Results tagged “southphilly”

I've been spending a lot of time in Marconi Plaza at Broad St and Oregon Avenue. It's a big plaza that spans both sides of Broad Street. It boasts two playgrounds (one on each side, each featuring rarely-seen-these-days geodesic dome jungle gyms), two baseball fields and a bocce court on the eastern side. Like its sister park, FDR, Marconi Plaza was designed by the Olmsted Brothers between 1914 and 1916 and served as the entry point for the Sesquicentennial Exposition in 1926. Originally, there were two reflecting pools on each side of the Plaza, but these were later filled in and now statues of Christopher Columbus and Guglielmo Marconi stand in their place, staring at each other across Broad Street. You probably know what Columbus' contribution to the world is, but may be unfamiliar with Marconi. I was, until I saw a little plaque on one of the walls along the plaza. He was a scientist who invented/developed a wireless telegraphy system, so information could be transmitted across the Atlantic. He won a Nobel Prize for his work.

Since last week's column was about Girard Fountain Park, I figured I'd try and keep things thematically linked and dedicate this week to Stephen Girard Park, down at 21st and Shunk Streets in South Philly. As was mentioned last week, Girard was an incredibly rich man. At the time of his death, he gave his property and money to the city, including the land that his country house, "Gentilhommiere," was located on. Gentilhommiere was where he lived after 1797 and was surrounded by a 583 acre farm, on which he apparently labored himself.

Today's featured Twitter user is @southphillykids. They have only been around for about a week, but they seem active and have great intentions. As their name suggests, they plan to keep South Philly and Passyunk Square families in the know about great opportunities for their kids to have some homegrown fun. They're serious, too—they even have a Facebook group about it.

We're going to start featuring a Pennsylvania- or Philadelphia-based entity with each Twitterist post, giving you a chance to meet homegrown organizations that are reaching out to their audience, market, or constituents via Twitter. Think of it as a way to showcase the ways that our community participates in the broader social conversation. Our first featured user is @ReliableEnergy. Pennsylvanians for Reliable Energy is an advocacy group that aims to ease the burden of energy costs in the state through modernization, efficiency, and renewable energy. They use their Twitter account to keep their followers in the know regarding policy changes and relevant news, like the $40 million in stimulus money our state will get for energy improvements.

• Tyler Perry is sending all of the kids who were turned away from the Valley Swim Club to Disney World.
• Taxi drivers protested against unfair tickets and fees this afternoon in Center City.
• Newly Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter and his Republican challenger, Pat Toomey, are virtually tied according to a recent poll.

Gregg Gethard, local funny guy extraordinaire, has got a story for you. And a video. And a song. And a few middle school geography questions. All of these elements come together in his Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Comedy Extravaganza. Carmen Sandiego was... well unless you skipped most of the 90s you probably already know what it was: A fantastically popular children's game show on PBS based on the equally popular computer game of the same name. Gregg Gethard is a bloke with his own monthly live comedy series who just happened to be lucky enough to score a slot on the show when he was in 8th grade.

• SEPTA officials are speaking out against the satirical "Notice to the Public" signs posted on the El.
• A Germantown man was killed today in a dispute over a bag of charcoal.
• A five-foot pet alligator has been removed from a South Philly home.

• This morning's crazy storm is expected to return later in the day... just in time for rush hour!
• Police have caught the 59-year-old man suspected of robbing a Center City bank yesterday.
• A man was shot 25 times in South Philly last night.

Get Involved: Dickinson Square Park Clean Up (Saturday, 9AM).

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

We do so wish this was an April Fool's yarn. We're pulling for you Steven.

You probably haven't heard, but there was an election, and not to spoil it or anything, but the Dark Side didn't win.

A week's worth of local Craigslist hijinks...

Would many LGBT folks actually support McCain in the first place? Not that we don't love an Obama presence at OutFest. Shame he won't be there himself, but if you have $2,300…

Looking back on a week's worth of local Craigslist hijinks...

As if we weren’t already anticipating the hell out of Live Arts/Fringe, this piece on Kate Watson-Wallace and her work Car has got us buckling up.

Three Philadelphia Tour Guides are up-in-arms due to a City Council bill that says all guides must be certified by obtaining a license. The license is given after the guides pass an exam that tests their knowledge of Philadelphia history. They feel this is in violation of their rights and have filed a lawsuit against the city.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

Perhaps we're a little biased, given our close proximity to the Italian Market and our obsession with delicious things like cheese, sausage, pasta, and cannoli. Still, we think this is pretty much the best weekend of the entire year. There's food, beer and wine as far as the eye can see, plus music, games, crafts, a kitschy-yet-serious parade of saints and plenty of great people watching.

Phillyist VIP: Matt Nelson

“Let me first say that it was not my intention to be a Pain in the Ass. I was far too lazy, arrogant and insecure to think I could ever be one. Apparently I was halfway there.