Market Street’s ‘Disney Hole’ parking lot is sinking (again)
Once the home of Gimbels department store and the site of a failed attempt to build a DisneyQuest, the land at 8th and Market is now just a parking lot.
- Now that lot appears to be sinking. And not for the first time, according to Center City District’s Paul Levy, who recalled describing the void in Philly’s downtown as “the only self-excavating site in the city.”
The property owner didn’t return comment on the undulating pavement, Meir Rinde reports, but city safety inspectors could be on the way.
10 of Philadelphia’s best summer traditions
With Friday’s high temp expected to top 90°F, it’s definitely feeling like summer, which means the return of only-in-Philly warm weather activities.
- Slurping water ice, for example, since other cities’ frozen treats don’t have quite the right texture. Or throwing block parties — although that Philadelphia tradition might be in danger of dying out.
From picnics on Belmont Plateau to (illegally) wading in Swann Fountain, we run down 10 of the best. Is your fave on the list?
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
• The arsonist who set the Christmas Eve fire at Carpenters Hall apparently used archival documents in the basement as kindling to set the historic building ablaze. [Axios]
• There’s a new lawsuit in the yearslong tussle over the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza: An Italian American group is suing the mayor and Historical Commission over attempts to remove it. [BP 2022/Inquirer$]
• The Free Library confirmed it’s preparing for possible protests of Pride events when Moms for Liberty, a group behind school board book bans, holds its national conference in Philly later this month. [PGN/WHYY]
• Responding to crowds of young people on Memorial Day, Mayor Kenney noted, “We can’t keep kids from gathering.” It’s not a new issue — some stores were banning teens in 2019 — but the city offers few places for kids to hang out. [CBS3/BP 2019/Inquirer$]
• Philadelphia has a rich community garden scene, but the plots are often at risk of development. Four local high school students report on the situation. [Billy Penn]
• Marc Vetri’s Pizzeria Salvy, named after his dad, is now open in the underground concourse at the Comcast Technology Center. [Philly Grub]
MAYOR WATCH
The North America’s Building Trades Union president is in town, and Mayor Kenney joins him to showcase the Laborer’s District Council’s North Broad training center (10 a.m.). Down at the Linc, Kenney draws placements for the annual Unity Cup soccer tournament (1 p.m.), and then heads to Eastern State Penitentiary for the Rebuild Masonry Academy graduation ceremony (2 p.m.).
ON THE CALENDAR
🪩 Dock Street Brewery hosts a free Pride Day Party featuring disco, live music, beer, and LGBTQ artists and makers showcasing their work. There’s also a raffle. (1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3)
🏡 The popular DIY music festival known as West Philly Porchfest returns with free shows on patios all over the neighborhood — anyone can host or play. (12 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 3)
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