Hot Links - Weekend Edition

Repairing / Remodeling - Bainbridge and South Reese St, Philadelphia. Photo by The Preservator

Hot Links:
Philadelphia Inquirer building is up for sale (again). [Philly.com]
Bart Blatstein's trashy manners [DailyNews]
SEPTA launches TransitView, for real-time bus and trolley info [TechnicallyPhilly.com]
Changing Skyline History vs. Highrises: An Urban Debate [Inquirer]


This weekend:
Philly Beer Week kicks off today - some picks via PhillyHomegrown [HomegrownBlog]
The Roots Picnic 6/4 at Festival Pier[okayplayer]
Philadelphia Burger Brawl benefit for William M. Meredith Elementary School [facebook]
New farmers market opens this 6/5 in Pennsport's Dickenson Square Park [uwishunu]

Photo Friday: Snowy Harbor Seagull + Hot Links

Photo by The Preservator

Hot Links:

In Athens, GA stands the steeple of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. It just so happens that said church was, at one time, a DIY venue where R.E.M. played it's first gig. Today the steeple is all that remains of the church/venue and its current property owners (a condo association) have voted to demolish rather than restore the steeple.  Signs that the times they-are-a-changing? The National Trust's Preservation Magazine covers the story online here. Hmm.

For years communities and advocates have been working to improve the health of the Bronx River. Now, there's more multi-municipal cooperation. Bravo! Jose the Beaver thanks you too! (via NY Daily News)

Over at Rorotoko Elizabeth Collins Cromley breaks down her new book, The Food Axis: Cooking, Eating and the Architecture of American Houses, which contends that the ways in which food is stored/prepared/preserved/consumed has driven domestic architecture and its adaptations over time.

Oh yeah, and Wal-Mart has opted to find a different development sight after years of seeking to build a Supercenter in Orange County, VA on the site of the Wilderness Battlefield, one of the Civil War's most important. The National Trust explains. Reenactors and buffs like yours truly, rejoice.

Photo Friday: Flatiron + Hot Links

Flatiron Building, December 29, 2010 3:49pm
Photo by the Preservator

Hot Links + Strays:
Polis recently posted a piece about how relevant Jane Jacobs' thinking about the use of old buildings, 50 years later. Even lovers of Jacobs' writing, including yours truly, can get tired of the endless rehashing of her influential writing. Still, this piece reminds us that old buildings, in big expensive cities like New York, provide space for entrepreneurship. Do read.

Philebrity shared this rad portal into the future/past... er the future of the past. Something. Hi-Tech Psychedelic Past/Present Philly Street View promised. If you've ever wondered about how the Preservator wishes to experience the world. This is so close.

ArchPaper reports about a new level of destructoporn: Buffalo artist who's creating art out of pieces of abandoned buildings in an installation called Undone/Redone City.

Harlem Bespoke unearths details about this beautiful horse fountain at 155th and St. NicholasPlace in Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill. NYC Parks has more info about the Hooper Fountain's restoration. Among the many streetscape treasures that delight the Preservator are horse fountains, most of which were built at a time when the ASPCA and its local chapters were on the rise. They make us think of kindness.

Amusing the Zillion tipped about an exhibit at Schroeder Romero & Shredder, Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1889-1948. It's up from January 27th-February 26 and looks great.

While we're on the subject, don't think we didn't notice, but in the last month the Coney Island debacle has continued with the demolition of the Bank of Coney Island and the landmarking of both Childs Restaurant and the Coney Island (Shore) Theater on Surf Avenue.