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Apr
17
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The mayoral candidates all have plans to save the city, but Michael Nutter might have hit the nail on the head (or other clichés) with his newest proposal. One of his proposals is, if he’s elected mayor, he’ll launch an official line of Philadelphia-themed gear.
Of course, this is a great idea, since if anyone should be ripping off tourists at insanely high prices for crap gear, it should be the city, not independent vendors. Nutter says his “Philly Gear” plan could earn the city $1 million in revenue a year. It’s modeled after NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan for New York-themed gear; he thinks the original five boroughs could get $20 mil a year in revenue.
Nutter isn’t done there, though. It’s not just t-shirts and hats, please.
“Street signs, fire hydrants, there’s all kinds of novelty things you can do,” Nutter said. “We should have a restaurant on the first floor of City Hall. This is the sort of innovation we need.”
Correct. Every time I walk by City Hall, I think, “Damn, what this permanently under construction building needs is a restaurant in it. Ooh, maybe another Applebee’s!”
Update: And here’s New York City’s store.
Nutter envisions a Philly line of goods [Inquirer via Philebrity]
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dmac | 1:32 PM | 2 Comments
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Jan
16
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Earlier today, I wrote about the two break-ins at City Hall and the man shot by police on Sunday morning. But never did I think the two stories would intersect!
No, really, I didn’t. I mean, who would think they’d cross paths? That’d be a pretty wild guess. Well, anyway, they are connected. The Inquirer’s Patrick Kerkstra reports that 26-year-old Charles Kelly — shot by police Sunday morning at 9th and Market streets after lunging at them with a steak knife and shouting “Kill me!” — is the same man who broke into City Hall and took Anna Verna’s Bible and trashed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court offices. The knife he wielded at police was the same one he took from Verna’s office.
Officials say Verna is well-known for ordering 16-pound steaks to her office, hence the steak knife.
Okay, I made that last part up. But somehow everything else is actually true. I guess if you’re going to go out, might as well break into City Hall beforehand.
Man killed by police had broken into City Hall [Inquirer]
Photo courtesy of Brad Maule of Phillyskyline
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dmac | 3:30 PM | 0 Comments
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Nov
30
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Peace on Earth, and good will toward all men.
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dmac | 11:09 AM | 1 Comment
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Nov
16
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Brad Maule at Philly Skyline recently reported that the scaffolding at City Hall is finally coming down. Not all of it, mind you, but the scaffolding on top, which was protecting sculptures by Alexander Milne Calder. After about three years, though, the restoration work is finally done and the scaffolding is set to unveil the newly-fixed up sculptures of eagles, Swedes and Indians.
Here’s how Philly Skyline describes the restorations:
Well, as one might imagine for sculptures with over a century’s worth of Philadelphia weathering (half of which was infused with the soot and exhaust of Broad Street Station directly across the street), the bronze sculptures were suffering from severe corrosion. CSOS treated each sculpture and used lasers to remove the corrosion, so as to leave no residue (and to protect pedestrians below). Then, a clear lacquer coating was applied to drive out moisture and protect the sculptures from the elements. (Billy Penn himself has a similar coating from his 1987 cleaning.)
It’s nice to see that the city — okay, and Pew Charitable Trusts and the Getty Grant Program, which funded it — does indeed care about keeping this city somewhat attractive. Look for a scaffolding-free top of City Hall within a few weeks. Hooray!
When the scaffolding goes down [Phillyskyline]
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dmac | 10:50 AM | 0 Comments
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Nov
13
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The wait is over.
The city’s first public toilet is here.
All citizens, rejoice! In a brief ceremony — yes, a ceremony — the Oz-like curtains were removed from around the pay toilet, which is now operational for just a quarter on the north side of City Hall.
One connected man — even with pay toilets, it’s how everything gets done in this city — was chosen to be the first to take the celebratory flush.
“If you compare this toilet to a typical Port-O-John, the difference is night and day,” says James Lewis, the director of facilities and public property for the city, and the pay toilet’s first user. “It was a really wonderful experience,” he said of being the first one to flush the city’s newest addition.
Amen, I say. This toilet opening clearly is the beginning of a new golden age for our fair city. Take that, Julia Vitullo-Martin!
New era is public toilets is here [Metro]
Archives: Pay Toilets
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dmac | 1:29 PM | 621 Comments
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Nov
2
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Yes, folks, there it is. The eagerly awaited pay toilet on the north side of City Hall is here! Although the 25-cent flusher isn’t open yet — and is indeed guarded by a gate — we are all only a few days away from the toilet’s official launch.
The Daily News updates the pay toilet story today, making note of John Street’s amazing tenacity in making sure Philly has a pay toilet, and making sure it’s just outside of City Hall. So, y’know, if any Council members need to use it.
The toilet, though, isn’t even Philadelphia’s to keep. It’s a toilet on loan from Boston. Yes, Boston has six public pay toilets, but one of them was shipped down to Philly for a three-month trial run. (And it’s from a German company!)
There is, however, an emergency phone, in case you strain yourself while taking a shit. The toilet is from Wall Corp., which says it’s “the Mercedes-Benz of the street-furniture industry.” There’s a 25 minute time limit, after which the doors will just spring open. It’s only available during the day and also self-cleans in 50 seconds!
Is there anything this toilet can’t do? This being Philadelphia, the city’s Boston-loaned toilet won’t quite have the same luster as as the ones in Beantown:
Although Boston has a program to give tokens to homeless people to operate the toilets, the city will keep the 25-cent charge in place during the pilot period.
Hooray! Thanks, Mayor Street!
At your disposal, a new-age toilet [Daily News]
Oct. 20: Freedom To Flush (For A Quarter)
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dmac | 1:34 PM | 3 Comments
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Oct
20
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I have to commend John Street. He saw a problem. He leaped into action. He found a solution. He implemented it.
And now Philadelphia has one more high-tech pay toilet at City Hall than it had before.
Oh, yes. Within a week, the city’s first pay toilet — costing a cool 25 cents — will open at City Hall, possibly in William Penn’s hat. It apparently sanitizes itself after every use within 50 seconds, although waiting for a minute outside a stupid pay toilet for almost a minute after the previous person is done seems pretty annoying.
Still, a sanitized bathroom for a quarter at City Hall. What does KYW 1060’s Mike Dunn think about it?
Public property commissioner Joan Schlotterbeck says that first pay toilet will be ready to flush in about a week, and it will cost just a quarter to use:
“Walk into the space, use the facility, doors open after you’ve finished, and the entire inside is sanitized and prepared for the next use.”
(Dunn:) “All for 25 cents. That’s a bargain.”
“I would think so.”
A bargain. Indeed.
City Hall to Get High-Tech Pay Toilet [KYW 1060]
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dmac | 10:03 AM | 2 Comments
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Jul
26
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• Breaking: Philly dropped from Olympic contention. Shocker, we know. Houston also dropped. Details TK. Update: Here are the aforementioned details from KYW 1060 and the Inky.
• Philly Future says that if they’re sold, they’ll be sharing the profits with you, the user! They also say “Driving an Hyundai like myself bub?” Ahh, yes, I can see the venture capitalists lining up to buy Philly Future any day now, and with Karl sharing the dough, Her Alter Ego will have enough bolding and capital letters to last a lifetime. [Philly Future]
• The New York Times loves City Hall! Add it to the list of things that the NYT hearts about Philly — that’s hipsters, the Liberty Bell, the Art Museum, Pat’s Steaks (probably), etc. — STAT! (Related: A very angry comment on Phillyist.) [NYT]
• The head of the prison guards’ union agrees with the lawsuit filed that claims poor conditions in Philly’s jails. So you know it’s bad. [Metro]
• Oh, and that stripper with the human hand in a jar? She skipped her court date today. Why are we (and the Daily News, and 50 other local blogs) writing about this even though it’s not really anywhere near Philly? Oh, right: She’s a stripper with a human hand in a jar. [AP/Philly.com]
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dmac | 4:46 PM | 1 Comment
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May
22
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• Teens and council members in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, have struck a deal to “Let them play! Let them play!” in a game of outdoor Laser Tag at dusk. Both teens are excited about their upcoming battle. [AP/6 ABC]
• A poll of local Philadelphians showed that we care most about the environment when choosing a mayor. Wait, really? Are you sure? I care most about getting out of the voting booth so I don’t have to go back for another year, and I feel most of my friends are like that, too. In response to this poll, though, Chaka Fattah has started planting flowers at Broad and Oregon, and he’s moving North until he’s cleaned up this damned city! [Inquirer]
• Four Philadelphia bars are on Beer Advocate’s list of 50 best places to have a beer in the United States, including Tria, oddly enough. Monk’s is the highest-ranked bar at number 16. (Ludwig’s Garden and Grey Lodge are also on the list.) [Beer Advocate via Blinq]
• City Hall has been named a “Civil Engineering Landmark” by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It has also, coincidentally, been named “The Best Building Ever In The History of the World” by the American Society for Refurbishing Delays. [KYW 1060]
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dmac | 2:17 PM | 0 Comments
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