Articles
You are viewing 6 articles by the author Joel Wolfram
Can Graffiti Pier become a tourist attraction and still serve the people who put it on the map?
Jameel Kemp looked doubtful as he approached the forbidding trailhead for Graffiti Pier on a recent July evening. The “no trespassing” signs were insistent, and several layers of barricades stood in…
Redesigning an Old City green space for park use, not drug use
Adam Teterus takes a shortcut to the gym after work through a space some people in Old City prefer to avoid. The back corner of the T-shaped walkway and public plaza…
Old fish, new fish: Tracing the history of Fishtown’s most ubiquitous sign
When Joe Billitto and Megan Minner moved into their brick rowhouse on Sepviva Street last fall, just one thing was missing. The couple, not quite in their 30s, had renovated the…
Grant aims to create economic opportunity in embattled Kensington
A sign on the door of Abdelmgeed Elgamal’s fruit and vegetable market on Allegheny Avenue, written in black marker, informs customers the store can’t currently accept EBT payments — otherwise known…
Can better urban design help Philadelphia fight the opioid crisis?
A bright mural of cartoonish clocks and playful meditations on time cover a boarded-up former textile mill at the edge of the Conrail tracks in Kensington. Just down the street, a…
Long-awaited renovations begin as neighbors steer revitalization of historic Girard Estate park
On a Wednesday evening in May, the Friends of Stephen Girard Park gathered for their monthly meeting inside the historic farmhouse that stands improbably in the middle of the South Philadelphia…
