|
Some News:
1) Cira South: The parking garage is about halfway done. It is now a presence, and a handsome façade...for a parking garage. There is still space on either side for the two proposed towers, and I hope that a deal can be worked out soon. 2) South Street Bridge: The original bridge was demo'd all the way down to the pierheads and new piers have been built atop. All three main piers are finished, so superstructure installation ought to begin shortly. 3) UPenn Park (for lack of a better name): Demolition of the current parking lots has begun. Exactly how they'll demo the east lot's up in the air since it's currently being used as a Cira South receiving yard. (There is also a disused rail spur down there that I'd hope would be used as a decorative element of some sort in the park.) 4) The JFK Bvld Bridge really does look a lot better! |
There has been a lot of landscaping and small scale construction on the Schuylkill River Trail. Something is in the works.
|
http://z.about.com/d/philadelphia/1/0/L/b/parkway14.jpg
The Thinker at the Rodin Museum Northeast corner, 22nd and the Parkway photo credit: philadelphia.about.com Parkway plans Garden and landscape rejuvenation project at the Rodin Museum, with streetscape improvements at its Benjamin Franklin Parkway location. Mark Focht of the Fairmount Park Commission and Gail Harrity of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with others, presented initial plans to tie the Rodin Museum (one of the city’s most frequented sites by international visitors) into a better, more seamless, pedestrian- and bike-friendly stretch of the Parkway from 20th through 22nd streets. Landscape improvements have been commissioned from Olin Partners, and would marry, in a fashion, the Rodin to the new Barnes Foundation museum, school and grounds, now underway across the street. |
No casino.
USE THE SHIP!!!! |
Photos along the Schuylkill:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...nes%20site.JPG http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...at%20rodin.JPG http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...40/work....JPG If somebody can tell me what's going on down there, that'd be much appreciated... http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...%20nowhere.JPG http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...ll%20banks.JPG http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...ct%20specs.JPG Explains the staircase to nowhere and the path to nowhere. http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...ing%20pier.JPG http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...%20nowhere.JPG http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...t%20bridge.JPG And a shot of the South Street Bridge... Steve (hammersklavier) |
Quote:
|
I like the looks of this project, just wish they would save the spectrum... It's not like they don't have a 1,000 other parking spaces to put this in. The demolition of the spectrum will be the 2nd historic facility in that complex to be demolished.. what a shame.
I'm shocked that this project is moving so easily with cordish given the fact that they backed out of louisville, still haven't gotten a move on in st. louis, and are getting mixed reviews in kc. |
Quote:
Or better yet, why not encourage mass transit instead like AT&T Park does? |
Quote:
|
from here: http://www.planphilly.com/penn-park-progress
Penn Park progress / September 16 planphilly.com Penn Connects status check On Feb. 26, 2009, Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh unveiled the model for Penn Park, the principal project on the former postal lands. While the plan includes a parking lot for 300 cars, the park is enhancing a desperately desolate concrete landscape into a large, vast open space. David Hollenberg said “it was the first time that Penn had the opportunity to design open space of this magnitude.” “In the 1950s and 60s,” Praxis Director Harris Steinberg adds, “the University wanted to create an inward facing campus. In turn, this had a negative impact on the surrounding communities.” Now with Penn Connects, Steinberg believes, the University has had a philosophical change in the way its campus should physically and visually interact with the city. With Penn Connects, Penn hopes to create a beneficial environment not just for its students and faculty, but for all Philadelphians as well. The proposal for Penn Park calls for three playing fields, a dome to cover a field during winter months, a 12-court tennis center, a softball stadium and possibly a ropes course on the eastern edge of campus between Walnut Street and South Street against the Schuylkill River. Papageorge says the final plans will all depend on funding as some things (e.g. the softball field) take priority over others (e.g. the ropes course). The current design of the park is also environmentally friendly, as it includes storm water management and features native plants of the region. According to Papageorge, the first phase of the park is scheduled to open spring 2011. “The ultimate goal,” says Papageorge, “is to make this area alive with 24/7 activity.” Over time (and with appropriate funding), Papageorge says the northern edge of Penn Park will eventually become a mixed-used development to include office, retail and residences for the university and city. |
Work planned to start
http://www.planphilly.com/sites/plan...endering_0.jpg
render credit: planphilly.com copy of Center City Digest Fall '08 (discusses plans for ALL of Center City) here: http://www.planphilly.com/sites/plan...Fall08-Web.pdf Get the Plaza right planphilly.com September 19, 2009 nice slideshow here: http://www.planphilly.com/node/6579 COMMENTARY / By Kiki Bolender and John Gibbons The Center City District (CCD) is proposing a complete overhaul of the Dilworth Plaza, the public space to the west of City Hall. A photo slide show and a three-part video tour of the site accompany this commentary. More detailed analyses of the proposed design are included by John Gibbons, co-chair of the AIA Urban Design Committee, and John Andrew Gallery, Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. A December 2008 video showing the presentation of the CCD plan to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission is also featured below. The proposed budget for the renovation work is $40-45 million, with $20 million called for as part of Mayor Nutter’s request for federal economic stimulus funds. The project was presented to the Art Commission this month and the Planning Commission in December. Approvals are expected this winter, with construction scheduled before the end of the year. According to CCD President and CEO Paul Levy, three structures are proposed – two along 15th Street – one as a stairway into traffic and the other housing a café and elevator access to the concourse. Both currently will have green roofs. A third smaller structure is contemplated along the north side aligned with a view up the Parkway. A smaller café and elevator access to concourse. The existing plaza was conceived as a connector between the concourse below and activity on the street level. Transit riders can enter or emerge from the lower level below as it suits their convenience. The proposed new design wipes all that out, replacing a complex series of level changes with a single stair located to reinforce a design idea that is not reflective of natural user patterns. We need to take a nuanced look at the existing plaza, and see what could be wonderful, and what might be hopelessly ineffective. The south end, with its ponderous granite furnishings and scary space-age fountain, does not appear to have much to recommend it. But the north end has the potential to be a wonderful place, with a sunlit lower level full of moveable chairs and bright umbrellas in the summer, and a skating rink in the winter. In place of solid granite the proposed design concept would give us a glass sidewalk running almost the entire width of City Hall. Is this a material to stand the rigors of winter and time? Once it is covered with salt in bad weather, will we be able to walk on it? Or will it just be cordoned off, like another forlorn office building plaza? When the sun comes out after the storm, will that glass be beautiful, or will it be scratched and clouded from the salt? In place of the present imaginative (albeit sometimes strange and foreboding) links between the street and the concourse, the CCD scenario “envisions the complete reconstruction of Dilworth Plaza on the west side of City Hall with a new high-visibility, transparent entrance to public transit …” (Center City: Planning for Growth, Broad Street and City Hall, page 4, April 2007). The two buildings proposed along 15th Street are 100 feet long and the height of a three story row house. The sides are glass, and the roof will be covered with earth for plantings. City Hall is a treasure – massive, quirky, over abundant in every way. (If you choose the right portal, you are greeted by carved elephants) As you approach it from the west on Market Street, each block reveals more and more of its outlandish width. The proposed pair of buildings would block that revelation, limiting your experience to the prescribed view. Stopped for the traffic light at Market Street, drivers would see transit entrances, not the seat of our government. Are these buildings generous? What do they give us? One replicates in function and type the SEPTA transit escalator enclosure across the street. According to Paul Levy, Executive Director of the CCD, the second is intended to house a café and provide elevator access to the concourse, both requiring solid enclosures within the glass. Yet another building is proposed for the northwest corner of the site, with another point of elevator access, another café and a roof deck. The extraordinary view up the Parkway would be blocked, available only to those who could afford a seat on the roof. That is a total of three buildings in the plaza, each one blocking views to and from the plaza. Is the City eager to take on these high-maintenance structures? Is it realistic to imagine two cafes thriving in the plaza? |
Weave Bridge featured in the Architect's Newspaper
The Architect's Newspaper: Do the Twist The University of Pennsylvania has landed a piece of trophy architecture with a definite twist: the new Weave Bridge, designed by structural engineer Cecil Balmond and his legendary Advanced Geometry Unit (AGU) research group at Arup. Now open to the public, the bridge will become part of a second phase of design work this fall with its integration into the surrounding campus masterplan, itself a hefty undertaking to remake the Philadelphia campus. The unusually ambitious design was commissioned by the university in 2007, in reaction to a city announcement that it would temporarily close an essential campus connection: the century-old South Street Bridge, which had long served as the sole passage over an Amtrak line that runs between Penn’s athletic fields and its Hollenback building, home to athletic and ROTC facilities. Location 3100 South Street Philadelphia, PA, 19104 |
Quote:
|
Confused
I don't understand this. The proposal identified in the last post is the old proposal from Fall '08. A new proposal came out this past Spring, which all of the rest of the posts in this thread were discussing. Even though the date is listed as September, 19, 2009, the quoted article is from January 20th.
|
plan philly rotates a lot of their old articles/features in the bottom 'quick content' section.
perhaps it was just one of the old ones cycling through? too bad - it'd be nice to see a large scale, high profile development like that mobilizing. ah well. |
WINXS: You're correct. That date (19 SEP 2009) cannot be accurate. Sorry I didn't catch it. Thanks.
