More than once, we’ve wondered aloud here how in the hell South Street is ever going to come back from the vacant-store/cell phone emporium nightmare it is now. It’s been painful to watch as what was once truly, honestly The Hippest Street In Town morph from that status down to being a place where even chain stores won’t go. Stroll down South today, and boy, is it ever bleak: For those of us who grew up going there, the three-pronged attack of economy, chain-ravaging and tree removal on South Street has rendered it almost unrecognizable. Finally, though, a group of concerned businesspeople are attempting to take South Street back to its hippie/punk era small biz/creative economy roots. Bill Curry of Copabanana, Julia Zagar of Eyes Gallery and developers Howard Lander and Steve Giannascoli of Triad Realty have engaged in a program that seeks to let artists and art-based organizations to use currently vacant storefronts for free. As of today, they’ve received 120 applications, and they’re still pouring in (the deadline is February 10). Obviously, we like this a lot: Philly history buffs know well that it was artists who originally rescued South Street from urban blight in the late 60s and early 70s — given a leg up, maybe that lightning can strike again.
Smarts&Culture: Free South Street!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm.