Sunday, January 31, 2010

Seventeen at the Independence Mall

It was a cold day yesterday, Saturday January 30, with a high of 21 degrees and a low of 16 degrees, but that didn’t stop people from going outside and visiting Independence Mall. I took portraits of seventeen people that I met out there and ran into some interesting people. I asked each person what they liked and didn't like about Philadelphia to get a sense of how others feel about the city.

This is Heike Heeman from Bavaria, Germany. She came to Philadelphia today with her friend Keri Renault (photograph below). “I like the architecture; not the modern stuff but the old stuff,” Heike said. She didn’t like the “lack of traffic signs.”

This is Keri Renault from Annapolis, Maryland. She arrived here today with Heike Heemann (photograph above). “I like the history; the roots of America,” Keri said. “I don’t like I-76,” she added.
This is Jacob Winters from Manhattan, New York. He came to Philadelphia with is father, Fred Winters (photograph below) for the day. “I like the National Constitution Center and the cheese steaks,” Jacob said. “I don’t like the Phillies [baseball team],” he added.
This is Fred Winters from Manhattan, New York. He came to Philadelphia with his son, Jacob Winters (photograph above) for the day. “I like the scale. It’s a nice small city. It’s very intimate; the streets are small and it’s old and historical,” Fred said. “I haven’t found anything I don’t like yet,” he added.
This is Joana Conklin, who came here from Washington D.C. on Friday with her husband, Chris Conklin. “It’s actually a much more vibrant city than we thought, Joana said. “It’s a little colder than we thought,” she added.
This is Christine Alan from Texas. She arrived here last sunday for a class to prepare her for her job. She said “people [from the class] have been complaining about the roads,” not finding anything she didn’t like in particular. “I like the trees. Believe it or not it’s the tall trees,” she said. “I haven’t seen such tall trees in a long time. It struck me,” Christine said.
This is Travis Lumpkin who is visiting here with his girlfriend, Alex Glass (photograph below), from Washington D.C. Travis and Alex arrived “twenty four hours ago” and have come just to visit. “I like the history of the country here,” Travis said. “I dislike nothing,” he added.
This is Alex Glass who is visiting here with her boyfriend, Travis Lumpkin (photograph above), from Washington D.C. “I like the trip down memory lane about the city,” she notes as she studied sociology here at college. “I like being back in Philly.” She added, “today I don’t like that it’s so cold.”
This is Janita Branch from Miami, Florida. She is here with Brian Peters (photograph below). They both arrived last night. As of now Janita found nothing that she didn’t like. She likes that “everyone's just really friendly” in Philadelphia.
This is Brian Peters from Miami, Florida. He is here with Janita Branch (photograph above). “I dislike the cold,” Brian said. “I like the history,” he added “it makes you feel patriotic being here.”
This is Diana Horten. She came with Titus Wilson, Leon Barber, Kevin Jones and John Johnson. They all live in Rochester, New York and drove in yesterday (a five hour ride) to go watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Philadelphia 76ers. “I like the quality family time and looking at all of this neat and interesting history,” Diana said. She added, “I dislike the traffic.”

This is Leon Barber who is also from Rochester, New York. “I definitely hate the traffic” but “I like all of the building, how they’re all structured.”
This is Tutus Wilson who is also from Rochester, New York. “I like the Philly cheese steaks,” Titus said. He also “didn’t like the traffic.”
This is Kevin Jones, also from Rochester, New York. “I like all of the historical facts,” Kevin said. “The scenery's pretty sweet.” “I don’t like the sixteen dollar buffet for one person,” adding that at the hotel “we thought it was free” until the check came around.
This is John Johnson, also from Rochester, New York. “I don’t like that you can park in the middle of the road.” “It confused me,” John said speaking about the Philadelphia parking patterns. “I like how there’s no snow here, to get my feet wet,” John said.
This is Alex Parsons from New Hampshire. He is visiting Philadelphia with his fiance’, Rebekkah Kerner (photograph below). “I don’t have any strong feelings about Philadelphia,” Alex said. “I did like the Rodin Museum.” He also added "I'm a lawyer and the constitution is a pretty big deal for me.”
This is Rebekkah Kerner from New Hampshire. She is visiting Philadelphia with her fiance’, Alex Parsons (photograph above). Rebekkah said that she “likes the history” of Philadelphia. “I like the old buildings,” Rebekkah said “I like the museums.” Since they recently arrived this weekend, Rebekkah did not find one thing she didn’t like about Philadelphia.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Philadelphia Past and Present: Mansions in Fairmount

In order to see Philadelphia’s changes and similarities through time I looked up photos on Temple University Urban Archives that were at least 60 years old and then tried to recreate them as close to the original as possible. I chose to study mansions in the Fairmount area as they are an example of preserved history in our city.