This is also from planphilly but the date is correct: The City of Philadelphia in partnership with the Center City District & SEPTA is hosting an Open House for the public to hear a presentation by the design team and review plans for the Renovation of Dilworth Plaza Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:00-7:30 PM AIA Design Center 1218 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA Formal presentation begins at 6:30 PM The reconstruction of Dilworth Plaza at City Hall is among the most significant opportunities Philadelphia now has to transform an inhospitable plaza into an extraordinary centerpiece of the city's physical and civic fabric. The proposed, new Dilworth Plaza will be a gathering place for residents, office workers and visitors, a pedestrian link between the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center and the retail, dining and entertainment district of Center City, and a major gateway to Philadelphia's multi-modal transit system. The public will have an opportunity to view and comment on plans proposed for the renovation of Dilworth Plaza and talk directly with the project design team. Location 1218 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA |
What is with these civic associations' obsession with presenting the one evening of the week when I'm not normally free? Gah...
|
Quote:
|
Historic????????
How about Infamous! Now JFK was a little before my time so I will concede. But the Vet historic??? What was historic, notoriously being voted worst stadium every year? The railing callapse injuring cadets attending the Army Navy game (which is historic)? The Chicago Bears reciever who blew out both knees just running down the field?
Not once while attending games at either of the new stadiums do I wish to be back at the Vet! And to be honest, the Spectrum was nice for it's time, but what would you save it for, what is so historic about it? It is not Madison Square Garden & the vet was no Lambeau Field or Fenway Park? Let progress happen and get over it. |
Quote:
I guess saving it for the Phantoms made plenty of sense to me? |
Well, there's definitely no reason to demolish the Spectrum with all the parking lots that are right there. If space was running low down there, I wouldn't have much of a problem with the Spectrum going, but that's certainly not the case.
|
hmmmmmm......
No need to apalogize for your witt, I like it! Good point on the Russians vs Flyers, but in my opinion it does not make it the Parthenon and saved forever even if it becomes completely obsolete.
Most of my tirade in the previous comment was directed toward the vet! The Spectrum, just does not seem like it would be as useful as the Philly LIve complex when it comes to $$$$. The phantoms can play in the Center. We will never get a WNBA team, the Arena league is gone, so besides a few comcerts, I do not see how the spectrum could compete with the revenue from Philly Live. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
For me, the biggest mistake of this whole project was not replacing the Spectrum with a smaller arena like they have up in Trenton and Reading. Having two indoor arenas really worked well for this city in attracting many things. The Phantoms would have done well in a 6-7,000 seat arena. Now the Wachovia Center is going to have more pressure to host everything. Not every arena concert should be in a 20,000 seat venue.
They could have had a concert in one arena and a Flyers/Sixers game going on in the Center and having thousands of people milling around the complex. |
Could one fit a small arena in the disney hole?
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
It would have to be extremely small, not even Trenton's arena could fit there. |
Quote:
And the Arena league is dead, hammer. They dismantled it for financial reasons this year. |
The VET was historic... It was known for its rough working class attitude. It even had its own jail and judge. Most people admit that Linc. Fin. took a lot of energy out of the environment (not that I believe a new stadium wasn't needed). Was it in bad shape? Of course, but thats not why you save the vet. If that were the case you might as well start demolishing Wrigley right now.
You save it because of all of its history, both in baseball and football. You probably would have needed to gut most of the rooms, clean them up, and then establish offices, condos, lofts, hotels, restaurants, banquet halls, and convention space with the field serving as a park in the middle. And one of the other reasons why the spectrum is historic is bc it was the site of Duke-UK 92. I believe the NCAA has awarded Philly a spot as host in the 2013 tournament bc they are selecting cities with ncaa history in them. The arena football league in its current form is dead, but I believe it will return in some way shape or form, especially since A2 is still going. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
The concession stands were nasty looking...the concourses were dim...and the place was just filthy dirty from years of neglect and deferred maintainence. There weren't enough rest rooms and the ones they had were disgusting...especially with guys pissing in the sinks because the lines for the urinals were too long. I don't miss it at all. Citizens Bank Park is far better for a baseball game and it's nice having an open feeling at the stadium instead of the closed in feeling at the Vet. Also, Philly Live! should have a building for the Philadelphia Sports Hall Of Fame. That would get plenty of visitors..especially on game days. |
Quote:
|
Dump????
