Spring Break
Lancaster Avenue needs more investment to grow
Christopher Russell
Issue date: 5/22/09 Section: Ed-Op
38th and Lancaster sees Ted's Pizza and Spring Chinese committing a common exterior architectural faux pas: garish neon and tasteless plastic signage lit from within. Overall, this type of public communication is ugly and lends the street a cluttered aesthetic. Ironically, both shops possess the recommended transparency made possible through large window walls, but in turn, broadcast their exhaustingly trite interiors.
A scar on the unsightly, but high-functioning 3500 block is the old Mokas hookah bar. With an over 10-month old liquor license application in the window touting Buffalo Bill's Charcoal Pit, one has hope that such a prominent location and conceivably-splendent outdoor garden would further catalyze Lancaster to get its act together. The Mokas space (not to be confused with actual Grecian ruins) hovers in the same development purgatory as the tarp-covered, yet still charming, storefront at 36th and Race. This small jewel-case of a store could easily be reborn as a cozy café (seriously, college students love cafes) with outdoor seating along Race Street.
The new Powelton Pizza location and design is definitely a step in the right direction for store and street design on Lancaster Avenue. Reinterpreting an historic façade to create a handsome and (yes) transparent storefront brightens the sidewalk and indicates to passersby that this restaurant is open for business. The interior and exterior are unremarkable, but done nicely enough. Perhaps this is the point: proper urban design does not have to be avant-garde architectural expression, but one that takes into account the physiological effects of the walking experience.
Huge development opportunities on Lancaster still abound. The rowhouses adjacent to 7-Eleven are begging to be remodeled and restored into restaurants with outdoor patio seating and apartments above. The Drexel parking lot across the street is already planning on becoming structured parking (read: parking garage). Hopefully the tenets of good urban design can be followed there as well. Namely: ensure that the garage looks nothing like a garage, have an attractive streetscape, include groundfloor uses on Lancaster to reinforce it as the commercial corridor, and locate the exits and entrances on Warren Street.
With SEPTA's 10 trolley traveling the street 24 hours a day, there is little reason Lancaster Avenue cannot become a bustling street that contributes substantially to the quality of life for Powelton Village and creates an identity that transcends its pallid strip of pizza shops.
Christopher Russell is a senior majoring in civil engineering. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
A scar on the unsightly, but high-functioning 3500 block is the old Mokas hookah bar. With an over 10-month old liquor license application in the window touting Buffalo Bill's Charcoal Pit, one has hope that such a prominent location and conceivably-splendent outdoor garden would further catalyze Lancaster to get its act together. The Mokas space (not to be confused with actual Grecian ruins) hovers in the same development purgatory as the tarp-covered, yet still charming, storefront at 36th and Race. This small jewel-case of a store could easily be reborn as a cozy café (seriously, college students love cafes) with outdoor seating along Race Street.
The new Powelton Pizza location and design is definitely a step in the right direction for store and street design on Lancaster Avenue. Reinterpreting an historic façade to create a handsome and (yes) transparent storefront brightens the sidewalk and indicates to passersby that this restaurant is open for business. The interior and exterior are unremarkable, but done nicely enough. Perhaps this is the point: proper urban design does not have to be avant-garde architectural expression, but one that takes into account the physiological effects of the walking experience.
Huge development opportunities on Lancaster still abound. The rowhouses adjacent to 7-Eleven are begging to be remodeled and restored into restaurants with outdoor patio seating and apartments above. The Drexel parking lot across the street is already planning on becoming structured parking (read: parking garage). Hopefully the tenets of good urban design can be followed there as well. Namely: ensure that the garage looks nothing like a garage, have an attractive streetscape, include groundfloor uses on Lancaster to reinforce it as the commercial corridor, and locate the exits and entrances on Warren Street.
With SEPTA's 10 trolley traveling the street 24 hours a day, there is little reason Lancaster Avenue cannot become a bustling street that contributes substantially to the quality of life for Powelton Village and creates an identity that transcends its pallid strip of pizza shops.
Christopher Russell is a senior majoring in civil engineering. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
dangrossman
Dan Grossman
posted 5/24/09 @ 12:03 AM EST
"With the advent of the new Powelton Pizza location"
It would've been useful to say what you're talking about when you reference it twice. Powelton Pizza moved? Or did they open a second shop? Why do you think Lancaster Ave ends at Spring Garden, when it runs way out of Philadelphia County?
Michael Jones
posted 5/24/09 @ 6:08 AM EST
Thanks for the article. Just to let you know, the Powelton Village Civic Assoiation is engaging in a Master Planning process at the moment. Opinions like those in the article are a useful part of that process. (Continued…)
Andy
posted 5/26/09 @ 1:56 AM EST
Buffalo Bill's Charcoal Pit is apparently an old establishment. They were cited in October 2001 by the Liquor Control Board for providing alcohol to minors and loud music. (Continued…)
George
posted 5/26/09 @ 11:10 AM EST
Chris, Thanks for a great article. It's refreshing to see insightful commentary from a student. Lancaster Avenue has struggled for years to develop as a viable commercial corridor, despite being Powelton's Main Street and accessible to the entirety of Drexel's resident population. (Continued…)
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