaners, Newbold

Across the street from the diner, there was an old dry cleaners who looked like they still had a sign from the 60's. It got replaced with a newer sign not long after I got this, but I'm pleased to report the new one still looks very similar to this.

South Broad

Looking up Broad Street toward City Hall. I'm pretty happy with how this picture came out.

Frozen River

It must have been particularly cold the day I went on my South Street adventure, the Schuylkill was a sheet of ice!

Royal Theater, Graduate Hospital

The Royal opened in 1919 and is regarded as the first black "photoplayhouse" (which I think is just an old-timey way of saying movie theater but there might be some small differences) in the country. Over the next 50 years, it became a prominent cultural center and event venue for South Philly's black community. Attendance fell considerably following desegregation, and the decision was made to permanently close the theater in 1970 because it was in the line of the (never built) Crosstown Expressway. It sat abandoned for nearly 50 years. During that time, it was sold to record producer Kenny Gamble, who intended to restore it as a performing arts venue. When it became apparent the building was too far gone to save, Gamble changed directions and instead moved to save the façade and partnered with a developer to repurpose the rest of the site. The rear of the theater was demolished in 2017, and the new apartment building on the site was completed last year.

PLCB, Washington Square West

This State Store opened at least in the 80's, if not earlier. It expanded into the former Eckerd next door in 2012 and was remodeled to its current look.

South Street Souvlaki, Society Hill

This restaurant's one of my favorite gyro places, and it's got some awesome neon to boot.

Johnny Rocket's/Spread Bagelry, Society Hill

Johnny Rocket's first opened here in 1997 and closed at the end of their lease in 2017. It has since been heavily remodeled and turned into a Spread Bagelry. Spread's a local chain with six restaurants- 4 in Philly and 2 along the Main Line- who has grown quite a bit in the past couple years. 

Auntie Anne's/Subway/Steve's Poutinerie/Mashwa, Society Hill

This restaurant has changed hands several times in the past few years. Auntie Anne's lasted the longest, but closed in 2014 after about 20 years. It then briefly became Subway, which was replaced by Steve's in 2017. They closed the following year, and it is now home to a Middle Eastern restaurant.

CVS, Society Hill

The main part of this CVS was built in 1979 by semi-famous postmodern architect Adolf DeRoy Mark, though part of the store extends into the late-1700's rowhome next door. The 1979 portion was added on as part of the New Market mini mall up the block from here, which closed and was demolished for apartments in 2002. CVS opened here in 2000, making it one of the last surviving tenants from when the mall was still here.

Wawa, Society Hill

Wawa opened here in the 80's. After the Rite Aid next door closed in 2015, they took the opportunity to nearly double in size by taking over 2/3 of it. The remainder is still vacant. This building has trouble retaining tenants- the South Street side of is is totally vacant, save for a Rita's, but will likely start seeing a renewed interest this year when Giant opens a new Heirloom Market location on the corner.

Downey's, Society Hill

Downey's was a once-popular Irish pub that had been here since 1976, which in its final years was struggling to stay afloat. Things took a turn for the worse in 2005 when a murder-suicide took place in the apartment above the bar. It appeared on Season One of Bar Rescue, closed its dining room in early 2016 after the property was foreclosed, and was closed completely by the end of the year. The building was sold quickly after that, but nothing has happened since then. It's falling into rough shape, I'm assuming the new owners are planning to redevelop the site. The restaurant's layout made it hard to get any interior shots from the windows, but I can direct you to an indoor streetview instead.

I-95

Prior to the 1960's, the area between Columbus Blvd (then known as Delaware Avenue) and Front Street was a slummy but aesthetically pleasing old-timey industrial area. Neighboring Society Hill, in spite of its impressive collection of colonial-era buildings, was just workforce housing at the time and considered blighted by the city. Things started to change quickly once I-95 was built; all of the old warehouses and factories came down and were replaced with expensive condos. Today, Society Hill is widely considered the nicest part of the city. Even though I-95 was what spurred this change, residents have a huge problem with it. It's basically an impenetrable barrier between the city and the Delaware River. To mitigate this, a few pedestrian bridges have been built over it over the years. After some major structural issues appeared on the highway, PennDOT began a huge reconstruction and widening project. As part of this, plans call for building a cap over a large portion of 95 that will become a new 11.5-acre park and better reconnect Center City with the river. Construction is supposed to begin on the cap later this year and should be completed by 2024.

Looking North from the same point. There already is a 2-block cap in front of the Society Hill Towers (the three tall building on the right). 

Here's a view of the Delaware, as seen from the top of the staircase down from the bridge.

Heading back down the way we came, here's one of my favorite murals. The store under it closed not long after I got this picture, but I'm relatively confident whoever moves in next will want to keep this.

Starbucks, Society Hill

This location opened in the early 2000's and closed in 2019. Starbucks has a pretty high turnover rate in the city, they seem to open and close a bunch every year, but I was surprised to see this one go. There aren't any other locations nearby, it's in a great spot, had a neat second floor seating area, and looked like it had been recently remodeled. South Street has fallen considerably from its glory days, but chain stores still seem to thrive there even as the quirky independent stores that made South Street famous pack up and move to Fishtown.

Servistar/Pearl/KicksUSA/Snipes, Society Hill

Even though Pearl wasn't here a terribly long time- the building was home to Cohen's Servistar beforehand- their sign became a South Street landmark. As a tribute, KicksUSA kept it up when they moved in, even after totally redoing the building's façade. Snipes bought Kicks in 2019 and rebranded their locations. Unfortunately, they were not as conscientious of the neighborhood as Kicks was and replaced Pearl's sign with their own. 

Rite Aid, East Falls

Rite Aid opened here in 1995. Despite what the the older signage would indicate, it was remodeled to the first version of the Wellness look in 2011. So far, no permits have been filed for a new logo, but at the rate they're moving I don't expect it will be too much longer (unless they're planning on closing or relocating this store, which given the amount of development this road is seeing wouldn't surprise me).

Chestnut Hill National Bank/National Penn/BB&T, East Falls

This bank first opened in 1988 as a Chestnut Hill National, which was small local bank chain that National Penn bought in the 90's. It operated as such until BB&T bought them in 2016.

I already linked to two other songs in this post, but hey why not throw in another?