Places that close at night/aren't open late are depressing, I hope things start staying open later eventually :\
But I did notice that Cereality is open til 11 now! They used to only be open til like 9 I thought. Yes it's a cereal bar but I've never seen a place actually extend its hours. I also noticed that the Last Drop Cafe's entry on Citysearch says it's open til 11 and 10 on Sundays, but the door says its open til 12 Mon-Sat and til 11 I think on Sunday. So those two things made me happy.

That's good news. I haven't been to either place, but I agree that it makes an area seem more vital when stores stay open late. Now if only the stores above 42nd street would follow suit...

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

Honestly, aside from restaurants and bars, I don't know if there is a demand for most businesses to stay open later. I feel your pain about the locksmith though. And since many of these are small business owners trying to eke out a living against an apparently bewildering city beauracracy I wonder if it is worth it for them. The store across from my house is open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm daily but even with significant foot traffic they don't do much business after rush hour.

Also, there is still a perception that it is dangerous past certain areas at night so the bulk of the population, students, don't really do much past campus. I wonder if I've ever seen an undergrad on 45th and Baltimore.

UC also operates as sort of a small town in the big city and a lot of these businesses will stay open later in the spring and summer when they have more daylight and better foot traffic.

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I went to the territory to renew my supply of stories.

Elbow Room
----James Alan McPherson

I hear you... and like I said before, I think I'm probably showing my 'spoiled New Yorker' side. If I was a store owner and didn't see much traffic, I guess I wouldn't want to be open late either. But honestly, I still can't help but see this as a vicious circle: Business owners won't stay open a little later because they perceive that the neighborhood is dangerous.... but as a resident, I don't see what could be more dangerous than walking down a street where every single store has their gates down after 7 pm. Maybe if the store owners banded together they could come up with a plan to look out for each other, pay for extra security, talk to the local precinct about more frequent patrolling, etc. I don't know; just grasping at straws here, I suppose. Maybe the neighborhood would work better if more of the money actually stayed IN the neighborhood. I mean, geez, all of these gorgeous homes around here have got to be owned by people with pretty good jobs; would be nice to have some of that money staying IN the neighborhood. Take back the night -- don't let the bad guys win....

I'm not suggesting that they stay open until midnight, but 7 or 8 pm would be great to give working people time to get home. I don't work in CC anymore; I work at Children's Hospital so I'm on this side of the river almost all the time now. So if I don't get what I need on the way home, I can just forget about it. (and it's all about me, don'tcha know. :rolling_: ) Luckily, the little deli at Garden Court is open a little later so I can at least get a quart of milk or something on the way home. I'm not crazy about that big honking BLOCKBUSTER sign on my corner... but I am glad to see the lights on and people coming in and out after dark; makes me feel less nervous on the street.

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

how do you like it? do you work down at the hospital or the offices up on market?

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"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

I love it. I can see why it was voted one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania". Nice people, interesting work, nice offices, and a salary that actually makes sense. My creditors are still slicing and dicing my credit rating but at least I'm no longer in danger of having to choose between paying my phone bill or my cable (I'm kidding, but just barely).
I think I may have finally landed in the right place. Gee, and it only took changing jobs 4 times... :lol:

I work on Market Street currently but I may wind up at the main hospital; not sure yet.

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

my gf works up there. she mentioned something about the offices possibly being moved sometime in this lifetime. ;-)
I'm glad to hear it.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

Yes, I'm told the wheels turn slowly there as far as getting some things done... but hey, from what I'm told, that's "the Philadelphia way", no? ;-)

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

We're having one of our evening "openings" for one the artisans who makes stuff for MiaLou Friday April 8th, 6 p.m. -10 p.m. Typically they are wine, cheese, snack and soda kind of events. The featured artist is Mike Straight, a West Philly aging punk rocker who has been working in stained glass for the last 10 years. Five, break the "vicious cycle" and stop by and say "Hi", why don't you?

I'm there!

__________________
- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi