The Road to Fishtown

 It's already Good Friday, but you know what would make it a great Good Friday? A new Plaza ACME post! Apologies for going off the radar the past month. The term was wrapping up and between projects and finals I didn't have the time or energy to write- but that's over now! I'll be working another internship the next six months, so homework will not be an issue. Today, we're going to be taking a walk down Girard Avenue through North Philly en route to the Fishtown/Port Richmond area... you'll see the destination next post. We're then going to finish by taking a look at some stuff in Wayne.

St. Benedict's Thrift Store, Northern Liberties

If you know the area or are following along with Google Maps, this post is going to look like we're walking away from Fishtown... for whatever reason Blogger put the pictures in backwards and I figure it's more trouble than its worth trying to fix it. Here, we've got a long-closed thrift store that I suspect was once affiliated with the church across the street. Empty storefronts like this were common in the neighborhood until recently, but in the past decade (and even more so in the past year) Northern Liberties has been undergoing a development boom turning it into almost a second Center City. Storefronts like this are becoming rare.

St. Peter's, Northern Liberties

It's much smaller than Philly's official cathedral basilica, but from an architectural standpoint I think it's more fitting of the title. St. Peter's was founded to serve the neighborhood's growing German Catholic population, and was consecrated in 1847. In addition to serving as a parish and school, the building also home to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, who was Bishop of Philadelphia during the mid-1800's.

Merit/Amoco/BP/Amera, Ludlow

While Merit's buildings aren't anything special, former locations are easy to spot thanks to their uncomfortably thick canopy roofs. I suspect this must have closed prior to Hess buying out the chain in 2000, as it did operate as an Amoco for a little bit before the BP conversion. Most Philly BP's, including this one, dropped the brand in 2018 in favor of the generic Amera name.

Farmers & Mechanics Hotel, Ludlow

This hotel first opened in the 1880's to serve the local blue collar population. By 1910, it had changed names to the Girard Hotel. It had closed by the 40's, and was presumably used as apartments for the next several decades. It was last occupied in the 80's, and had fallen into terrible condition when the city condemned it in 2007. The building was demolished, but the cast iron façade preserved in hopes that whoever built here next could reuse it. From here, there's good news and bad news. Good news is that ground broke on a new building here in 2019. Bad news is the cast iron was taken down for it. 

Girard Medical Center, Ludlow

This hospital first opened as a children's medical center in the early 1900's. It operated as such through the 60's, but ultimately became a general hospital. After going bankrupt in 1990, it merged with St. Joseph's Hospital down the street to form the North Philadelphia Health System. They too went bankrupt in 2015, closing St. Joe's and selling this to a real estate developer. While it's not explicitly a hospital anymore, it still serves as medical offices and is home to a small psychiatric center. 

9th Street Marketplace, Ludlow

This strip mall opened in 2014 on the site of a long-demolished supermarket (I'm thinking a circa-1950 ACME but can't confirm. I've only got a 1996 aerial to reference.) Its anchors were Bottom Dollar Food and Dollar General. After opening, a Pizza Hut, pharmacy, and laundromat also joined. Two of the spaces have yet to be filled. Pizza Hut closed in 2020 with nearly every other location in the city. No word whether it will be reopening as a Boston market or not.

A glance inside one of the never-filled stores. There's not much to see but it is satisfyingly clean.

As you may remember, Aldi bought Bottom Dollar in 2015. They didn't take this location, which closed only 6 months after opening. It's remained vacant ever since. I was hoping Rite Aid would relocate here from their store a few blocks away that is slated for demolition, but no such luck. 

The windows are mostly covered, but there was a little spot I was able to peek inside.

They've cleared it out pretty well. The neighborhood is a little rough but is cleaning up fast, so I'm not sure why Aldi didn't want this. What's even weirder is that Aldi opened a new store a couple blocks south of here last fall.

Dunkin Donuts, Ludlow

Dunkin opened in the early 2000's here on the site of a former Arco station. They remodeled in 2009, replacing the rounded-corner façade with an angled one.

Strand Theater, Poplar

This tiny theater opened its doors in 1913. According to what I've found, it closed in 1958. I'm not entirely sure I believe that, as the marquee still has scars from the Strand sign that I doubt would have lasted over 60 years. Regardless, it has been gone for a while. It was a church for a few decades afterwards. I can't figure out when that closed either, but it was relatively recently. Permits show the water main was disconnected in early 2019, so it was sometime before then. 

Rite Aid, Yorktown

Here's that Rite Aid I mentioned a few photos back. It was built in 1995 and intended to anchor a small strip mall, which was never completed. They remodeled to the Wellbeing look in 2017, and had just repainted in preparation for the new logo when they were told they had to close. The landlord sold the property, and an apartment building is going to be built on it. They shut their doors earlier this year, and a demolition permit has been filed for the building.

Sunoco, Columbia-CBM

Sunoco relocated here from across the street in the late 60's or early 70's when their original station was demolished for William Penn High School (which too has come and gone). Sunoco is still listed as the property owner, so this A-Plus is franchised and will not be converted to 7-Eleven.

Fra's Lounge, Columbia-CBM

This building once housed a restaurant on the ground floor and lounge upstairs. They closed in 2016. The building sat empty for a while, but was demolished in 2019 for an apartment building.

The restaurant door was boarded up, so I could only see up the lounge stairs. It would seem they were having some roof trouble, based on the amount of ceiling that had fallen down.

The Blue Horizon, Columbia-CBM

You may think this look like a set of brownstones instead of a sporting venue, and you wouldn't be wrong. The Blue Horizon began life as three homes in 1865. They were bought out in 1914 to be used as a Moose Lodge, which kept the fronts but replaced the rear ells and back yards with a huge auditorium. By the 1920's, it was the largest Moose Lodge in the world by number of members. They began to fizzle out eventually, and the building was sold in 1961. The new owners converted the lodge into a boxing venue, with matches taking place in the 1914 auditorium. It became very popular within the boxing community, and was even granted the title of top venue in the country at one point. Scenes from Rocky V were filmed here. Despite its status, between boxing's fading popularity and tax fraud on the owner's side, the Blue Horizon closed its doors in 2010. The property was sold to a hotel a few years later, who initially planned to demolish the entire complex. There was enough pushback that the pans were revised. The remaining parts of the 1865 townhomes would be kept, and the hotel would be built on the site of the auditorium. These plans went over better, and were approved by the historical commission. Despite the approval, nothing has been done with the site since then.

Time has not treated it well. Despite its condition, there apparently is still a caretaker who lives here (perhaps illegally, the whole situation seems a little fishy) who offers tours. I feel like there's a high chance I'd get stabbed, so I haven't done one yet.

If you cut out the street-level parts, it actually still looks pretty good from the outside.

An old theater to the north of it was demolished for an apartment tower, which is what the crane you see here is for. The area's getting a lot of new development, so I don't think it will be long before something happens with this.

There's also a few decrepit old buildings across the street. I believe the darker one on the left is still being used, but just isn't well maintained. The middle one was last medical offices, but has been abandoned for over a decade. The bank on the right was abandoned for several years too, but got new life in the 2000's as a self-storage facility.

CVS, Francisville

Like with the Rite Aid we saw a little while back, CVS has been kicked out for redevelopment too. This one had an even shorter run. It opened in 2002, and closed earlier this year. So far, no new plans or permits have shown up for the site but I imagine it won't be long.

KFC, Columbia-CBM

KFC opened this location in the 90's. It kept the older look for years, but finally remodeled to current standards last summer.

Calcutta House, Columbia-CBM

This block has a few interesting facades. The arched gothic place on the left was originally built as a house, but was converted to a Baptist church in 1970. They were hit with an Unsafe Structure violation by the city in 2017, but appear to have lasted here until 2019. The building is now vacant and quickly falling apart. Hopefully someone steps in to save it soon. The postmodern Calcutta House on the right initially operated in conjunction with St. Joseph's Hospital across the street as an AIDS hospice. Like the hospital, it was founded by St. Theresa of Calcutta's Missionary Brothers of Charity, but following the hospital's bankruptcy was merged into a secular system. The present building was designed in 1996 by Friday Architects. It appeared to stay open after North Philadelphia Health's bankruptcy, but as of last year appears to have closed. Some of the downstairs windows are now boarded up and several homeless people have set up residence under the overhang.

