GeoSimPHILLY

Attention agoraphobics (or anyone outside the city that doesn't want to deal with the Jerseyvania Triangle or the Philadelphia Parking Authority), now you can visit Philadelphia from the comfort of your own Cheeto covered desk chair. GeoSim Systems Ltd. has released a complete, virtual model of Center City Philadelphia detailed right down to the tile outside the Full Moon Saloon. So if you're bored with your real life, or even your Second Life, check out GeoSimPHILLY.

Market East on GeoSim Systems Ltd. GeoSimPHILLY

All joking aside, this is quite an astonishing feat and could prove a unique tool to city planners, real estate agents, and tourism.

A Friend to Animals?

Car hits horse carriages, injures 3

I'm a friend to animals. I support the SPCA and Philly Paws. But some "animal rights" freaks are salivating over tragedy and it disgusts me. This driver could have just as easily plowed into three pedestrians - and it wouldn't be the first time - and these people are more concerned with the three uninjured horses than the three people taken to the hospital. There is absolutely nothing wrong, outdated, or inhumane about nostalgic horse drawn carriage rides through Philadelphia's historic districts.

Say what you will about the dangers of operating a horse on the streets of Philadelphia in 2010, but as far as I know the speed limits of surface streets haven't changed since the 50s, a time in which it wasn't uncommon to see horses being used for more than just tourism. In fact, as this city becomes more popular we will gain residents and tourists which translates into pedestrians and cyclists which could have just as easily been hit by this idiot. The problem is not horse drawn carriages, it is the speeding and aggressive driving - often aimed at pedestrians and cyclists (and anything deemed too slow for New Jersey) - that is consistently overlooked.

The "Peace Advocacy Network" and Leila Fusfeld are using this as a means to an end to complete an agenda against an industry they know nothing about. Mayor Nutter and Councilman DiCiccio, please don't sheepishly pander to these alleged friends to animals. Take a trip up to the Loft District and witness first hand how these horses are lovingly cared for. Go to a farm and get to know a horse, understanding first hand that Leila Fusfeld and her minions are grossly inaccurate in assuming that horse drawn carriages can in any way be considered abuse. These animals were bred for labor. "Horse power" is used to measure engine strength for a reason. And don't forget that the end of these horses' careers is quite simply a death sentence. An unemployed horse equals dog food. Leila Fusfeld wouldn't want you to know that.

*From Councilman Frank DiCicco: "There was an unfortunate accident. There are accidents that happen every day in the city of Philadelphia. There are pedestrians who are hit by cars and either injured or killed. I don't see anyone out there saying eliminate motor vehicles from the streets of our city also."

"IT'S COMING RIGHT FOR US!"

Straight out of a South Park episode, one can easily picture Officer Barbrady calling up Uncle Jimbo and Cousin Ned to off someone's stray chicken. But that's exactly what happened last weekend as a Lower Merion police officer responded to a call about a "large, orange chicken running at large" in someone's lawn. That large orange chicken was Connie, and belonged to a Lower Merion family who had posted Facebook comments and signs around the area when she had gotten loose on March 29th. Rather than calling animal control (or simply wrangling it into a cardboard box), the unnamed officer who "felt that it was a threat to other domestic animals", according to Lower Merion Lt. Christopher Polo, called up Jimbo and Ned, uh, I mean a friend in the fire department to take out the pet with a bow and arrow. Even Lt. Polo conceded, "that the officer could have used much better judgment in the resolution of this issue." I'd say. Residents of Lower Merion: keep an eye on your dogs, cats, and small children! The Lower Merion police department might call up some redneck buddies itchin' for some target practice. You know, killing animals for fun is often one of the first signs of a serial killer.

A Word on 777

In what wasn't one of his ugliest projects, Carl Dranoff's 777 South Broad is finally open on South Broad Street. Anyone who has driven up South Broad over the past year might wonder, with the low quality mashed potato board construction used to erect the quasi-Deco apartment building, what really took so long? And even more importantly, what's this mid-century, Miami-esque recreation going to look like in a decade.

