As the neighborhood surrounding Temple University undergoes economic change, you can also trace the legacy of industrial change in this North Philadelphia neighborhood. I took a tour of the area primarily near 9th street close to the regional rail tracks. As a Geography & Urban Studies major you learn about specific sectors of the economy and their impact on cities. As the case in numerous industrialized nations industrial facilities have since, folded or moved operations overseas to developing nations. While I didn't expect to see a lot of industry in the area, I saw there were surprises and pitfalls.
My goal was to set out and find at least five places that have been home to an industry. The first stop was the now defunct factory known as J. McAlieer and Co. at 9th and Jefferson Sts. There was a company that specialized in making home furnish goods. A large portion of the building was still standing, but it had the look of a abandon building in a Hollywood movie. It gave a cold empty vibe, and you could tell it had been years, since workers had been in there. Across the street to the left of the building was an empty lot, which could've been much dirtier than it appeared to be. The few homes found near the factory were primarily abandoned or in bad condition. There was also trash scattered around the place.
Right next to the old furniture you could hear the echo of hammers bouncing off a bricks. We found workers turning a fallen into a business. Brick by brick, they were taking apart the eastern wall of the furniture building. There were at least three guys dismantling the wall, while one worker loaded the truck. It made me feel good to see, that there was some sort of income being derived from a building that hadn't been in use for at least two decades.
One block closer to Girard Avenue at 9th and Masters stood the Atlantic Manufacturing Company. At first glimpse it looked as if it was now a storage facility. Next door in a separated stood a converted boxing arena. You could hear a few people inside. I finally figured out that the storage facilities were used by different food vendors. They may store equipment for many of the venders lining Temple's campus everyday.
At 9th and Thompson stood another huge building, that had remodeling activity going on near by. It made wonder with all emphasis on student residential housing, could this building be under repair to house students? One quick peak inside an open door revealed that theory not to be the case. You could hear machines grinding in the front of the building , which was engraved with the 1904. I assume if that's the age of the building, its over a century old and still in use today. There was even a for rent sign, although I think it was being advertised for business purposes.
I suspect that the regional rail line running through the area has hurt industrial development in the area. Quite frankly no one wants to live up under a loud train track, nor do I believe businesses want to located here. Residential homes can be found at least one block away from the tracks in each direction. At night these areas could be prone to illegal activity, in part due to its isolated location, which doesn't help its attractiveness. Overall there was just little human activity in the area period. It made me wonder if the old industries in the area slowly wither away or did it happen over night? Where did all the people go when the industries left? The area is remarkably quiet. If you didn't hear the constant splatter of pigeon waste hit the ground, you'd feels as though you should be waiting for a tumble weed to bounce by, like a deserted town in an old western.
The pictures above (left) are the J.McAlieer Factory renants and Brickwall Dismantling site(right). Located on the bottom are photos of the old Atlantic Manufacturing Company(left) and "1904"Building (right)
Pictures taken by: Labaron Palmer