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Bellaire Manor is one of the earliest houses in the park. It was built between 1735 and 1750. It originally overlooked a 142-acre working farm. Now the house sits on a golf course. It's original owner was Samuel Preston, who served as a trustee of William Penn's estate and was the Provincial Treasurer.
Location: J on Map
FDR Park
2000 Pattison Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19145
This photograph of Bellaire Manor was taken on August 14, 1949 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.
The historic house and garden of the Bartrams, America's pioneering family of naturalists, horticulturist and explorers. John Bartram (1699-1777), a Quaker and the co-founder of the American Philosophical Society, built his 18th century home on a 45 acre site near the Schuylkill River.
Location: B on Map
54th St. and Lindbergh Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19143
This photograph was taken on January 28, 1941 and was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.This photograph was taken in 1922 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.
Lemon Hill was built between 1799 and 1800 by Henry Pratt, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant. Before the home was built the land was owned by Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Location: D on Map
West Sedgley Drive & Lemon Hill Dr
Philadelphia, PA 19130
This photograph was taken on April 17, 1933 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.
This photograph was taken by R. Newell & Son in 1920 and was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.

Elizabeth Coates Paschall, a wealthy Quaker, built Cedar Grove in 1748. Five generations of her family lived there. Over 75 years ago it was moved stone by stone from the Frankford section of Philadelphia to its current location in Fairmont Park.
Location: C on map
West Fairmount Park
1 Cedar Grove Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19131

This photograph was taken William S. Coward on July 7, 1949 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.

The Ohio House was built by the state of Ohio in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition. Currently it is a working Cafe' and restaurant.
Location: I on Map
4700 States Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19131-3712
This photograph was taken by Pasquarella and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin around 1950. It shows the present occupant, Joseph M. Williams.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010. It shows Sam DiBernardo, who ate lunch at the current breakfast/lunch restaurant inside.
Belmont Mansion was originally surrounded by a group of farms. It was William Peters who bought the property in 1742. He designed and built the Mansion and also created the gardens. Peters son, Richard Peters was the second to own the building. He was the Secretary of the Board of War for the Revolutionary Army and Pennsylvania Delegate to Congress under the Articles of Confederation. There were also many founding fathers who stayed at the mansion, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Location: A on map
West Fairmount Park
2000 Belmont Mansion Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19131
This photograph was taken in 1930 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010. This photograph of Belmont Mansion was taken on July 31, 1949 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. .
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.

Woodford Mansion was built in 1756-58 by by William Coleman, a Philadelphia merchant and friend of Benjamin Franklin. Today the mansion is owned by the Fairmount Park Commission and operated by Naomi Wood Trust.
Location: H on map
33rd & Dauphin Streets
East Fairmount Park
Philadelphia, PA 19132
This photograph was published on June 11, 1925 in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 23, 2010.
Sweetbriar Mansion
This Colonial mansion was built by Samuel Breck in 1797. Breck knew many leading figures of the time, including Marquis de Lafayette and Joseph Bonaparte (the brother of Napoleon). He occupied the building until 1838. It undertook a restoration by the Junior League of Philadelphia.
Location: G on map
1 Sweetbriar Drive Philadelphia, PA 19131
This photograph of Sweetbriar mansion was taken before it was renovated in 1928. It was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. This photograph was taken on January 22, 2010.
This photograph was taken on December 7, 1928. It was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
This photograph was taken on January 22, 2010.

This house was built in 1789 and was expanded in the 1820's with additions. Today it is known as the largest of the Fairmont Park historic houses. Judge William Lewis was the builder and original occupant of the home which he called "Summerville."
Location: F on map
East Fairmount Park
2450 Strawberry Mansion Bridge Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19132
This photograph was taken in early 1930 before the building was remodeled in the fall of 1930. It was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
Strawberry Mansion on January 22, 2010. As you can see the Ice Cream sign has been removed.
This photograph was taken in 1949 and published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
Strawberry Mansion on January 22, 2010. After the remodeling not much has been altered.
Mount Pleasant Mansion

Scottish sea captain and patriot, John McPherson, built Mount Pleasant over 225 years ago. Some of the owners of this building include Benedict Arnold, Ben Franklin’s great nephew and the first superintendent of West Point. At one time it was a dairy, which provided fresh milk and ice cream to the city.

Location: E on map

East Fairmount Park
3800 Mount Pleasant Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19121

This photograph was published July 17, 1949 in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

Mount Pleasant Mansion on January 22, 2010.



Friday, January 15, 2010

New Years Day

This year, because of the good weather, I went to see the Mummers parade. Surprisingly, even though there were colorful happy people everywhere it was challenging to get photographs because you need a press pass to get in the street.
This is the end of the Parade, when the mummers trade in their color for normal clothes.
A King?