We are pleased to extend the coalition of civic partners involved with The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia into South Jersey with the addition of the Camden County Historical Society. Watch for items from the CCHS collections to be featured in the image galleries that accompany topics of regional interest.
Civic Engagement
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New Civic Partner:
Global Philadelphia Association
The mission of the Global Philadelphia Association is "to assist—and to encourage greater interaction among—the many organizations and people who are engaged in international activity in the Greater Philadelphia Region, to promote the development of an international consciousness within the region, and to enhance the region’s global profile." We are pleased to have Global Philadelphia as a new civic partner, as well as to add The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia to the membership roll of Global Philadelphia. To find out more about Global Philadelphia, visit the association's web site, and to learn more about Philadelphia's global heritage, visit our "Philadelphia and the World" content theme.
Philadelphians and Their Neighborhoods
Albert Lee, one of the discussion facilitators at our recent "City of Neighborhoods, City of Homes" roundtable program, provides this account of his group's conversation:
Make no mistake. Philadelphians are passionate. Whether it's sports, food, or where they live, you know what they’re thinking at all times. Call it a blessing or a curse, but it’s nothing if not honest.
For the last program in the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable Series, the topic was Philadelphia: City of Neighborhoods, City of Homes.
Here is a sample of where people call home and why:
“I lived in Mayfair until I was 21. I have since moved to University City near the University of Pennsylvania. I loved NE Philly. I loved the family atmosphere and being able to converse with neighbors on our stoops. Here at U City, there are lots of students. It feels like an extension of Center City. You can get access to all kinds of cuisine. There is so much diversity and everything is at your fingertips. In Northeast Philly, everything was a little homogeneous with many moving to the suburbs. “
“I moved from the Northeast to Wissahickon and just absolutely love all the green and easy access to public transit.”
“I’ve lived in Rittenhouse for 25-30 years. I’m not a native, but my family is from here. It’s close to everything. I work in Center City. I don’t have or need a car. I just walk everywhere. I love it.”
“We’re from Minnesota and used to live in an all-white area. We have lived here for four years in Brewerytown. We wanted an adventure and we got it. Culturally, it’s an edgy place since it’s going through some big changes. We see our building as a tight-knit community because everyone is from someplace else. We have that as a bond. We’ve tried to communicate with the home-grown folks as well, a.k.a. the locals. In fact, we’ve signed another lease for three more years.”
“I grew up in Torresdale. I used to take the 66 Bus and the El everywhere. When I lived there, it wasn’t too diverse. It’s still a bit homogeneous but I’ve seen some positive change and it’s only going to get better.
“I was born in New York and lived in North Jersey. I chose to live in Philly and called Rittenhouse home since the 80s. Rittenhouse Square is such a hodgepodge. From the blue-haired ladies to the young mothers, to the artists, people talking to themselves and just the whatever - It’s all races, all economic backgrounds, it’s my favorite spot in the city.
“I don’t live in Philly but plan on moving back. My family moved here in 1955 and lived in Society Hill. In 1960, they moved to the Northeast. Everything was beginning to develop. Folks didn’t have a car until 1962. I remember taking the bus to Drexel. It’s a great city.
Thanks to Al and to all of our volunteers for making the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable series such a great success.
A Strong Finish: City of Neighborhoods
We had another full house this week to conclude the current series of the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable. If you missed it, you can read JoAnn Greco's coverage in PlanPhilly, and we will soon post a written summary and audio recording of the discussion. Our thanks to everyone who supported and participated in our year-long series of explorations of Philadelphia's famous phrases, from the City of Brotherly Love to City of Neighborhoods. Watch for announcements of future programs.
Northeast Philly Spreads the Word
We're pleased to see a report of the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable program, "Workshop of the World," on NortheastPhilly.com. Thanks for joining us for this discussion, and we hope you'll join us again for the "Corrupt and Contented" discussion on November 15.
Added Features for This Week’s Roundtable, “Workshop of the World”
We're looking forward to our next program in the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable series -- "Workshop of the World," coming up this Wednesday, October 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Tacony branch of the Free Library. Registration is open on our events page, and our new essay on this theme, written by Walter Licht of the University of Pennsylvania, is now published on our web site.
For those who are attending Wednesday, we are pleased to let you know of a couple of added features for the event. First, light refreshments will be available prior to the program, so feel free to arrive anytime after 6 p.m. and enjoy some food and informal conversation prior to the program. Also, we will conclude the evening with the short film about Tacony, "Bridging Yesterday with Tomorrow," which was produced as part of Scribe Video Center's Precious Places Community History Project. Looking forward to another informative, enlightening, and enjoyable discussion of Philadelphia's history and experience!
“Cradle of Liberty” Program Featured on C-SPAN
This spring more than 400 people in the Philadelphia area participated in the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable, our series of public programs to help shape The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. The Encyclopedia team and our partners at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania organized this year-long series of programs focusing on major themes in Philadelphia’s history. With funding from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, each program is preceded by an essay published in The Philadelphia Inquirer and on the web site of WHYY’s Newsworks.org. The June 23 program on the theme “Cradle of Liberty,” held at the National Constitution Center, was taped by C-Span and is now available for viewing online in the C-SPAN Video Library.
National Attention for the Encyclopedia Project
The latest issue of the newsletter of the National Council on Public History includes a report on our civic engagement activities. Link to the newsletter here and scroll to Page 7.
Green Country Town: Imagining the Future
One of our goals in the Encyclopedia project is to connect the past with the present, and another is to inspire forward-looking responses to public issues. These goals certainly were evident at our May 10 roundtable program on "The Green Country Town," which began with this phrase from William Penn but also generated a lively discussion of ideas for the future. In addition to the topic suggestions we received for the Encyclopedia (now posted with our other topics nominations), our comment cards yielded a number of suggestions for city parks. Among them:
- Use parks to teach horticultural plant care.
- Make Logan Circle a pedestrian park again.
- Redesign Independence Mall.
- Use vacant land for temporary sculptures and parks.
- Close Kelly Drive to traffic.
- Connect green spaces in the city with signage or deliberate planting or physical connections between green/open spaces.
The Scribe of Camden
Howard Gillette -- whose dedication to the Encyclopedia project shaped our vision of a regional information gateway, based in civic engagement -- is featured prominently in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. The column by Kevin Riordan focuses on Gillette's research on the postindustrial history of the City of Camden in addition to his work to promote inclusive public history projects such as the President's House site in Philadelphia. Read the article.