With Philadelphia recently digitizing their old city photos and putting them up at Phillyhistory.org, I've been having fun seeing how things have changed. Inspired by other Then and Now features, I decided to have a little fun with my neighborhood, Powelton. Most of the photos of the area were taken in the early 50's, when street repairs were made to remove the unused trolley tracks. Take a look, and enjoy!

36th and Baring looking North. Note the trolley! The house on the right was designed by architect Wilson Eyre.


The house at the left has been replaced with a new home.


36th and Baring further up the block.


Little has changed here, except that there are leaves on the trees


36th and Baring looking East


The tower of Metropolitan Baptist church is visible


Church of St Andrew and St Monica at 36th and Baring


Note the clever way they have ramped up to the front door.


36th and Baring looking South


The tree is obscuring what is Powelton's most grand home, The Castle. Its currently for sale for 2.2 million, if you're interested.


Moving southwards, we come to 36th and Powelton, home of The Courts Apartments


These were originally built as enormous twin homes, but where later connected into a giant apartment block.


The southwest corner of 36th and Powelton


The boxwoods appear to be the same, but much more mature. Unfortunately, new sapplings have replaced the old trees.


36th and Powelton, looking North


The building is now owned by Drexel and is largely rented to students. A salon, Ground Zero Powelton, now occupies the retail space.


Moving down 36th Street, we again find The Courts.


I'm happy to report there are more trees!


Here is the corner of 36th and Race


Luckily, much of the terracotta details remain. Unfortunately, The infamous Comet Cafe appears it will never open.


Here we turn around and find 36th and Lancaster, looking Southwest


Now home to Zocalo and other eclectic shops


Lancaster Avenue shops. Note "Powelton Realty" in the window.


Overall, this stretch has improved...but more retail is always welcomed!


The 3600 Block of Lancaster


Now home to an Architecture Firm (pink doors)


This is one of my favorites


The carriage bays were preserved, and new homes were built on top in the 80s. Clever!


More Lancaster Ave retail


The building to the left is now a gallery. Note the 2nd story addition.


At 33rd and Spring Garden, we find this Victorian Building


The retail has unfortunately been bricked over.


33rd and Baring. This photo must have gotten wet.


Now home to the popular Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast


Looking west along the same street. Note the porch on the single home to the right


The porch has been removed, but the trees have matured wonderfully!


Looking North at 33rd and Baring


A 2-way street is now a 1-way


Stepping back a bit




32nd and Baring looking North. This image is from the 20s. Look at all the Victorian homes!


This is the most tragic of my then and nows. Most of the porches on the left have been removed. The homes to the right have been replaced with simple brick rows.


Looking South at 32nd and Baring. The famed Consolidated Laundry building sits on the lot.


This end of the neighborhood has not fared so well. It is largely student occupied. Drexel owns the large lot now, and has promised to build a park.


32nd and Baring looking West. I was surprised that there weren't more trees.


A few homes at the left have been removed.


37th and Lancaster Avenues, looking Northeast


Now home of Stan's Deli and Powelton Pizza


The 3700 Block of Lancaster looking East


The only thing different here are the trees!


This is 38th and Lancaster looking East. Look, there was trash on the streets back then too!




38th and Lancaster looking West


Unfortunately, the round corner bay has been removed.


Thats all for now. I hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past!

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- George -

http://www.barackobama.com

Cool! Great houses in Powelton, which I took for granted when i was living there as a Drexel undergrad.

Wow what a great job! It must of taken a lot of effort. Thanks for sharing that.

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"Things are starting to get interesting right about now"

All comments made by me on his board are given freely and probably worth what you paid for them.

Great job! Powelton looks great.

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"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."

Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)

great comparison. amazing how things haven't changed all that much as far as the architecture.

That was a treat, George! Thanks!

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JAE

Awesome photos.

So are we now back to Drexel putting a park in the Consolidated Laundry lot, or were you quoting the original promise from back when the building was torn down?

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Thanks for the compliments! This actually didn't take very much time at all. It took more time posting the photos on here than taking them.

The latest is that Drexel has agreed to make the Northern half of the lot into a park, and the Southern half can be an academic or administrative building. The problem is that "park" is not a very well defined term, and can really mean a lot of things to different people. Either way, Drexel claims the fences will be coming down soon.

__________________
- George -

http://www.barackobama.com

Very cool thanks. Each neighborhood forum should do this.

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Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard. - H.L. Mencken

gap27, nice work.

I used to live in the bldg. on the right at 36th & Baring when I first moved to Philly. It was Mrs. Baring's mansion built in the mid 1800's as I recall. At one point in the early 20th century it was a consulate for some country and sometimes the house is still referred to as "The Embassy". The house across the street, that is on Baring St. which I don't think you have a photo of, is known as "The Castle" because of its turret and crenellation, but at one time a group of Nuns ran a school for girls teaching practical things something like a vocational school.

The apartment in Mrs. Baring's mansion that I rented was on the first floor on the left facing the bldg. It had a beautiful beamed ceiling all done in cherry wood, and there was a fireplace which didn't work but it had a terrazzo floor in front of it with a fish or something in high relief over the fireplace. It also had an infestation of flying ants, and all the apartments on the second & third floors had been broken into in the 3 years that I lived there.