The History Thread

[ahbinpa]

Originally Posted by lee

This is really fascinating. Thanks LB for starting the thread.

Does anyone know of any on-line source for the 1880 census that I could search by address?

I don't know about on-line, but Philly is fortunate to be the home of the Mid-Atlantic regional branch of the National Archives. It's in the Post Office at 8th and Chestnut and is a great resource. For online, there are a ton of genealogy resources out there and someone may have transcribed the census. You'd need to search for the census, then open the file and use the "find" feature to check the address. Also, you need to know what the street name was is 1880.

A

[lee]

Just spent some time looking at old pics of the neighborhood. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoAr...?ImageId=29598Doesn't someone active on this blog live here?

[dogfaceboy]

Originally Posted by SWCC Newbie

In a February 2006 thread about the property at the corner of 23rd and Bainbridge that is a triangular surface parking lot today, PhillyBlog member cleanman posted the following about that property and the neighboring Naval Home.

Cleanman speaks of Gabe who owned the diner. I knew Him well. He was the Father of my cousin and my Mother and Aunt were both waitresses at His diner in the 50's and early 60's.
Gabe's Father was the original owner who opened the Diner but I can't remember His name.

They{my mother and Aunt} also worked at the steak Shop,for a short time, that was on the corner where Grays Ferry and Christian meet{another triangle}which is now a parking lot.





As young kids{the early 60's} we used to go to a place called Biggies on Van Pelt street, between Market and Chestnut. It cost a dime for a full day's admission on Saturday's.
It was all boys and they had an indoor pool and if you swam in the pool you didn't need trunks because you went in the pool with nothing but your birthday suit.
They had craft's and Chess along with a variety of other games.

On the walk home alot of times we'd stop in the Diner and I'd always get a free soda because I was Lorraine's son.
Gabe would sit with me and chit chat if He's wasn't too busy.

The Diner was the old fasioned type that was about the size of a large trailer and it was all stainless steel. It had about 6-8 booths by the window facing Grays Ferry Rd. {before they made Grays Ferry Rd. an Ave.} and had a counter with Swivel stools that you could spin on until you were dizzy.

When Grays Ferry Ave. was still designated a "Road" We used to just call it "The Road".

I'm sure Cleanman remembers that one.

If you lived in the Gray's Ferry section, you say, I'm going "Down the road" when you were visiting someone in the Pocket or Schukill.

If you lived in the Pocket you'd say I'm goin "up the Road" when you were heading to the Grays Ferry section.

I lived both "Up the Road" and "Down the Road" and have great memories of growing up in this part of the City.
I wouldn't change it if I could. I loved Growing up here.

[SwiftLyons]

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Sear...rch_census.asp
NOT BY ADDY BUT BY NAME

[lee]

Thanks, SwiftLyons, but I think you can search only by name, not address, at the LDS site.

[lbphilly]

Originally Posted by dr_gingivitis

LB, didn't you post an old map of the whole area once? I remember seeing a lot of street names that are no longer in existance. Do you still have that photo or link, I think this would be a good place for it.

I think someone else did. I have some bad digital photos of a 19th century atlas, but I'd be embarrassed to post them, partly because I can't recall when they were done.

EDIT: The Free Library of Philadelphia's map department (2nd floor) in the 1901 Vine Street facility has the best collection of atlases in the city. It's a fascinating experience to go through a few of them.

I'm hoping that the Athenaeum, which has a 4' x 6' digital camera, will eventually be able to scan all of them and put them online as they did with the Hexamer & Lochers and the Bromleys. Sadly, those don't cover our area.

[lbphilly]

Update: I've had an e-mail from Cleanman. He's having trouble logging on. I've asked a couple of the admins to see what's up with that. Meanwhile, this is is why Cleanman hasn't been posting on the history thread.

[mesok]

Thanks LB for starting this thread.

If anyone has any old photos of the neigborhood that they would like scanned to share with us, send me a private message. I would be more than happy to offer that service for this thread. I would even be willing to add a photo album with captions and host it on our site.

[giovanni sasso]

Originally Posted by mesok

Thanks LB for starting this thread.

cosign.

there's some really great stuff in here already.

could someone with the money to do so please (re-)open a (24 hour) stainless steel diner on this lot? i'm looking out my window at a crappy, fenced in parking lot as i speak and i'd bet joey0 and i would try to outdo each other as regulars there. we can call it the odunde odiner.

[dogfaceboy]

Originally Posted by giovanni sasso

cosign.

there's some really great stuff in here already.

could someone with the money to do so please (re-)open a (24 hour) stainless steel diner on this lot? i'm looking out my window at a crappy, fenced in parking lot as i speak and i'd bet joey0 and i would try to outdo each other as regulars there. we can call it the odunde odiner.

Is Fitler Sq. the park around 21st and Spruce{I think}? My grandmother liked walking me to there and I remember a concrete turtle I would climb and play on.

I was wondering if the horse trough was still at the open trianglular area where Grays Farry Ave. begins.

There was a large grocery store there on the corner of South{supermarket of that time} called the "Baltimore", where we did our grocery shopping.