Antique Row Shops Say End Is Nigh

Last week’s Center City Weekly Press did not contain any Bob Jovi references or 2003 Super Bowl previews. But it did contain a dire prediction for Antique Row!

The quaint strip of stores from 7th-13th and Pine St., which sell everything from antique books, collectibles, jewelry, furniture, household decor as well as gifts might soon cease to exist.

Oh no! Did somebody put Wilson Goode back in charge and have him drop a bomb on the whole strip?

Hmm, I see. Seems that the Philadelphia Water Department’s proposed “Pine Street Storm Relief Project” will rip up the street and sidewalks for two years, and the Antique Rowners (those are owners of shops on Antique Row, duh) are calling it the end times. For their shops, at least.

Says John Arneth of Adornamenti: “Business depends a lot on foot traffic. Wooden planks would be installed on the sidewalks and the kinds of people who shop along Pine St. are not going to want to walk along them.” Totally true. Those antique shoppers on Pine Street hate boardwalks. Hate ‘em! When they go down the shore, they go to Sea Isle City, because it has a promenade instead.

It’s almost certain the business owners are not playing Chicken Little here; construction usually impacts businesses, especially when it lasts for several years. (Plus, the Rowners say, this project will rip out all the trees!) But apparently the city needs to tear up some street for two years in order to prevent raw sewage from leaking into the basements of homes in the River Wards. However! The project was also going to go down the entire of pine street, but the Richie Riches of Society Hill — armed with the backing of the ghost of Edmund Bacon — put a stop to it. It’s war between the upper class and upper middle class!

Oh, and in case you’re worried about the potential construction on your favorite beer place, the Foodery, please don’t be alarmed.

“The only businesses that might not be seriously impacted,” added Arneth would be restaurants like Pine St. Pizza, Mixto or the Foodery, “because people will find a way to buy their beer.”

I have a solution: Do the construction, but let the shops on Antique Row sell beer. It’s a win-win!

Philadelphia Water Department puts Antique Row in jeopardy [Weekly Press via DesignPhiladelphia]

Photo by waving at you used under a Creative Commons license