St. Joseph's Hospital, Fairmount

I've mentioned this place a few times already this post, now it's time to actually see it! It was still vacant at the time, but cleanout work was starting up. By the summer, work was in full swing converting the hospital to apartments with ground level retail. I was surprised to see the conversion kept its chapel up, since that looks like it would be hard to reuse. It's currently empty, but being marketed for retail. I could see a restaurant or something making good use of it.

By the parking lot entrance, there was a tall cross sculpture. Unfortunately, this was chopped down during the renovations. You'd think they would want to keep some relics of the building's history and a sculpture would be a perfect candidate for preservation, but I guess it didn't fit in with the developer's vision for the site.

Even though it's been closed for several years, the signage is still up! It too was removed during the renovation, but that's a little more understandable.

Ambulances used to back up here to pick up or drop off patients. They kept this more or less intact, and now serves as a loading dock for moving vans.

Dumpsters are here for the cleanout, and actual construction followed not long after. They added quite a few windows to the building, but perhaps the most major change was the removal of the front awning and glass spike here.

 The parking lot was also redone, but it appears that'll be a short-lived improvement as there are now plans to build another apartment building there. The hospital also had lots on the blocks east and south of this, but both of those were sold off separately and have already been built on. The neighborhood is changing fast.

Church of the Gesu/St. Joe's Prep, Columbia-CBM

Isn't it weird there's so much stuff here named after St. Joseph but the church isn't one of them? I thought so too. Well, as it turns out, it was originally called St. Joseph's but they changed the name in 1878. The present church building was completed ten years later. By that point, St. Joseph's University was operating on the property next door. They relocated their campus to the suburbs in 1927 (though rumor has it they'll be coming back via acquisition of University of the Sciences), and converted the old campus to a prep high school. By the 60's, the neighborhood was in a free fall but that didn't seem to impact the school at all. It did impact the church though. It held its last public mass in 1993, and was subsequently absorbed into the school. With the neighborhood making a comeback, there's talk of the church reopening.

Murry's/Dollar Tree, Brewerytown

Dollar Tree opened in 2017, taking up the entirety of a small strip mall. It was built sometime in the 70's on the site of the Fairmount Theater. Most of it was taken up by a Murry's grocery store, which closed prior to the rest of the chain in 2013. The neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, so I'm surprised Dollar Tree got to it before a developer did. It's a one-story building on a fairly large lot and would be an excellent candidate for redevelopment.

John Decker Building, Brewerytown

As you can probably guess by the extremely asymmetrical façade, this was once two separate buildings. They were combined in 1891 as the John Decker Architectural Metal Works, whose signage and product is still prominently displayed along the top. The upper floors have been converted to apartments, while the ground floor was last a daycare but is currently vacant.

ACME, Brewerytown

ACME opened this store in 1941 and most likely closed by the 60's. It retained its original tile front until 2017, when the longtime occupant Beauty Town moved to the old Kresge across the street. The landlord cleaned up the brick underneath the tile and exposed it. The left 2/3 are now a Green Eggs Café and the remainder a bicycle shop.

Even though the old ACME characteristics were stripped off the outside, the interior actually saw some restored- the pressed tin ceiling was uncovered and cleaned up!

Kresge/Valu-Plus/Rainbow/Beauty Town, Brewerytown

Kresge most likely opened here in the 30's, and had become a Valu-Plus by the 70's. Rainbow bought the chain in 2011, but closed this location in 2016. Not long after, Beauty Town relocated here from the ACME. Even though it has been decades since they closed, it has a very clear labelscar. 

Valu Plus added their standard metal front when they moved in, covering up Kresge's second story windows. Chances are they haven't used that floor for anything since Kresge closed.

Bank/PLCB/Post Office, Brewerytown

I couldn't find what bank this was originally, but whatever it was didn't last for long. I'm guessing it opened in the 20's, and had become a PLCB liquor store by 1942. That lasted through the 60's, and became a post office sometime after that. They closed in 2012, and the building is now some sort of cultural center.

