PhilaPlace

Dyottville Glass Factory

Ian Charlton of Historical Society of Pennsylvania — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:38:43 +0000

Observers of the abandoned lots and empty buildings by the Delaware River in Fishtown might be surprised to learn that at one time they were the site of a utopian experiment. Located just north of the old Gunnar’s Run (centered roughly where Beach and Richmond Streets intersect today), Dyottville began as a novel experiment in factory labor. In the early 19th century, Dr. Thomas Dyott initiated a new system of “moral and mental labor” in order to undercut European-made glass, which was of a high quality yet very expensive. For five years, he ran a company town that spanned over three hundred acres (most of which were taken up by his farm), employed and housed 250 to 300 workers at a time, and boasted 50 buildings, including a bakery, a shoe shop, a tailor, a dairy, a hospital, a chapel, and a school – for the “education of such a mass of human ignorance.” The Dyottville Glass Factories were established in the 1820s on land that John Hewson had used for his famous calico printing factory in the 18th century (in fact both men inhabited the same dwelling house). They were a presence there until 1923, after which Cramp’s shipyard …

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Cramp Shipyard

Ian Charlton of Historical Society of Pennsylvania — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:15:58 +0000

The Cramp shipyard, founded in 1830 by William Cramp, was a major employer of Kensington and Fishtown residents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company actively participated in the modernization of the shipbuilding industry, “from a craft mode of production focused around wooden sailing vessels to an industry centered around steam engines and iron and steel construction.” Throughout its long history, Cramp’s appropriated more and more space along the Fishtown waterfront, eventually acquiring the area that was once that massive Dyottville complex and later used by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The Cramp shipyard began at what is now the foot of Susquehanna Avenue, moved to the foot of Palmer Street, and eventually came to sit at Richmond and Norris Streets (appropriating most of the space between East Cumberland Street and Aramingo Avenue). At its height during World War II, it employed roughly 18,000 men and women. William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company grew and prospered so impressively because William and his son Charles found ways to integrate production; previously, the shipbuilding industry had been characterized by subcontracting (for things like engine production) and seasonal work. After William’s death in 1879, Charles H. …

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Penn Treaty Park

Ian Charlton of Historical Society of Pennsylvania — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:17:14 +0000

The record of Penn’s Treaty or conference, is a singular feature in the early history of Pennsylvania, unparalleled in the annals of any other Commonwealth, and the spot whereon the simple and touching drama was performed by the Quaker and the Indian, should long ago have been made one of the chief attractions of Philadelphia. The spectator, whether a tourist from abroad, or a citizen belonging in our midst, is, in either case, shocked and mortified at the spectacle it presents in its dilapidated condition, and turns away, mourning the indifference that permits it so to remain. -The Committee on Roads and Bridges, 1852 When the long history of the site that is now Penn Treaty Park is taken into consideration, it would be difficult to guess at which point the above description of the oft-neglected site was made. For over 150 years dedicated Philadelphians made efforts to maintain the place where (it is generally accepted) in 1682, shortly after his arrival to North America, Penn made his Treaty of Amity with Chief Tamanend of the Lenni Lenape tribe. Private property and industrial space were converted by activists into a space the whole community could enjoy, but for the greater …

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Fishtown & Kensington

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:49:09 +0000

Candace Karch of Bambi Gallery shows you around her neighborhood, a place that has a “small-town village” feel, and neighbors still sit on their steps and talk. Traces of Fishtown’s industrial past share the landscape with hip new cafes, longtime eateries, corner bars, and galleries. Featured locations include: Penn Treaty Park; Sulimay’s; Hot Potato Café; Canvas Café; Rocket Cat Café; Di Pinto Guitars; Circle Thrift; and the Bicycle Stable , where Candace talks with owner Chaz Vlasits about the unique characteristics of the neighborhood. For more information and videos, go to visitphilly.com

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The Plumers of South Street

Alvin Bud Plumer — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:58:55 +0000

In 1902, Isidor Plumer came from New York City to join his father-in-law, Morris Fox, who came to 2nd & Pine Streets in the 1880s. Isidor rented a house at 124 South Street and raised nine children. He owned a restaurant at 2nd and South Streets and began to invest in real estate. In 1923 his son, Louis, opened a realty office when he became a licensed real estate broker at 117 South Street. The family has continuously been either in residence or in business in the 100 and 200 blocks of South Street and continues to do so today. The business today has over sixty agents and support personnel. Alvin Bud Plumer joined the family firm in 1947 when he graduated from Temple University. Mary B. Plumer, an English immigrant, married Louis in 1923. She was a school teacher in the Philadelphia School District but resigned in 1929 to join her husband in the real estate business. Bud Plumer, at age 84, is still active and his daughter Mona Plumer is also now a member of the firm. Bud Plumer was elected to the South Street Hall Of Fame by the Headhouse Special Services District, and is a member …

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Life in a Bazaar

Elaine Ellison — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:10:10 +0000

On Marshall Street, our family lived in rooms above our yard-goods store. Ours was one of a hundred-plus row houses/businesses there. My parents, Russian Jewish immigrants, moved to the block in the 1920s from South Philadelphia, as did most of the families on Marshall Street. While Marshall Street runs from South Philadelphia to the Logan area, my Marshall Street sat between 6th and 7th streets on the east and west and Poplar Street and Girard Avenue on the north and south. It was a newer area to open a business. I lived in that house with my two sisters from the time I was born until I married. At times we had boarders living there too, all sharing one bathroom. In the far reaches of my memory, I can recall an outhouse being dismantled in the back yard. My father occasionally mentioned that he came to America in 1915 after running away from being conscripted into the Russian Army. His parents, brother and sister arrived sometime later. In the Odessa area of Kiev he and his brother helped my grandfather sell yard-goods, silks, and cotton in local bazaars and along the Dnieper River shtetls, or small villages. My mother arrived …

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Painting Northern Liberties, 1978-2010

Jennifer Baker — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:13:17 +0000

I moved to Northern Liberties when I got out of art school in 1978. I rented the top floor of a four story factory building at 3rd and Green Streets with one of my fellow sculpture students. We had 2,000 square feet, huge skylights, and at first, no heat. The rest of our building was completely empty--the owners, who had a porno print shop on the first floor, had closed their business and gone into real estate investment. The rest of our block was empty too and we used to tell our friends that we lived at “3rd and Nowhere.” However, the rest of Northern Liberties wasn’t empty at all; it was full of row houses occupied by mostly older immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Romania. There were many small manufacturing businesses like Ortleib’s Brewery, which sent the smell of fermenting hops through our windows; there was Schmidt’s bottling plant; there was Cannuli Brothers’ House of Pork meat-packing plant next door to my studio, which had a much more unpleasant smell than the brewery. There was Harry Shur’s hardware store where you could ask Harry for just about anything and he would rummage through the attics of his block …

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Maria Innocenza's Boarding House

Donna Meidt — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:12:23 +0000

It has been over one hundred years since my great-grandparents, Maria and Salvatore Siciliano, brought their family to Philadelphia. One can only imagine what they were experiencing at that time. It is fortunate they decided to settle in the enclave of South Philly, where they were surrounded by others from the Calabrian mountains. I met them a half a century later, across the river from South Philly in their boarding house in a neighborhood far less friendly and not so welcoming. Their neighborhood in North Camden, New Jersey had been settled at the same time as Philadelphia. However, its residents were a representative sample of America at that time. It did not offer the comfort of what they left behind. Maria, in her characteristic fashion, became adaptive. She surrounded herself with those few families from her native village. And she tried as best as she could to reach out to others in the neighborhood. By the time I arrived on the scene, she and Salvatore were aged. However, that did not deter them from welcoming me into their fold. I visited often with my maternal grandmother. We arrived with pre-cooked food that was warmed on a wood-burning stove in the …

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Fishtown & Kensington, Sustainable & Green

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:11:07 +0000

Join Candace Karch as she takes you on a tour of sustainable and green efforts in Kensington and Fishtown, where residents, artists, and urban gardeners provide a "living lesson" on thinking globally and acting locally. Featured locations include Greensgrow Farms, the New Kensington CDC Garden Center, Palmer Park, Penn Treaty Park, and the Coral Street Arts House. For more information and videos, go to visitphilly.com

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Ortlieb's JazzHaus/Brewery

Historical Society of Pennsylvania — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:15:57 +0000

Founded by Civil War veteran Trubert Ortlieb in 1870, Ortlieb's was one of the few Philadelphia breweries to survive Prohibition and, along with Schmidt's Brewery , one of the last of the great industrial-era local breweries to close. The remains of the Ortlieb's and Schmidt's plants are visible reminders of the importance of the brewing trade in Northern Liberties and adjacent Kensington. Ortlieb's Brewery ceased operations in 1981. In 1987, saxophone player Pete Souder reopened the tavern as Ortlieb's Jazzhaus, featuring live jazz every night of the week, ranging from local house players to the internationally renowned. (The brewing facilities adjacent to the tavern were finally razed in 2002). A recipient of numerous awards, Ortlieb's was listed as one of top 50 jazz clubs in United States by Downbeat magazine. Sold to new owners in 2007, the revered club endured through two decades of demographic changes and real estate development in its Northern Liberties neighborhood. In April 2010, Ortlieb's Jazzhaus closed its doors, and Philadelphia lost one of its most unique homes for jazz. Philadelphia's long brewing history dates back to the colonial era. The 19th century marked the heyday of Philadelphia brewmasters. Traditionally, Americans consumed English ales due to …

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