High Society

 Hey welcome back! We've got a lot of good stuff coming up in today's post, ranging from supermarkets to drugstores to a much happier downtown riot.

A&P/SuperFresh/ACME, Society Hill

This opened as an A&P in 1968. The store is designed sorta like a Centennial-style, but modified to better fit the neighborhood. The neighborhood is an interesting mix of colonial-era buildings and midcentury modern houses; it would seem they tried to go the colonial route. Even though the Centennial style is also referred to as the Colonial A&P, their normal design wouldn't really fit in as well as this one. It became a SuperFresh in 1982, which operated up until the chain went bankrupt in 2015. It was among the several stores in the city then sold to ACME. 

ACME added some more lighting and painted the black ceiling white, but the store still retains SuperFresh's Funky Fresh look, which it was remodeled to in 2009. Despite being one of the few remaining unremodeled A&P/ACME conversions, it does great business. There was a lot of landlord drama shortly after it was sold (which I'll discuss a few photos down), but the reason it has held onto this look so long is actually because they are planning to nearly double the store in size by building out over its parking lot. No construction permits have been filed so far, but they are currently in the application process for wine & beer sales. ACME tends to do a full remodel whenever they add alcohol, so I think this will be happening soon.

The store could definitely use the extra space. I'm getting a little claustrophobic here. Even though it looks small now, it's still a fair amount larger than it was originally. SuperFresh expanded the store out under most of the front awning back in the 80's.

Between the tight angles and not wanting to get caught taking pictures by holding my camera too high, it was hard to get a lot of the décor in the shots.

Funky Fresh may be one of the strangest decors out there, but I love it. It's my second favorite A&P look after the Futurestore.

Very narrow produce section. For comparison, it's roughly the size of the seasonal aisle at most other ACME's.

The Deli and Bakery were the only two service departments in the store, and even they look like they're barely shoehorned in there. The fluorescent bar above the counter indicates this had either the 90's Scribbles or Superstore look prior to Funky Fresh.

ACME resurfaced the awnings outside, which were originally put on by SuperFresh in 2009. They were formerly blue.

Now for the drama... the landlord wanted ACME out of here so he could tear the building down for a highrise apartment tower. However, they're the only grocery store in the very residential neighborhood and one of only two "normal" grocery stores (or 4, depending how you view Whole Foods. The South Street ACME's the other normal one.) in the entire Center City region. Residents were furious. Eventually there was enough backlash that they not only cancelled the plans, but extended ACME's lease and rezoned the parking lot so they could expand there.

Society Hill Shopping Center/CVS, Society Hill

At one point I had found an architect and date opened for this funky little postmodern strip mall, but I can't seem to find it now. I'm pretty sure it's from the late 70's and had a semi-notable architect though. It featured a PLCB store, deli, salon, and cleaners. CVS bought the center in 2017 and kicked everybody out. Fortunately, they didn't only keep the existing building, but they kept exterior alterations to a minimum. They opened a new store in 2018, taking up the entire center.

At first I thought it was weird the cleaners had only taken down part of their sign, but checking the streetview it would appear this happened long before closure. They had to cut a chunk out of it to fit in a (now-removed) window unit air conditioner.

Second National Bank, Old City

Those of you who survived AP US History may remember the trouble the government had getting a national bank running. This was their second attempt, chartered by President James Madison in 1816 (although the present building didn't come until two years later). Like the First National Bank, it closed after its charter expired without renewal by Andrew Jackson in 1836. It didn't close when the charter expired, but instead became a private bank. It went out of business on its own in 1841. The building changed hands several times over the years and served a variety of purposes, but ultimately would back up in the Federal Government's hands in the 1950's when it became part of Independence National Park. Since then, it's served as an early American art gallery.

Lucha Cartel & Rotten Ralph's, Old City

Here are two of Old City's most popular dining establishments, who don't share much in common beyond that. Lucha Cartel is supposed to be one of the best Mexican restaurants in the city. Tacky as it may be, it's always crowded. Rotten Ralph's is another story. They're a holdout from the seedier days of Old City and have some very mediocre ratings. At this point, they primarily exist to serve people who have already eaten their fill at one of the fancy restaurants nearby and want to get tipsy without draining their wallet too much more.

Blue Cross RiveRink, Penn's Landing

The northern end of Penn's Landing features a large parking lot. I'm not sure if this is a new tradition or has just grown considerably in recent years, but in the winter part of it gets turned into an ice skating rink. In the past yew years, they've added a chalet, several more food options, and a Ferris wheel. They've also stopped taking it down during the warm months, instead opting to keep it open as a roller skating rink. The big concrete pillar on the right was left over from a failed redevelopment project in the early 2000's, which would have featured a small shopping mall in addition to a trolley going over the river to Camden. They built one support pillar before Simon backed out of the mall project. It stood as a "Monument to Failure" (in the words of a local paper) for nearly 20 years before it was pulled down over quarantine, which was a move intended to indicate their commitment to the new redevelopment project.

Merchant's Exchange Building, Old City

Prior to this being built, Philadelphia's main trade center was the original City Tavern. Stephen Girard, who at the time was the wealthiest person in the country (it brings me great pleasure the guy who holds that title now posts memes on Twitter in his free time) decided we needed an actual trade center and commissioned this building, which was designed by William Strickland and opened in 1834. Later in the century, it became the first home of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Since the 50's, it has also been part of Independence National Park.

Payless, Phoenixville, PA

It's just a strip mall now, but back in the 70's this was the enclosed Valley Forge Mall. Shortly after anchor Ames closed in 2002, the center de-malled and opened all the tenants out into the parking lot. Payless was one of those tenants. They ultimately closed with the chain in 2019; it's currently vacant.

Jamesway/Ames/Redner's, Phoenixville, PA

Here's the anchor I mentioned in the last photo. It opened with the mall as a Jamesway in 1975, and closed with the chain in 1996. Ames picked it up pretty quickly and had it up and running by the end of the year. I believe this is the only Ames I've ever been to while it was in operation, but despite my visits being a major accomplishment in the retail nerd community, I have no recollection of them as I was between 0 and 3 years old at the time. My parents insist that I wanted to go with them when they went since there was something in the attached mall I liked looking at, so maybe this interest has deep roots. Redner's opened here in 2003, taking up all of the Ames except for a small corner, which is now Gamestop.

Inside, the store has Redner's longtime standard minimalist décor. Thankfully, it would seem they've finally ditched that in favor of something a little less... bland. They don't seem to be remodeling aggressively at all, but hopefully this gets the new look before long. In the meantime, you can check out what they did with the old Audubon Genuardi's.

They might have swapped out the signage at some point, since this matches the lettering of a newer logo than the one on the outside. Regardless, I'm pretty sure the signage it replaced was also red lettering on a white background.

All the service departments were along the back wall, and interestingly were all connected. Most other stores have some sort of break in the openings between them.

I have to give them props for not making this décor as bland as it could have been, there's some colored tile in the backsplash when it could have been all white.

If I remember correctly, the banner things next to the signage were more recent additions. Again, I'll give them a couple bonus points for effort but overall am not a huge fan of their interior design.

Despite all my complaints about the store's design, Redner's is great. They're cheap but not gross, and they carry a pretty impressive variety of products. All the white also does a good job of making the store feel clean, too.

Redner's likes to tout that they're employee-owned, which I don't believe means their cashiers have a controlling interest but rather is supposed to show they're both independent and not publicly traded.

They've got a pretty small produce department relative to the size of the store. Their focus seems to be more on the boxed, canned, and frozen groceries. And dairy, even though that doesn't really fit in with the rest. They've got an nice variety of all of those.

The ceiling dropped down a little in front. I'm not sure if that's left over from Ames or if Redner's did that when they moved in. Another interesting thing about Redner's is their aisle arrangement- they run parallel to the front wall, unlike just about every other grocery store I've been to.

Mobil/Lukoil, Kimberton, PA

This was one of Mobil's later stores before the Exxon merger. It opened in the early 90's and was divested to Lukoil when they merged. Lukoil had a pretty big round of closings in the early 2010's, which this location fell victim to. It sat empty long enough I was almost positive it would be knocked down if/when something moved in, but in 2018 it was converted to a medical marijuana dispensary. I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately, but you would not believe how fast these things sprung up once it was legalized. None of them were new construction either, so a lot of long-empty storefronts got a new life.