I don't even understand the opposite point if view! Calling it a dump is being kind! Towards the end, it was a complete embarrassment. We lost the army navy game, had law suits against the city for bad knees. I remember the Steelers actually making them rip up a section of turf to fill the "potholes" under it before a game.
But to stay on topic, Philly Live could be great for the city. Look at the volume of business at Chickie and Petes or McFaddens. You can barely walk threw them so the opportunity and money is there at the stadiums. So why would anyone consider building it somewhere else? |
Quote:
It's a shame this convention center is, well, so conventional. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
2) Gentrification is a dirty word only among the ignorant. It describes a process, nothing more, nothing less, and a process that is riddled with its own issues, to boot. Yes, in its more extreme manifestations, it can be problematic, but at the same time any type of neighborhood self-improvement whatsoever can be described as such. Worse, from the point of view of those of us who are or aspire to be professionals in this field, it is impossible to have any term for 'neighborhood self-improvement' without its more extreme manifestations giving it a bad rap. Fallaciously confusing a term's technical meaning with its colloquial one is not something that'll make me get along with you...see minor for why. |
Quote:
Revitalization is the term that you are probably thinking of. Revitalization implies more activity in a neighborhood. It is used to refer to physical improvements, mainly, that lead to increased economic activity and attracts new residents, tourists, and businesses to a neighborhood . It does not refer to the economic class of residents, so it is the less controversial term. |
Quote:
How about "frindle"? |
The Barnes Museum designs have (finally) been forced out!
http://www.philly.com/philly/enterta...r_parkway.html Quote:
|
Hammer: I respectfully believe that The Barnes warrants its own thread. No? Placed here as a "river" project, I suspect that it will be overlooked.
There are lots of folks outside our region who are interested in this project and wouldn't know to look here to learn what's planned. Why not give it prominence? Your post, above, would be a good start to the new thread. Just my opinion. I could be mistaken. |
from here: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local...verfronts.html
Oct. 6, 2009 Citizens' group to boost Phila. riverfronts By Michael Matza Inquirer Staff Writer Seeking clout in unity, the newly formed Coalition for Philadelphia's Riverfronts is an alliance of more than three dozen civic, neighborhood, governmental, faith-based, and business groups dedicated to revitalizing the city's waterfront areas through the creation of a comprehensive rivers' edge greenway. "Riverfront groups generally have advocated for a local portion or a section" of the rivers, said coalition coordinator Rachel Vassar. What distinguishes the coalition, she said, is that it brings together diverse constituencies, from South Philadelphia's Passyunk Square Civic Association to Port Richmond's Friends of Pulaski Park. From the Jewish service organization Moishe House to the Philadelphia Anglers' Club. The idea, she said, is to speak with "one voice for a citywide policy," grounded in the belief that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. At a 5 p.m. gathering today at Schuylkill Banks Plaza next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, representatives of the coalition plan to call on City Council and the City Planning Commission to adopt ordinances and regulations requiring that land along the Schuylkill and the Delaware River be reserved for a green swath that will contain trails for hiking, jogging, rowing, kayaking, bicycle commuting, and other recreational uses. Besides contributing to the public's health by providing space for vigorous physical exercise, a unified greenway will improve water quality because "a good vegetated buffer can help filter pollutants," the organizers say. The coalition, funded by a William Penn Foundation grant of about $25,000, envisions turning abandoned factory areas into parkland and connecting communities that otherwise have stood apart. "When the coalition succeeds in its mission," the group said in a prepared statement, citizens in Bridesburg, Tacony, Holmesburg, and Fishtown, "who never thought of themselves as part of one whole" will work together. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact staff writer Michael Matza at 215-854-2541, or mmatza@phillynews.com. |
nm
|
PHILADELPHIA | Barnes on the Parkway
NEW! Construction webcam! (courtesy apetrella802)
Quote:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lx0hh_qeHX0/Sq...nes%20site.JPG Own Photo |
If the PMA is the great Greek Garage, this is the Impressionist Slots Barn.
I've seen Walmarts with a greater sense of class and stripmalls with better perdestrian routing. It has a vehicular roundabout facing the parkway (which discharges passengers onto a blank wall) and the main entrace is ON THE BACK, FACING THE PARKING LOT. |
This is what we've been waiting for? :yuck::yuck:
|
I am highly underwhelmed!
|
Quote:
|
| All times are GMT. The time now is 8:13 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Prev