The Venice Island Performing Art Center is near completion. | Photo: Bernard J. Scally, for the Roxborough Review
- In order to receive some preliminary community feedback on its massive redevelopment of Venice Island, the City offered Manayunk residents a sneak peek Wednesday inside the newly built Venice Island Performing Arts Center, set to officially open to the public on October 7th. The center, the Roxborough Review tells us, aims chiefly to be “accessible, affordable, and educational.” Currently, the facility “includes a 250 seat theater, complete with lighting, catwalks; rooms for rehearsal; classrooms; a sprayground; tiered gardens, basketball and volleyball courts.” Piers jutting out into the Schuylkill are envisioned for down the road.
- On Plan Philly’s Eyes on the Street blog, Ashley Hahn previews the Schuylkill River Boardwalk, which in just a few weeks, will connect segments of the riverside trial from Locust to South Streets.“The boardwalk,” Hahn says, “offers a study in city tempo: On the western side of the river cars speed on the expressway as Amtrak and SEPTA trains zip past in bursts. On the near side, CSX trains lumber along the tracks and on the trail cyclists and runners jostle for space with slower moving pedestrians. And then there’s the river’s tidal flow, with occasional boats.”
- Inga Saffron takes note of recent positive sings along the Delaware: Washington Avenue Green and the Fringe Arts’ new headquarters at Race St. Say all you want about Michael Nutter’s seven years at the helm, The Inquirer critic says, he has at the very least demonstrably improved upon the fitful deal brokering of his predecessors, allowing “planners and the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. to set the pace” on the waterfront’s revitalization.
- A $6 million pledge from Raymond G. Perelman has allowed Drexel University a go at augmenting its Jewish population with the construction of a Center for Jewish Life on North 34th Street by Fall 2016, reports the Philadelphia Business Journal. Plans “call for a three-story, 14,000-square-foot structure featuring an event space for 100 or more people, chapel, meeting rooms, student lounges and offices for Drexel Hillel. A kosher kitchen and kosher food services are also planned.”
- Next City’s Jake Blumgart provides pointers–with photographic reference–on how best to navigate the 3.5 of subterranean labyrinth that is the Center City concourse “from 18th and Market to 7th and the same.”
About the author
Stephen Currall recently received his BA in history from Arcadia University. Before beginning doctoral studies, he is pursuing his interest in local history, specifically just how Philadelphians engage their vibrant past. Besides skimming through 18th century letters, Steve is also interested in music and travel.