Wendy's, Paoli, PA

Some call it classic, some call it horribly maintained... the Paoli Wendy's hadn't gotten much attention since the 90's and it was really starting to show. As much as I hate seeing chains like this getting homogenized, this one needed a remodel. Badly. Finally, almost three years after Wendy fell off the front of the building, they began work this past December. It hasn't reopened yet, but from the looks of it the exterior work will be limited to boxing out the roof, while the inside is getting a deserved gut remodel.

Gosnell Clinic, University City

As you know, I post my photos chronologically. I saw an article in the news on Thursday, and apparently this set just so happens to land on the week of the tenth anniversary of then-Dr. Kermit Gosnell's conviction for three counts of first-degree murder, among a spread of other charges. His former clinic has sat abandoned ever since, making it one of the creepiest buildings in the city. Every Halloween, some local publication will routinely churn out a list of the most likely haunted places in Philly, which always includes this, Gary Heidnik's house, Marty Graham's house, the Tacony Dungeon, and nearby Lerner Court Apartments. All of those buildings still stand, but this is the only abandoned one which I think makes it the scariest.

They never bothered to board up the entire building, but have been covering them up as they've broken. The neighborhood has long advocated for its demolition since it carries many painful memories (and being blighted sure doesn't help), but it was still under Gosnell's ownership until the city repoed it for unpaid taxes a couple years ago. Neither of the owners cared enough to remove it, so it will eventually come down to whoever the city sells it to.

Looking in the lobby through an un-boarded section of window, the inside is still completely furnished, making it even creepier.

The corner of the building had most of the signage removed, but retains the clinic's logo on top. It's spawned a number of awful "dead baby" jokes that I absolutely despise but still laugh at because I have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old. 

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, University City

This church opened in 1872 as a Lutheran church, which was still open at the time the city made their 1962 Atlas, but by the 2000's it had become a Baptist church. The steeple was removed due to structural concerns in 2009... under the stucco, the church is made of serpentine. It's a beautiful green stone, but was found to undergo radioactive decay pretty quickly making it a terrible building material (not because of radiation poisioning but just because of how fast the stone broke down). In the early 2010's, it became one of those new-age churches, called Catalyst for Change Church. It closed after the building was sold in 2020. The new owners plan on turning this into apartments. I'm curious to see whether they will restore the original stone exterior.

Old TV

I came across this a few blocks past there. It would've been cool to take home but I didn't want to carry it all that way. Plus, there's no guarantee it even works... actually, the fact it's out on the curb implies that it doesn't.

Hawthorne Hall, University City

The name implies that this was all one building, but it's actually a collection of what I guess you could call rowhomes that went up in 1895 on the site of an old lumber yard. It mainly had retail on the lower floors, while the upper levels were either residences or fraternal organizations, depending on their size. Most of it is still occupied, but the southern corner seen here isn't and has fallen into disrepair. That doesn't stop it from getting occasional use though- it became the Society of Pythagoras, an art display, for a short time in 2013. The neighborhood is still actively trying to attract a permanent use for it, which shouldn't be too hard seeing the amount of gentrification the neighborhood is experiencing. 

New Angle Lounge, University City

Despite being in a college neighborhood, this isn't a college bar. It's patrons are mainly longtime neighborhood residents. It also hasn't seen much investment over the years, as of 2018 still had a great vintage sign. Sadly, it would appear the plastic has fallen out of the frame. They are still in business, but are currently without a sign.

Reminders of a Bygone Era

Remember three years ago when the Eagles were doing really good? Back when the coach we just fired was one of the most beloved people in the city? When we won our first and only Super Bowl? I remember. A few friends and I had just watched the Eagles beat the Vikings in the final game of the playoffs in the dorm, and afterwards took to the street alongside thousands of others to celebrate. Along the Schuylkill, most of the buildings were lit up green in celebration as well.

Everybody mainly flocked to the City Hall area. If you think it's hectic now, you wouldn't believe the crowd that gathered here after we won the Super Bowl itself- remember, this is only the crowd celebrating that we were going to the Super Bowl in the first place. It was physically impossible to get across- or even onto- Broad Street that day, so in a way this one was more fun.

The festivities mainly consisted of chanting (mainly the Viking's "Skol" chant, since we are a city of assholes) and drinking. None of this was sanctioned or approved by the Mayor, but enough people gathered they didn't do anything to stop it either. I like to think the City government was excited enough about the win they wouldn't have cared anyway.

Ahh the good old pre-COVID times...

There was a lot of climbing on things going on too. Some of it resulted in minor destruction, but nowhere near the extent it was after the actual Super Bowl.

They did have police cars blocking vehicle traffic from the area, but I believe those didn't show up until after the crowd gathered here.

Quite a few statues got climbed on. This looked like one of the more dangerous ones.

Schuylkill River Trail Ramp

Most streets have just a staircase going down to the trail, but for ADA accessibility Market Street has a very long ramp. It's become popular with cyclists and skateboarders.

Cira Green, University City

The parking garage in between those two towers is the tallest one in the city. It's also the most visited, thanks to the park it has on its roof. Let's head up, shall we? 

In addition to just being a cool place to hang out, it's got some great views of the city.

You really can't tell you're above a parking garage here, which makes it even cooler. It almost feels like it's floating.

If you're a roadgeek, it's also a fun place to watch construction from. PennDOT's currently in the middle of a several year project to redeck the Schuylkill Avenue bridge over I-76, as well as the bridges carrying Market and Chestnut Streets over the river. Since I've taken this picture, work has nearly been finished on Schuylkill Ave, and the Chestnut Street Bridge is closed while they build the new deck. Once that is finished, they'll do Market Street. If you're curious about the Chestnut project, I'll direct you to its website. Market Street doesn't have one quite yet.

As an engineering student, everything about this excites me- we've got roadway bridges, train tracks, a skyscraper next to me, and a concrete-walled river.

The 2400 building gets a pretty mixed reception. It's not that nice looking and a lot of people in Center City hate it becuase it blocks their view of the river. People who live there (primarily grad students at UPenn), on the other hand, love it since they get a great view and its only a short walk from campus.

The west end of the green doesn't have quite as scenic views as the east, but it's still pretty nice. The Schuylkill Yards megadevelopment (which will be on the blocks to the right of the building with the Drexel sign) is getting underway, which will add some more interesting features on this side soon, including a 1000-foot skyscraper by the end of the decade.

Rite Aid, Rittenhouse Square

The first term I had at school, I did most of my shopping at the Market Street Rite Aid. The next term, I discovered how much closer this one was to my dorm. Force of habit persisted for a while, but finally I switched to using this one mainly. At the beginning of my current school year, we moved into an apartment off-campus making the Market Street one much closer, but once again force of habit persists and I've been going to this one mainly. It opened in 1995. Despite it already having a surface parking lot, it also features a garage below it. The interior was redone in 2012, but the outside so far is still the way it was when it opened. For now. They got a signage permit last month, so I figure we'll be seeing the new logo before long.

Originally, I believe this store would have had either the red/blue stripes décor, or the later "transitional" variant.

It has the Wellness décor now, making it one of only two stores in Center City without the Wellbeing look.

It's not a very large store, but they make up for it by keeping it pretty densely stocked.

It's also got a grocery aisle, which if I'm being totally honest I probably buy from more than the actual grocery store. You can't beat their store card discounts.

Sonoco Paper Mill Update

Last time we passed by here, demolition was just beginning. Now, everything except the building closest to the tracks is down. I was kinda hoping they'd keep one of the older stone buildings just because it adds character, but I guess I get why they wanted to start from scratch.

Official Hoagie of the Philadelphia Eagles

My local Wawa slapped an Eagles bumper sticker up on the wooden frame over the coffee island. The next season, Wawa got a sponsorship deal with the Birds to start calling themselves the team's official hoagie.

Neil Diamond is great. He's one of my favorites, but I have to say Deep Purple hit this cover of him out of the park.