If you drive along the 7000 block of Lincoln Dr., you'll notice 4 houses next to CVS that look horribly out of place. They appear to be frame houses with grey vinyl siding, and look relatively new.

Anyone know anything about these? No offense to the people that own them, but they just don't fit in among the grand old homes up there.

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

Funny you should say that. I was in that CVS last week but didn't even notice the offending houses. That neighborhood really seems to be on the rise. From your description though I would agree that they are out of place.

They're on the east side of Lincoln Dr., hidden in the curve before you reach Mt. Pleasant Ave. (if you're going north). I really should get a digital camera.

I drove by them again earlier...the siding is cream, not grey. Regardless, the houses are still misfits.

Was that neighborhood ever in serious decline? I can't imagine that it got that bad, if at all.

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

I wouldn't say the neighborhood in general was ever in serious decline, but Germantown Ave. up there went through some rough times and seems to be rebounding nicely. Also, some of the side streets with little rowhouses seem to be benefitting from the overall recent jump in real estate prices and finding themselves in more demand then a few years ago.

I used to live on Rosemary Lane right around the corner from them. The place where the CVS is used to be a Sunoco w/ garage, which was right next to an Amoco w/ garage. Across Lincoln Drive used to be a small Gulf station, which was next to a Cottman Transmission or some such thing.

I think the land between the older houses and the Amoco was vacant for a while. There had been talk for years about houses ending up there. I suppose the developer decided not to build them to fit in with the look of the other houses on the block. They're pretty ugly if you ask me. In any event, that part of town never struck me as being in serious decline, but I imagine the area as a whole is doing much better now than it has in the past.

The stretch of Germantown Avenue from Mt. Pleasant to Allens Lane has become more of a destination point, I think, with the addition of North by Northwest, in particular. It's always been active, and granted it's had Video Library and places like that for a while, but there didn't seem to be a number of businesses there to keep people for anything longer than a quick stop.

-- Anam

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I can dream of schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
-- The Police

I always thought those homes looked out of place. I noticed that on Lincoln Drive & Arbutus, new new large house is going up that seems to fit in with the style of the neighborhood. It'll be a vast improvement over the abandoned houses that was previously there that really stuck out. Knocking that house down really helped the area.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I don't think that neighborhood was ever in serious decline by Philadelphia standards, but lately they seem to be tying up some loose ends and really making it the neighborhood it should be.

I actually looked at a house yesterday on West Mt Pleasant. Nice neighborhood but the street was a bit too narrow for my liking. The search continues. This neighborhood has the potential to overtake Chestnut Hill in desireability if it could get the Germantown Ave cooridor fully viable.

Call it a self-serving opinion, but I see WMA as being perhaps the best place in Philly in which to raise a family. That's why my wife + I moved here.

Think about it. WMA is stable, middle-class, integrated, and has been all three for at least a century. Add in two good public elementary schools (Houston + Henry), a bit of shopping, churches, synagogues, etc., mix well, and you get everything you need for a stable, thoroughly desirable place.