Perhaps Dranoff hasn't been at this game long enough to learn from his mistakes, but even after the harsh criticism he received after piecing together Symphony House, he still focuses on a laundry list of amenities rather than quality or style. To him excess is everything no matter how short its lifespan, how soon it will need to be replaced, or how cheap it may look. He builds disposable buildings.

Symphony House and 777 are urban McMansions. Before long the low quality materials used on both these buildings will be lining Broad Street's sidewalks.

Market East Gets On Target

Who killed Market East? Well let's take a look at the big box, discount department stores that typically provide the scapegoat for the death of the American Main Street. After all, Market East is the historic model for every Main Street in North America. The answer might not be as simple as blaming Walmart.

First of all, Walmart didn't kill small town Main Street. That's just how activists and protesters remember it. Small town Main Street died 30 to 40 years ago, before the Walmarts and Targets were what they are today, around the same time and for the same reason big city downtowns died. Small towns started becoming sprawling, independent suburbs, with strip malls, shopping malls, all catering to the car. This is even more evident in small towns where everyone has and always has had a car, making downtowns even more useless than big city downtowns, particularly during the 60s and 70s when suburban sprawl was en vogue.

Once this cultural mindset was well established and absolutely nothing remained in these small city's downtowns, discount department stores began to grow, and these megamarts became the nail in the coffin of already dead Main Streets. The difference between, say, Scranton and Philadelphia is the fact that Philadelphia, as well as a number of major cities, managed to retain a population significant enough to warrant the retention of a practical public transportation system and walkability, which is why Targets and Walmarts haven't killed downtown Chicago, New York, Toronto, DC, etc.

It's easy to blame megamarts for killing small town business, but more fault is on the part of a lingering mid-century culture of convenience in lieu of quality. Most of the successful, post-industrial cities manage to walk a sustainable balance. And Philadelphia actually did that by using that discount element to combat suburban competition by putting it right on our Main Street.

As much as we love to hate it, anyone who's been to Market East can tell you that the big box, discount chains are the only thing keeping Market East alive. And Target aptly placed in the Disney Hole might introduce the competition needed to put products back on the shelves at K-Mart and encourage PREIT to start implementing some of these proposed changes they claim to be so excited about and actually improve our Main Street.

More Nightmares for Broad?

For those of you who don't remember Inga Saffron's 2007 critique of Symphony House, she basically said that Carl Dranoff took and otherwise bland Bower Lewis Thrower design and put it in drag. After his unsportsmanlike reactionary article published by the Inquirer, and several comments by Inquirer staff that Ms. Saffron had essentially castrated the man, I have been eagerly anticipating her review of the humbled man's latest incarnation: 777 South Broad, an apartment rental community with ground floor retail. Tonight's ribbon cutting, including Carl Dranoff and a "flash-mob" frazzled Mayor Nutter, will hopefully mean that we can expect her review of the apartment complex by this weekend.

Blatstein's New Empire

Blatstein's been a buzz this week in Philly's blogosphere. Most of the ink is over the typical shenanigans that make developing anything in this town as acid-inducing as trying to wrap your head around the success of Glee. There's no use going into the maniacal specifics taking place at 1400 Spring Garden short of saying it's costing both sides tens of thousands of dollars and is being held up in part by the great thorn in Philadelphia's ass, PREIT.

With that said, the sale of the State Office Building to Bart Blatstein of Tower Development is moving forward, even if at a snail's pace. With the never ending success of the Piazza at Schmidt's transforming a once desolate pocket of Northern Liberties into a new city of its own, and Avenue North anchoring an element of - well, something other than a crime statistic - in North Philadelphia, Blatstein's vision for Broad and Spring Garden will be met with eager anticipation. If this corner sees a fraction of the success seen at the Piazza it could be the catalyst to bridge the gap between Center City and Temple University.

The project is purported to include apartments or condos, shopping, and possibly a high rise addition. New residential life on North Broad Street could not only bring life to the street itself but open up the insular Loft District and link Spring Garden and Fairmount to Center City, maybe even someday encouraging the redevelopment of the architectural gems along Ridge Avenue and of course the sadly neglected Divine Lorraine.