Center City Observations (Halloween weekend 2022)

[Tweb66]

I took a walk around center city for the first time in a long time. It was great, was there some strange ****? Of course


I saw a person in a wheelchair just chilling in the middle of the street near 30th Street Station, to which I yelled if they had a death wish. I just got a thumps up as people drove around him like it was a normal thing.

[JamesJay64]

Center City was absolutely packed yesterday. I love walking around and seeing shoppers in every single store.

[mphilly]

Yes it was, one of the liveliest weekends I can remember in the city post pandemic. Felt like back to normal, maybe even more so than last weekend which was also really packed.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

I took a walk around center city for the first time in a long time. It was great, was there some strange ****? Of course


I saw a person in a wheelchair just chilling in the middle of the street near 30th Street Station, to which I yelled if they had a death wish. I just got a thumps up as people drove around him like it was a normal thing.

I saw someone giving haircuts on the median on Broad St (just south of City Hall) last week. He even had a paying client at the time. That was interesting.

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by Angus215

I saw someone giving haircuts on the median on Broad St (just south of City Hall) last week. He even had a paying client at the time. That was interesting.

He's there most weekdays I think, at least when it's nice out. Usually he has a sign saying "haircuts for homeless" or something to that effect.

[Maddie104]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Just wanted to share that I've finally made it back to visit Philly after a pandemic-driven hiatus (in town for a family wedding), and I wanted to share some observations from an out-of-town perspective. I recognize I often have a "booster" bias, but I think it's always good to have a realistic and objective perspective.

First the good--the vibrancy is as great as I remembered it, perhaps even better. I recognize that it's a particularly busy weekend with a confluence of Halloween, the Phils in the World Series, and the Film Festival, but it's really quite something. I sorely missed the "all walks of life" feeling in Philly that is truly very difficult to find in so many cities these days, and it felt great to be around that again. It's never been a "boutique" city, but that's what I love about it so much. But more to the point, Saturday night was a fantastic vibe with the Midtown Village Festival and all of the 20-somethings bar-hopping in entertaining costumes, and everything that's open all seems to be doing well. But the "people vibes," fantastic food options and "safety vibes" have been top notch, which is something I was concerned about with such an onslaught of negative news for months and months. Overall, I love fast-paced but generally jovial atmosphere with no hostility witnessed at all. That's a huge win in my book.

The "okay, but"--keptness. It's Philly, we know. And don't get me wrong, I really didn't see as much litter/trash from a big night of partying as I expected (and maybe I've just gotten too used to primped Boston). And it's really not worse than I remember. But the sidewalk grime elimination game just really needs to be upped (and SEPTA stench, while they're at it). It's not the end of the world to me, but I can definitely see how it can be off-putting to someone visiting from, say, San Diego. Small potatoes in the scheme of things, but more regular powerwashing can really go a long way on impressions, especially if the city is trying to rebuild its tourism scene.

Now the not so amazing--store vacancy. It definitely feels like the Center City has taken a bit of a step back in terms of retail presence; at least on Chestnut Street in particular (I know that's always been Center City's lagging corridor, and it comes as no shock, but it's just unfortunate that a lot of the momentum that I remember it gaining now seems to been lost). I really hope it gets much more attention in the near future, because it still has so much potential. Some of the stores, like Target or Macy's, also seem understocked in some ways--but I imagine some of that is supply chain related as well. Overall, retail/store presence and management definitely is something that the city should be focusing on for Center City’s continued recovery.

Also should mention that the W/Elements has great accommodations (first time here) with amazing views, and we lucked out with an upgrade.

That's all for the moment, but just wanted to share some thoughts for those interested, since it's always good to keep an outside perspectives in mind. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Thanks for what I consider a balanced perspective. I wanted to mention the magnificent 30th Street station. I just traveled by Amtrak from Boston to Philadelphia. (Back Bay station was filthy btw.) The train interior was clean and updated. I would highly recommend travel by train.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Duderino

(snippage)

The "okay, but"--keptness. It's Philly, we know. And don't get me wrong, I really didn't see as much litter/trash from a big night of partying as I expected (and maybe I've just gotten too used to primped Boston). And it's really not worse than I remember. But the sidewalk grime elimination game just really needs to be upped (and SEPTA stench, while they're at it). It's not the end of the world to me, but I can definitely see how it can be off-putting to someone visiting from, say, San Diego. Small potatoes in the scheme of things, but more regular powerwashing can really go a long way on impressions, especially if the city is trying to rebuild its tourism scene.

Now the not so amazing--store vacancy. It definitely feels like the Center City has taken a bit of a step back in terms of retail presence; at least on Chestnut Street in particular (I know that's always been Center City's lagging corridor, and it comes as no shock, but it's just unfortunate that a lot of the momentum that I remember it gaining now seems to been lost). I really hope it gets much more attention in the near future, because it still has so much potential. Some of the stores, like Target or Macy's, also seem understocked in some ways--but I imagine some of that is supply chain related as well. Overall, retail/store presence and management definitely is something that the city should be focusing on for Center City’s continued recovery.

Agreed on the powerwashing stuff, and SEPTA should go through the subway entrance stairwells (where the problem is worst) with disinfectant on a regular basis.

As for the empty storefronts, I think that can be laid squarely at the feet of the pandemic. Lots of people switched from bricks and mortar to e-commerce during that time, and many of them didn't switch back. I noticed last night as I was walking to the Pen & Pencil that all of the ground-floor retail/restaurant spaces in The Bellevue that faced the street are now vacant, though there were lights on in the former Palm restaurant and I thought I saw a liquor license application notice posted at one of the entrances. Tiffany & Co., I believe, relocated closer to Rittenhouse Square, but Ralph Lauren pulled up stakes long ago without relocating, and Williams-Sonoma recently followed in their footsteps. I haven't checked out similar strips in other cities — but I do recall hearing that retail vacancies are high in New York City as well because of a combination of pandemic-induced shifts and landlords raising rents. That doesn't mean the city and the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation/Center City District shouldn't focus on this issue, just that I suspect it's not unique to Philadelphia.

[mphilly]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Agreed on the powerwashing stuff, and SEPTA should go through the subway entrance stairwells (where the problem is worst) with disinfectant on a regular basis.

As for the empty storefronts, I think that can be laid squarely at the feet of the pandemic. Lots of people switched from bricks and mortar to e-commerce during that time, and many of them didn't switch back. I noticed last night as I was walking to the Pen & Pencil that all of the ground-floor retail/restaurant spaces in The Bellevue that faced the street are now vacant, though there were lights on in the former Palm restaurant and I thought I saw a liquor license application notice posted at one of the entrances. Tiffany & Co., I believe, relocated closer to Rittenhouse Square, but Ralph Lauren pulled up stakes long ago without relocating, and Williams-Sonoma recently followed in their footsteps. I haven't checked out similar strips in other cities — but I do recall hearing that retail vacancies are high in New York City as well because of a combination of pandemic-induced shifts and landlords raising rents. That doesn't mean the city and the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation/Center City District shouldn't focus on this issue, just that I suspect it's not unique to Philadelphia.

My understanding is the Bellevue is being renovated so they kicked all the tenants out. I think some would have stayed otherwise.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by mphilly

My understanding is the Bellevue is being renovated so they kicked all the tenants out. I think some would have stayed otherwise.

Correct. Leases were not renewed. But I'm glad the Bellevue is getting a needed revamp.
Though I hope Williams Sonoma finds a new home in the area. Great store to have in Center City and that location was always busy.