West Poplar: New Community Center Leader Unites Poplar Residents Through Art, Sports
Richard Austin, 54, worked in banking and insurance for almost three decades before making the leap to nonprofit work to connect with communities hands-on. After eleven years in the sector, the Cheltenham resident started a new position in September as the outreach program director at Saint Paul’s Community Center on Wallace and 10th streets. […]
Poplar: Residents Express Concerns About Girard Avenue Development
Poplar residents raised concerns about an influx of college students and the lack of adequate parking after hearing a proposal for a new six-story development at a neighborhood meeting last week. More than 30 people gathered at Saint Paul’s Baptist Church for the 14th Ward Democratic Executive Committee’s community meeting to discuss the developer’s plan […]
Poplar: Ukrainians Still Return to Area to Attend Historic Cathedral
In 1907, Bishop Sotor Stephen Ortynsky, the first bishop of the Ukrainian Catholics, purchased the old Cathedral Church. More than 100 years later, Ukrainian Catholics flock to a new cathedral on the same land Ortynsky bought. “Ukrainians have a strong identity not only to their faith, but also to their ethnicity,” director of communications John […]
Poplar: Five Pieces of Philadelphia History
The original city plans laid out on a map by William Penn only included the area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers between Vine and South streets. People, however, settled outside of those areas, including what is now known as the Poplar neighborhood. “Certain neighborhoods were settled by individuals from certain parts of Europe or were […]
Poplar: Community Learning Farm Fills Need, Establishes Roots
Federation of Neighborhood Centers Philly seeks to create partnerships with organizations to provide workforce training, re-entry services, improved food access, youth development and urban farming. It accomplishes these goals through one of its initiatives, the FNC Community Learning Farms. The oldest of its three farms was founded in 2005 next to the East Poplar Playground […]
Comedy: Five Open Mics You Can Find On A School Night
The Philadelphia comedy scene consists of an array of brave comics who have a close bond with each other and aren’t afraid to expand their network at open mic nights throughout the city. These free events are a way to socialize with the comedy community, as well as a chance to test your courage. Many […]
Poplar: Congregants Drawn To Church With Deep Roots In Neighborhood
Leslie Callahan can’t pinpoint a specific reason why people end up at her church, located on the southwest corner of Wallace and 10th streets. But she does know that once people walk through the front door, most become a member of St. Paul’s Baptist Church for life. “Many of our members have been here a […]
Poplar: Gun Range Owner Aims to Offer Safe, Social, Inclusive Environment
The owner of The Gun Range greets all of his customers at the door, a welcome underscored with the faintest hint of an accent that originates somewhere between Russia and Israel. After a tumultuous childhood spent partly in the former Soviet Union, Yuri Zalzman came to the United States as a teenager. He later obtained an undergraduate degree in history […]
West Poplar: Ridge Avenue Galleries Leave Imprint On Local Art Scene
Tina Rocha, co-founder of the Cerulean Arts gallery, recently left her job as an architect to focus on the gallery full time, which has been open for 15 years. Located on Ridge Avenue, a corridor that when passing through West Poplar does not appear to be commercially hospitable, the gallery was forward thinking, said Rocha. […]
West Poplar: Jose Morales Sets His Sights On Firearms Safety Education
The city office that issues gun permits sits directly across the street from the Philly Firearms Academy run by Jose D. Morales. It would seem to be an ideal location for Morales, who opened up shop in 2013. But it’s been less busy than he anticipated. “If I get one or two people a day saying, ‘I […]