callowhill

Since I had plans to meet a friend for lunch at a place near 15th and spring garden today, I figured I'd detour through one of center city's 17 neighborhoods--Callowhill. Named after William Penn's second wife (Hannah Callowhill Penn), the neighborhood runs between vine and spring garden and 8th and broad. It rained in the early afternoon, and though the rain stopped, the skies remained overcast. There was a slight breeze blowing warm with the promise of summer. I started out walking west on spring garden, turned south at 6th street, and made a right onto Callowhill. I’d never walked along Callowhill before. The street itself is a busy one and the neighborhood has always been mostly industrial; as I walked along, I passed the remnants of those bygone days of industry. Several of the old factories have been converted into loft apartments, thus earning the new, though not widely used, name of the loft district.

Some of the factories are still operational, and, given that Callowhill is bordered on the south by Chinatown, several of the signs were in Chinese. I didn’t pass any other pedestrians until I came to the slightly confusing intersection of Callowhill, 10th, and Ridge. There were a few men working at an auto repair shop.

Just above this intersection is another industrial relic I was hoping to see: the abandoned Philadelphia and Reading Railway train trestle known as the Reading Viaduct. According to Wikipedia, the viaduct opened in 1893 and was built by the Philadelphia and Reading Terminal Railroad as an approach to the Reading Terminal (now a famous indoor market). The viaduct heads north from Reading Terminal and forks, with a spur heading northwest to the old mainline to Reading. Walking under the viaduct, I unsuccessfully dodged drops of water falling from the tracks above. Some small part of me wanted to try to access the tracks, but the responsible adult won out over the thrill-seeking teenager, and, turning left on Buttonwood, I soon came to one of my favorite bars in the city—Prohibition Taproom (13th and Buttonwood, just south of Spring Garden.) Now, I have been to this bar on more than one occasion and never realized the stables across the street. Today, the smell of manure was strong enough to make me take a closer look. I didn’t see any horses but am certain there were a few inside the dark, quiet stable.

My exploration of Callowhill ended at the busy intersection of Broad and Spring Garden. I stood at the northeast corner, jotting down notes, pigeons gathering at my feet hoping for crumbs. Looking west down Spring Garden, I thought I could see the sandstone façade of the Art Museum. Looking north up Broad, I saw the ramshackle Divine Lorraine Hotel looming above the other buildings. I know I will visit them before summer's end, but for now, I'm on my way home. One down. 167 to go.