Block by Block: Sansom Street, Between 19th and 20th

With the constant development in the Rittenhouse commercial district over the past few years, the fact that there's a block lingering in the area that doesn't bolster multiple shops and restaurants is simultaneously mind boggling and and comforting. And, yet, if you wander down Sansom, between 19th and 20th, that's just what you'll find.

Heading west, on the north side of the street, you'll first come upon Oh! Shea's Pub, followed by a side entrance to Kate's Place. Kate's Place was developed by Project H.O.M.E., a local initiative to empower individuals to "break the cycle of homelessness and poverty," through the ability to acquire, in the case of Kate's Place, affordable housing. Finally, at the corner of that side of the block, there are the windows to Capogiro (home of some truly fabulous and truly expensive gelato) - but you're going to have to turn onto 20th to actually get close to the food.

Heading in the opposite direction, the south side of the street, from west to east, is made up of a parking lot, the Oliver H. Bair funeral home, the Warwick, and the closed, but still beautiful, storefront for the Rittenhouse Coffee Shop. Featuring wrought iron window boxes and intricate tiles, this is the type of building you see and just want to enter. But as it now has event posters and tagging on its permanently dark windows, it's clear that no one has wandered through the door to the Rittenhouse Coffee Shop in a good, long time.

Apparently this is something the Parking Authority took notice of a few years back, as they proposed to tear down a few buildings on the block, and build up the block with additional parking, a movie theater and a restaurant. Though it seems that the plan was once approved, from what could be information could be found on the internet, two years later, the plan was rejected (scroll down to January 23, 2005). Since that information is now two years old, there may be more information with what's going on with the block. If any of you know more about what's going on, please share it with us!

Images by author.