The Triangle

Issue date: 5/30/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Nicolle Morales Kern The Thee Shop Plaza barbershop on 33rd and Spring Garden streets was opened years ago by Saleem Young, (pictured above) and caters to the Drexel student community as well as other Mantua residents.

The dimly-lit office was quiet and still, but remnants existed of the changing environment outside. The datebook on the desk was filled with meetings and reminders; post-it notes framed the computer monitor. On the wall hung a poster of an aspen forest with the word "synergize" printed on it. "Each tree draws strength from the others," the caption read. "The grove is more than the sum of its individual parts."

The office is owned by Rick Young, president and CEO of the Mantua Community Improvement Committee. The committee formed in 2002 to coordinate the needs of the Mantua community with the needs of its neighbors, such as the expanding university system to its south.

"As Drexel University continues to grow, we're seeing an increasing number of college-aged renters living north of Spring Garden Street," Young said. "The University now has a stake in the neighborhood. This is a chance to team up with each other to reach our goals."

As Drexel expands, Mantua is experiencing revitalization. The futures of both communities are interconnected, and they are now collaborating to reach their objectives.

Mantua was once a thriving community. Movie theaters, retail outlets and restaurants lined Haverford Avenue, and local residents were proud to call Mantua their home. However, like many industrial cities, the neighborhood spiraled into urban decay during the 1970s and 1980s. Jobs disappeared and the drug trade flourished on the corners.

Nate Frazier, a 41-year resident, recalls the late 70s as a time when Philadelphia seemed to give up on the community.

"City trucks stopped coming through here. They stopped cleaning the streets. You couldn't even find a trash can on the corner. There was no protection," Frazier said. "Sometimes politicians would pretend to do something, start a curfew law or something, but eventually they just moved onto a new hot topic and forgot about us."

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools