Comments on: Noontime Nuggetz: Philadelphia Circa 1947, Complete With Old Ladies And Rats http://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/19/noontime-nuggetz-philadelphia-circa-1947-complete-with-old-ladies-and-rats/ You're famous. (For Philly.) Sat, 20 Mar 2010 22:05:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: arcticsplasherhttp://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/19/noontime-nuggetz-philadelphia-circa-1947-complete-with-old-ladies-and-rats/comment-page-1/#comment-16481 arcticsplasher Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:51:39 +0000 http://www.philebrity.com/?p=28872#comment-16481 Finally got around to watching this. What's pictured here isn't the acres of slumland that is our national rep now. At the time, Philly was at its peak - 3rd or 4th largest city, coming out of the war with tons of industry, population growth, a huge middle class, a new political regime, and a can-do attitude. The "slums" shown here were relatively small, limited to the oldest parts of town, which had been abandoned for years to the poorest people: Queen Village (shown in the film), Society Hill, NoLibs, lower North Philly, Grays Ferry.What this film shows is our high-water mark, the moment before our country began the historic experiment in happy motoring. Within a few years, we abandonded the ancient urban model for highways, cheap gasoline, sprawling tracks of cookie cutter homes, shopping centers and malls, office and industrial parks, global trade, and global entertainment via tvs and computers.Amazing to think that 20 years after this film was made, the hope embodied here was completly gone, and the majority of Philadelphia looked like the small slum areas shown here. PHA didn't stand a chance. Finally got around to watching this. What’s pictured here isn’t the acres of slumland that is our national rep now. At the time, Philly was at its peak – 3rd or 4th largest city, coming out of the war with tons of industry, population growth, a huge middle class, a new political regime, and a can-do attitude. The “slums” shown here were relatively small, limited to the oldest parts of town, which had been abandoned for years to the poorest people: Queen Village (shown in the film), Society Hill, NoLibs, lower North Philly, Grays Ferry.

What this film shows is our high-water mark, the moment before our country began the historic experiment in happy motoring. Within a few years, we abandonded the ancient urban model for highways, cheap gasoline, sprawling tracks of cookie cutter homes, shopping centers and malls, office and industrial parks, global trade, and global entertainment via tvs and computers.

Amazing to think that 20 years after this film was made, the hope embodied here was completly gone, and the majority of Philadelphia looked like the small slum areas shown here. PHA didn’t stand a chance.

]]> By: synonymhttp://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/19/noontime-nuggetz-philadelphia-circa-1947-complete-with-old-ladies-and-rats/comment-page-1/#comment-16441 synonym Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:21:49 +0000 http://www.philebrity.com/?p=28872#comment-16441 The Richard Allen Projects - brand spankin' new! The Richard Allen Projects – brand spankin’ new!

]]> By: bluesparkhttp://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/19/noontime-nuggetz-philadelphia-circa-1947-complete-with-old-ladies-and-rats/comment-page-1/#comment-16326 bluespark Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:24:52 +0000 http://www.philebrity.com/?p=28872#comment-16326 Ah, the good ole days, when PHA still bothered to produce elaborate propaganda to conceal their evil schemes. Ah, the good ole days, when PHA still bothered to produce elaborate propaganda to conceal their evil schemes.

]]> By: chawdhttp://www.philebrity.com/2009/11/19/noontime-nuggetz-philadelphia-circa-1947-complete-with-old-ladies-and-rats/comment-page-1/#comment-16308 chawd Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:12:54 +0000 http://www.philebrity.com/?p=28872#comment-16308 All that slum clearing really worked out for the city, didn't it? All that slum clearing really worked out for the city, didn’t it?

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