The addition of garages came in the 20's once it was realized that cars would be the norm. I grew up in Feltonville (north Philly) where you can see how the houses progessed, south of Wyoming Ave had no garage, North had garages but the primary blue prints were the same. My victorian twin had no garage so I rented one a block away in a row of garages designed much like the new self storage places.
BTW Neil, check your date on your computer. Richard Hotchkiss http://www.hotstrings-inc.com > From: "HarvestMoon3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: "HarvestMoon3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 19:20:57 -0500 > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [UC] gentrification of west philadelphia > > An elderly neighbor on our block (who passed away 15 years ago or so) moved > to her row house on 45th St. when she was a young girl of 4 or 5 yrs old. > She moved in when the house was brand new -- I think 1917, but some say > 1920. (This is the 500 block of S. 45th St. where ther houses on the west > side are rowhouses, but the houses on the east side are Victorian twins.) > She told me that the Victorian twin houses across the street were owned by > upper-middle class people, and the families kept their automobiles garaged > in the building that now houses Fiesta Pizza and Wayne's Garage and several > other businesses. I think she said this used to be a stable for horses and > horse-drawn carriages, too. She said that the people would call for their > drivers (carriages or cars) to bring around their "transport" from the > garage/stable. I'm not sure, but it may have been illegal to park a car on > residential streets at the time. (Does anyone know?) > > The houses on the west side of 45th St have garages, as do all the houses > built in the 20's in the UC area. So, these houses were for people who had > the means to own these newfangled contraptions. The large apartment > buildings in UC of the era were also typically grand-looking. So, this was > not a down-and-out area, by any stretch of the imagination. But, I bet the > people who owned the grand twin houses on our block were a bit miffed that > the row houses built across the street were for people who may have been a > step down in social class from their own status. This is only conjecture on > my part. Does anyone know? > > The article posted by Lauren has a paragragh about parking that is very > apropos to discussions here: > > "The car in itself is not suburban. But it is suburban to > expect your very own parking space in the city." > > Neil Lifson > ---- Original Message ----- > From: "Kyle Cassidy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 3:33 PM > Subject: [UC] gentrification of west philadelphia > > >> wasn't UC at one point in time already gentrified? my understanding was >> that in the early part of the 20th century, this was a pretty ritzy place > to >> live. the house i live in now was, i believe, built as a single family >> residence, but when i moved in, 9 years ago, it had been subdivided into >> four apartments and there were 13 people living here. there were three > women >> living across the street, all in their 80's and 90's who said "this block >> used to be so nice!" >> >> i have very ambivilant feelings about gentrificatin, though i don't find >> myself yearning for the halcyon days when few of my neighbors lived in the >> same place for more than six or eight months at a time. and i would really >> like to see a single family move into the house next door which, if > nothing >> else, would probably cut down on the number of sofas and box springs which >> end up in the front yard there rotting in the rain.... >> >> kc >> ---- >> You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the >> list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see >> <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. > > ---- > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the > list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see > <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. > ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
