I’ve Discovered the Secret to Philadelphia’s Beauty!
This weekend V. and I played host to two of our favorite people, Glenn (two n’s, right Glenn?) and Nina. They live in New York, though they lived for a long time in the Midwest. It’s always interesting to see your town reflected in the touristic prism, so I was bowled over when Nina was impressed by the cleanliness of the SEPTA stations. And you know what? The blue line station floors are so clean you could throw your soft pretzel onto them and then not eat it but feel stupid for not eating it! We took the El from 40th Street to Second Street, and both those stations were immaculate. To Nina, a native New Yorker, it looked like SEPTA was awesome.
Glenn was surprised (and slightly appalled) when I invoked the ol’ Philly-Detroit comparison chestnut. He’s been here several times, but hasn’t traveled deep South, West or North. And I had a realization: Philly looks great if visitors don’t go south of South Street, West of 48th, and north of Fairmount. (Of course, the northern boundaries are very confusing depending on how far west/east. But you get the idea.) If you keep your guests in this (quite large) area, they will think the city is charming, beautiful and livable, and has lots of character and even some happy diversity. So much so that they’ll find it hard to believe that much of the city makes The Wire’s housing projects look like the Ritz-Carlton.
So GPTMC, if you’re listening, this is the secret: Stay within the happy boundaries! And speaking of boundaries, PW’s article on Southwest Philly had letter-writers and commenters hopping. Check it out here.
[Photos of Kensington -- don't take your friends there! -- by Geoffrey See, who I hope won't be mad at me. Check out his cool blog.]
liz | 2:32 PM | Uncategorized
GPTMC is listening!
Here at GPTMC, we are proud to promote all the treasures to be found in Philadelphia and the countryside. Check out our blog http://www.uwishunu.com where Philly locals get to provide an insider’s look at the city’s dining, drinking, nightlife, active pursuits and culture in many of our neighborhoods.
Hi Liz,
GPTMC is listening! But the secret is that Philly neighborhoods hold amazing treasures…to eat, drink, and behold. We don’t hide it. Our neighborhood vodcasts, our SoundAboutPhilly audio-tours, our self-guided Beer Tour, our uwishunu posts (and so on) are filled with sites beyond your boundaries. Nonetheless, we still enjoy reading of your Troubles.
After 20 years of coming to Philly to play a show, get something to eat, attend an event, have some drinks, see a show or just screw around for a couple hours, yesterday was the first time I’ve ever taken the SEPTA train; Thorndale to Suburban Station. While the train itself wasn’t all that great (it did smell slightly of urine) Suburban Station was impressively clean. It’s not the Toronto Transit Authority, but it’s also not the New York Subway.
Yesterday was also my first time going to Love Park and Rittenhouse Square since my interview was over at noon at the train didn’t leave until 3 p.m. I know, what did I do with the other two and a half hours?
I know Philly has its problems, but my fondness for the city overshadowed those problems about 15 years ago.
No problems with the photos. I have been in Philly for over two years now, and I think it has its own charm.
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