In 2019, I sought to reclaim a plot of land beside our house, and make it friendly for pollinators and birds. A few store bought plants were placed. The remaining sections were planted with a mixture of wildflower seed and bird seed. In the weeks that followed the garden filled in – both in surprising … Read more
We were invited to Hammonton, New Jersey, to participate in a press conference by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The purposes was to announce the recently awarded Main Street New Jersey Transformation Grants. While there we discovered a downtown that was experiencing a resurgence driven by entertainment and the arts. The Eagle Theatre … Read more
City Kitchen is just off Broadway on an upper floor and part of a growing Food Hall movement. Several businesses share a large space rather than the high cost of owning independent buildings or storefronts. The effect is with more offerings people will go out of their way to visit the Food Hall knowing greater … Read more
We found this brewery in what was formerly a storefront at an outlet center with over 100 stores. Changing patterns in retail and consumer tastes and preferences prefigured the location of a store like this here. We noted how many elements traditional to a beer garden or beer hall were incorporated to this indoor setting, … Read more
These bistro tables and stools, and a rectangular umbrella show how even the narrowest spaces can be creatively adapted for outdoor dining. While the same building, these storefronts make themselves visually distinct with their differing paint and awnings. On the far right of the photo is a staircase leading to a bookstore in the basement … Read more
The 30th Street Station in Philadelphia became a place for some excitin innovation in November 2011. This is when a drive for vehicle pick-up and drop-off was converted to a people-friendly plaza. This was achieved through the addition of food trucks, a beer garden, plantings, and plenty of space for people to spread out.
The SOMA Bench is an ingenious way to make a piece of useful furniture out of a single shipping pallet, a 2×6 and some scrap lumber we had on hand. Community leaders went through an iterative design process where they weighed a variety of options, before inventing this unique seating configuration.
The Catholic faith was brought from Maryland about 1730 to Conewago, which became an important Jesuit Mission foundation. From here the faith spread over a great area of Pennsylvania and Western Maryland. A log chapel built in 1741 was replaced in 1787 by the present building – the oldest stone Catholic Church in the United … Read more
