Queens Village: Run215 Founder Jon Lyons More Than Just a Runner
Jon Lyons was not always a runner. In fact, after running track in middle school, he hated the sport for much of his life. He invested time in music, even touring with a rock band. Then his life changed. He fathered a child. Things became complicated. He began to abuse substances and he knew he was headed down a […]
Bella Vista/Queen Village: Five Places to Grab a Cup of Joe
Bella Vista and Queen Village are neighborhoods in South Philadelphia that won’t stop growing. With a highly walkable neighborhood and an abundance of retail and restaurants, there are always great options to grab a cup of coffee or tea. Whether you want to enjoy a beverage in the comforts of these diverse coffee shops, or […]
Queen Village: How Residents Helped Create the First Conservation District
It all started because there were too many garages in Queen Village. According to the co-chair of the Queen Village Neighbors Association zoning committee, Michael Hauptman, it was around 2006 or 2007 when the neighborhood started to change. Homes that were primarily three stories and of no historical value got purchased and then demolished. The new […]
Amateur Sports: Nonprofits Help Homeless Beyond Athletics
Street Soccer USA On any given night in the United States, there are approximately 564,708 people who are counted as homeless. On any given night in this country, there are also 39,907 unaccompanied youth between the ages of 18-24. As of 2014, at a local level, between 30 and 40 percent of Philadelphia’s youth live […]
Queen Village: Community Gardeners Prepare for Winter
As the temperatures dropped, local gardeners came out in droves to clean up their community garden before hanging up their racks, hoses, pruners and shovels for the season. The Southwark Queen Village Community Garden hosted its fifth cleanup before the approaching winter season after months of growing plants, fruits, herbs and vegetables. Gardeners pruned dry leaves […]
Hawthorne: Men are Ready, Willing and Able to Make a Change in Their Lives
Some days, Sylvester Cooper, spends seven consecutive days at work, cooking and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to the men at Ready, Willing and Able on Bainbridge Street. Cooper, 55, is a kitchen supervisor at RWA but it wasn’t always that way. The Philadelphia native once struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction to the point where he […]
Queen Village: Goldstein’s Clothing Store Dresses Generations of Philly Families
Queen Village is known as a quaint residential neighborhood with new bars and restaurants. On Sixth Street, a thriving business exists that has been around since the beginning of the 20th century. On a cloudy and windy Saturday afternoon, Vincent Talotta Jr., who is Italian-American and 50 years old, spoke about Goldstein’s men’s and boys’ […]
Queen Village/Bella Vista/Hawthorne: Five Great Parks
Where does one go when all the popular and well-known parks in the city like Rittenhouse Square and Washington Square are too crowded? Head South. In the Queen Village, Bella Vista and Hawthorne area of South Philadelphia, there are a variety of great parks to choose from. Many people go to these parks to relax, walk […]
Queen Village: Sexton Sideshow Hosts Series of Local Festivals
Husband and wife, Jim and Paula Minacci, have been bringing together the Philadelphia community for the past six years. As the sextons of Gloria Dei Old Swedes’ Church, located at the corner of Washington Avenue and Columbus Boulevard in Queen Village, the couple has been pulling double duty to keep the historic grounds thriving. What […]
South Philadelphia: Influx of Youth, Dwindling Faith and a Shifting Cultural Melting Pot
The idea of South Philadelphia generates several common images of cheesesteaks, rabid sports fans and scenes of Rocky Balboa running through the Italian Market. The South Philadelphia area, particularly east of Broad Street, had been one of the most popular landing spots for Italian immigrants moving to Philadelphia in the 19th and 20th centuries. The […]