Before the winter storm hit on Friday, a large sinkhole had opened up on 40th Street between Walnut and Chestnut, closing the block down to traffic (and plows). The weekend storm delayed the sinkhole repairs. Here are a few photos taken today on the block:
And here’s the sinkhole:
According to a West Philly Local reader, who posted a comment on the site, there is a creek that runs under the street and “there used to be a door under the Free Library on the corner (might still be) that you could open and see the creek.” Reportedly, there is a brick arch covering it, but the bricks are more than 100 years old.
January 25th, 2016 at 1:44 pm
how is this effecting access to the Fresh Grocer and their ability to restock their shelves?
January 25th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
We should open these creeks up to the public, perhaps open a museum for kids to learn about rainwater runoff.
We could even start a gondola service, perhaps through the tunnels, down to another opening at clark park.
Obviously safety and crime are minor concerns. Also, the question as to whether open sewers empty into this part of the skuylkill. Either way, a little sewerage never bothered me.
January 25th, 2016 at 3:18 pm
This is Gods gift to us, a natural spring! We should keep it open for all locals to come and sing songs and to drink from the ulmighty hole!
January 25th, 2016 at 6:09 pm
The “creek” that runs under Clark Park was turned into a sewer long ago; Doesn’t sound like a great gondola ride.
January 26th, 2016 at 11:02 am
Yeah, pretty much all of the “creeks” were turned into sewers by the dawn of the 20th century. Some pretty gnarly collapses over the last 150 years have swallowed houses and killed people. The entire 4300 block of Sansom aka the Shop n Bag collapsed in 1955 because of a sewer.
Mill Creek’s the most famous (runs down 43rd to the Clark Park “bowl,” which used to be a mill pond, and then into the Schuylkill), so I’m not sure which creek this one at 40th/Walnut would be. Maybe a spur? At any rate, a lot of the subsidence/sinkholes/issues with water runoff that we see here in West Philly, particularly north and west of 43rd/Chestnut, can be explained by our aging and environmentally unfriendly water management system. It still impacts our homes and roads today!
The best read ever about West Philly history and landscape literacy: http://www.annewhistonspirn.com/pdf/SpirnMillCreek2005.pdf.
January 26th, 2016 at 2:42 pm
We had one around this time last year too, but around 47th-ish if I remember correctly. Sinkholes and West Philly seem to have a deep relationship.
January 26th, 2016 at 2:47 pm
Yep. It was on the 4600 block of Spruce: https://www.westphillylocal.com/2015/01/18/large-sinkhole-on-4600-block-of-spruce-traffic-on-detour/