Walking the Eraserhood: 13th and Wood Streets

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“Walking the Eraserhood” represents an ongoing street-level exploration of the Callowhill district and surrounding environs, a sort of virtual walking tour of the neighborhood. This is the first installment in the series.

This is the corner colorfully referred to as “The Heart of the Eraserhood.” On the southeast corner of this intersection is the site where David Lynch first lived when he studied at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA). Lynch reports he lived, “right kitty-corner from the morgue,” which still stands on the northwest corner of the intersection, now serving an annex to the main building of Roman Catholic High School, around the block at Broad and Vine streets. On the northeast corner of this intersection stands the historic Heid building, a pivotal site in the formation of the Callowhill Industrial Historic District (CIHD).

Blight and Vacancy at Two Corners of 12th & Spring Garden | NakedPhilly

 

Blight and Vacancy at Two Corners of 12th & Spring Garden | NakedPhilly

At 12th & Spring Garden, the southwest corner features a property that looks positively awful, as our friend GroJLart wrote in the City Paper this spring (though we’ve hyperlinked his story, the link now curiously doesn’t work). It’s the site of a derelict former car repair shop that looks like it’s a Hollywood representation of a gas station after the bombs fell. It’s right across the street from the still-gorgeous Church of the Assumption, which continues to stand despite the probability of demolition in the name of development.

Blight and Vacancy at Two Corners of 12th & Spring Garden | NakedPhilly.