South Street, Philadelphia
A walk along South Street
(Photos ©urban75, Dec 2006, words, ©Siobhan Lyons March 2008)

Now a major tourist attraction, South Street, Philadelphia is an east-west street in the centre of the city, with the stretch between Front Street and Seventh Street being the main hangout for boho-hipster types.

We are deeply indebted to Siobhan for offering her local insights!.


Tattooed Mom's, 530 South Street
Popular dive bar with an eclectic crowd - loud music, pool tables, free toys and cheap beer. Well worth a visit.


Lorenzo's and Sons Pizza, 305 South Street.


Jon's Bar and Grille, 606 South 3rd Street

Established in 1982, this South Street bar and restaurant is located on the site where comedian Larry Fine (of the Three Stooges) was born eighty years earlier in October, 1902. You will find some Stooge memorabilia in the bar and, with two outdoor patios, Jon's is a great place to drink a few beers and enjoy the South Street show. Mural by David McShane (1999)
David McShane bio
Mural history




Murals above Lorenzo and Son's Pizza, 305 South Street


Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA), 334 South Street

Theatre of the Living Arts is a live music venue that holds about a thousand people for standing-room only gigs. The name comes from an experimental theatre group based in the building in the mid-sixties, which was founded by two local producers, Celia Silverman and Jean Goldman.

Convinced of Philadelphia's need for a professional repertory theatre, Silverman, Goldman and a group of their friends raised the money to convert the cinema on South Street into a theatre and founded the Southwark Theatre Company under the direction of Andre Gregory (My Dinner with Andre).

The company was an immediate critical success and provided a launching pad for many then-unknown actors such as Morgan Freeman, Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch and Sally Kirkland. Within two years however, the theatre was in financial trouble, and the company collapsed in 1970.

In 1971, the theatre reopened as an art house cinema where, fittingly, the founders of Philadelphia's finest art video chain, TLA Video, met. TLA Entertainment Group has since expanded to include a theatrical distribution arm and also organizes two of the most prestigious film festivals in the United States: the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the Philadelphia Film Festival
Philadelphia Film Festival




Copabanana, 344 South Street

Established in 1978, this bar and restaurant is famous for its margaritas, burgers and "Spanish fries", which are really just chips with fried onions and jalapenos, but tasty nonetheless.
Copabanana


Murals on the side of Phila Deli, 410 South Street. Take note: this deli sells beer!


Condom Kingdom, 437 South Street

Because everyone needs penis-shaped pasta.




Wooden Shoe Books, 508 South 5th Street

Philadelphia's all volunteer anarchist bookstore and infoshop. The building once housed the radical Jewish anarchist newspaper Forward - and if you look down as you step across the threshold, you can still see the original name tiled on the front step.
Wooden Shoe Books



For Pete's Sake, 900 South Front Street

A favourite neighbourhood pub with a real Irish barman to go with your Guinness. Fine selection of whiskeys and beer, and the food's not bad either.

For Pete's Sake



'Brazilian Rainforest' on Sixth and South

Mural on the former site of a McDonald's (closed in 2005). Mural by Dietrich Adonis, Jane Golden and Alvino Pearson.


Bean Café, 615 South Street

With free newspapers and superb coffee, this laid-back coffeeshop is one of many in the neighbourhood giving Starbucks a run for its money.


Another view inside the Bean Café.




Old electrics sign.


Closed store.


Large chunks of South Street were very run down.


Some wool shop I got dragged off to.


Old building on 18th Street.


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