Retail coming to Philadelphia (Ardmore: legal, babysitter, housing)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by asiandudeyo

WOW!
That is magnificent!
So it looks like the floor is kinda "sunked in" internally since it looks like a short building from outside. Cant believe how high the ceiling is.
I still cant understand how some people oppose perusing it as a cinema since it will attract 'ghetto' people.

Thanks for the picture! And how do you post a picture btw?

The Friends of the Boyd group actually attracted a terrific developer who was going to do it right. The developer was the same one who did the 10 Rittenhouse Tower at 18th and Walnut. I'm blanking on his name. Sadly he died. Then there was the LiveNation deal. That collapsed. Now we have this sad, IMO, plan from iPic.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by motownewave

Not Your Average Joe's is now in Suburban Square between the Macy's and Starbucks. While the parking at Suburban Square sucks, I was more referring to parking for stores in Ardmore NOT in Suburban Square. The shopping center with Iron Hill Brewery has free parking but a horrible design, and limits many spots to 15 minutes, plus tenants each claim spots of their own. There is a municipal lot across the street though. What I don't get though is... where do people park to shop at the stores directly along 30 in Ardmore (such as the RadioShack, which in a way shares a block with Suburban Square, but definitely isn't in it?)

Well, Center City developer Carl Dranoff was going to re-done a lot of that. Who knows where that is now? He seems to have re-focused his energy back in the city.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Image Copyright: The Irvin R. Glazer Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Thanks. I went there several times to see movies. It was so much better than the suburban theaters.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by kyb01

There was a Phila. Sports something or other in there for a few years. And,yes, I did go there when it was a theater. It was a theater into the early 90s. I think it was owned by the old Sameric chain that owned the Boyd.

Unfortunately it did not get the support that, what has become, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute did. That was an independent theater too once upon a time.

There was also a theater in Suburban Sq. near where the Apple store is today.

Agreed, Ardmore retail is lame, IMO. It didn't used to be like that. Suburban Sq is historic in that it is either the oldest suburban shopping center in the country or close to it. The growth of KofP changed that.

I think Suburban Square is still quite good for what it is. The rest of Ardmore's business district is starting to improve, but I agree it has a ways to go.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by asiandudeyo

WOW!
That is magnificent!
So it looks like the floor is kinda "sunked in" internally since it looks like a short building from outside. Cant believe how high the ceiling is.
I still cant understand how some people oppose perusing it as a cinema since it will attract 'ghetto' people.

Thanks for the picture! And how do you post a picture btw?

You walk through the lobby, which is all that you really see facing chestnut st, then behind that the main auditorium is on the ground floor. You enter the main auditorium from the rear, and it does slope down from there towards the stage/screen. Or, you walk up stairs to get to the balcony, or down stairs to get to the bathroom lounges.
The newer smaller auditoriums that faced chestnut were accessed from the lobby, but have since been converted to those GAP outlet storefronts.

You can better see how tall the building is from Sansom street.

And, you most easily post a picture by pasting the image URL into the little dialogue box that pops up when you click the image icon (little mountains and sun) in the post header.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Thanks. I went there several times to see movies. It was so much better than the suburban theaters.

I always used to go to Chestnut St to see movies as a kid.
The Sameric protip was to always sit in the front row, since mostly no one likes to sit in front at the movies, but since the front row at the Sameric was still a good 30-40+ feet back from the screen (what with the stage & all), the view was great, and with all the legroom in the world!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Thanks. I went there several times to see movies. It was so much better than the suburban theaters.

The first time I went there was when it actually was the Boyd. I saw "Ben Hur" there in 1959.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

I think Suburban Square is still quite good for what it is. The rest of Ardmore's business district is starting to improve, but I agree it has a ways to go.

Compared to the way it was a long time ago, when Strawbridge and Clothier and Best and Co. still existed, it just feels pretty lifeless to me.

There's very little foot traffic on Lancaster Ave. at least during the day. That doesn't help.

I grew up nearby, in Haverford, so I have seen how things have changed over the years.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rotodome

I always used to go to Chestnut St to see movies as a kid.
The Sameric protip was to always sit in the front row, since mostly no one likes to sit in front at the movies, but since the front row at the Sameric was still a good 30-40+ feet back from the screen (what with the stage & all), the view was great, and with all the legroom in the world!

This made me laugh because I did the same thing. Plus you didn't have to deal with people trying walk past you to seats while they dumped popcorn and stuff like that. lol

[asiandudeyo]

Originally Posted by kyb01

The first time I went there was when it actually was the Boyd. I saw "Ben Hur" there in 1959.

Pardon my ignorance: I thought you were in your 40s?