Fairmount Water Works, Fairmount

This was Philadelphia's original drinking water facility, which opened in 1812 after the Yellow Fever epidemic demonstrated the need for clean water. It pumped water from the Schuylkill river into reservoirs up where the Art Museum stands now. It was expanded several times over the years, and ultimately replaced in 1909. After the reservoirs were built over, the pump houses became the city aquarium, which closed in 1962. It then served as an indoor public pool for a few years. Presently, it houses a museum and restaurant/event venue.

Radnor Family Practice, Wayne, PA

This was built as a mansion in the early 1900's, but for about half its life it was used as medical offices. The property was sold to a developer in 2017, and the practice was forced out. We'll see what happened to them in a few photos. This was torn down a few weeks after my visit.

The side door on the mansion was the only part I could see inside. It had stairs. 

They did have other windows, but those were high enough up I couldn't see through them.

A separate building in back had some more accessible windows. I believe this part was last a dentist's office.

Some of the ceiling was already down. I don't know if that was an issue with the building or just pre-demolition work.

I think this building only dates back to the 60's or 70's and was built specifically for medical use.

The front building was huge. I really don't know how they filled all of it with one practice... maybe part was used for apartments?

Post Office, Wayne, PA

This was another old house that had been converted for commercial use. It a post office up until 2012, after which it was taken over by Bryn Mawr trust, who has a branch and offices next door. Their plan was to expand those offices and demolish this for more parking, but it would appear those fell through after the former medical offices on the other side of the bank became available and they chose to put offices in there instead. Bryn Mawr has four offices- the original in Bryn Mawr; this one; half of the former Royal Bank headquarters in Narberth; and the main HQ in Paoli. Now that WSFS (who has Beneficial's huge former headquarters in Philly) is buying Bryn Mawr, I suspect many of these are going to close.

Starbucks, Wayne, PA

I'm fairly certain this was built as something else. It's one of the strangest Starbucks' I've ever seen- the building is a perfect circle. Sadly, it closed permanently last fall. I know Starbucks has a high turnover rate, but this one came as a surprise since it's in a rich town and not really near any other ones.

Old New Office, Wayne, PA

Today we're seeing not two but three houses-turned-offices on Lancaster Ave in Wayne threatened with demolition. Unlike the first two, I really have no idea what the deal was with this place. It underwent some major renovations in 2015, but was vacant again in 2016. Either something was meant to open here and never did, or lasted an incredibly short time. In 2018, work began "renovating" this into a 1st Resource Bank, which involved ripping it down to its foundation and rebuilding from there.

The fact that its furnished leads me to believe something did in fact open here but didn't last long at all.

I'm hoping they did a ton of salvage before taking this down. There's so much practically brand-new stuff that would have gone to waste.

Denny's/Flavor/Hogfish/Caramel, Wayne, PA

Speaking of short-lived improvements, this restaurant (which I can't tell for sure but suspect it may have been a Denny's originally) Update: Denny's confirmed! They opened 8/28/1977. Thanks Cape Kennedy Retail for the information! changed hands a few times before becoming a place called Caramel in 2014. they totally redid the façade, then closed a year later. Radnor Family Practice (I told you they'd be back!) later bought the site, and set up temporary operations in a trailer in back while they put up a huge new facility on the site of the restaurant.

It was a cool looking building, it's a shame it couldn't have hung around with that look much longer.

Isaac's, Lionville, PA

Isaac's is a central-PA deli chain with a tropical theme. They expanded out into Chester County in the late 90's, but didn't really take off. This was the last one left out here for about a decade. The exterior signage came down and was replaced with a plain banner in 2017, which I never figured out the reasoning behind. The restaurant closed altogether in late 2018, leaving Strasburg (Lancaster County) as the closest. Most of their remaining restaurants still have some funky delightfully 90's décor, so I'd recommend checking them out if you're ever out towards Lancaster.

I usually don't get too excited about superhero movies. Guardians of the Galaxy was the exception. That may or may not have been solely because of its soundtrack.