Family Court's Kimpton Hotel

Caught up in the exciting skyscraping proposals along Vine Street, the Schuylkill River, and other nonsense, I completely missed Kimpton's plan to renovate Philadelphia's Family Court building as a boutique hotel, solidifying an iconic corner of our landmark Logan Square.

With plans for a highrise apartment at 1601 Vine and Chinatown's Eastern Tower nearing reality, and the LDS's Mormon Temple and Goldtext Apartments under construction, dreams of capping the Vine Street Expressway as a means to entice investors seem to be stepping aside for developers who don't see the canyon as an obstacle.

Truthfully it isn't. From Portland to New York, many cities have highway crevasses cutting through dense neighborhoods that have succeeded without a Big Dig. If skyscrapers flanked the banks of the VSE, crossing it would be akin to walking across an inner city boulevard. It's no wider than the Ben Franklin Parkway.

While Vine Street seems to be organically evolving into such a grand boulevard, one headache still stands in front of Kimpton's Hotel Family Court, right in front of it. For years, Food Not Bombs has provided free food for the homeless atop one of the VSE's caps, a should-be handsome park facing Logan Square and the Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul.

Things are about to change.

Food Not Bombs has to apply for a daily permit from the city to provide the picnics. If they've been going rogue and evading the city, Kimpton will make a case of it. If the picnics are on the up and up, permits in place, Kimpton can apply for the same permit. If they beat Food Not Bombs to the punch for a month or two they'll frustrate them into relocating.

Of course that may not even be necessary. If Kimpton invests in renovating the park, and being the hotel's "front yard" they'd be eagerly willing, the city may give them preferential treatment. That route isn't entirely ethical, but neither is Food Not Bombs' admission of using the hungry homeless to advance causes that have nothing to do with hunger or homelessness in Philadelphia.

Greetings From Narnia!



 Funny things happen when the temperature plummets about sixty degrees in a week.
Magical things happen when the city forgets to turn off Swan Memorial Fountain during that week.
Welcome to the other side of the wardrobe.



Swan Fountain



streetsdept.com

Halloween came right on time for Logan Square, which found its Swan Fountain sculptures clad in fetish gear.

It's not clear who did the late night installation, but Banksy can eat his heart out.



Where to Cool Off

While the Weather Channel said yesterday's high was 98, I'm certain it was at least 100. Philadelphians are no strangers to brutally hot summer days, but it's not even summer. If this is any indication of what's to come, where do we go to seek relief? 

I've been to a Philadelphia public pool...once. If I wanted to stew in lukewarm city water I'd put a baby pool in my living room. Honestly, it wasn't that the pool grossed me out, it was the way it was managed. There were no changing rooms or restrooms. Your possessions had to be stashed away from the pool, out of sight. 

Additionally, the typical crowd control rules applied: No jumping, No splashing, No diving, No swimming. Essentially, if you did anything other than simply stand in place, you'd hear a whistle. Those sorts of things are understandable in an overcrowded swimming pool, but they don't make me want to return.

Then you have your private pools. I haven't found one that costs less than $1000 for the season. My advice, join Philadelphia Sports Club in Washington Square at their monthly rate for June, July, and August. They have a great outdoor pool and you won't be bothered by kids.

Then there is always Philadelphia's most popular "public pool", Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Square. Now I'm not condoning the massive legal liability the city is opening itself up to by looking the other way as kids climb their way to the top of this massive metal and concrete impromptu splash park. But on hot days, when your alternatives are the overcrowded petrie dishes or something most just can't afford, it's hard to put the hammer down on this tradition. They tried a few years ago, and once the mercury rose as high as yesterday, enforcement relented.

 Several years ago officials began enforcing a "no swimming" policy on public fountains. Public backlash and a debilitating heatwave forced the city to look the other way, particularly at the popular Swann Memorial Fountain.

I'll admit, it's gross. I'll also admit that I've climbed to the center, looked down on the Delaware's representation, and yes, he is in fact anatomically correct. 

I've heard all the arguments. I know homeless people bathe in public fountains, among other things. But with no restrooms available at public pools, they aren't any cleaner. Chlorine bleach kills everything. One time I had my feet in Washington Square's fountain and a nosy woman came up to tell me, "You can't put your feet in there. The homeless pee in there." To which I replied, "So the homeless can use it as a toilet, but I can use it to cool off my piggies?" 

Mind your own business.

But I digress. Cleanliness aside, Swann Memorial Fountain is not an amusement park. While a 14 year old lifeguard will call me out of a public pool for splashing, Swann Fountain remains an unsecured recreational landmark. As much as I love the tradition, I understand we live in a litigious society, especially in Philadelphia, and it's really only a matter of time.

But don't misunderstand me. I'm not being negative. I'm certainly not saying shut it down. I'm saying offer an alternative. I hate to repeatedly cite Portland as an example, but let's face it, they know how to please their people. Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland has several fountains, including Salmon Street Springs and Bill Naito Legacy Fountain designed specifically to be interactive.

 Salmon Street Springs in Portland, OR was designed with interactivity in mind. Understanding that Philadelphia summers can be particularly brutal, we have no modern fountains designed to accommodate the needs met by Swann Fountain's usage as an impromptu watering hole.

With the wildly successful improvements to the Museum of Art and the Schuylkill Banks which continue to make their way down the Parkway, developers could be looking at utilizing some of the available green space, perhaps the vacant Calder Sculpture Garden, as the site for a new landmark fountain, one designed to meet the needs that are currently met by Swann Fountain.