The Calvary Center for Culture and Community (CCCC), a nonprofit created by Calvary United Methodist Church in 2000 to manage staffing, space rental and fundraising related to the Calvary building, is in the process of restructuring its governance, organizational structure, and business model. The organization is hosting an informal meet-and-greet with current CCCC Board members, Calvary United Methodist Church leadership and other community stakeholders, on Monday, Dec. 11, 5-6 p.m.

The purpose of the gathering is three-fold:

1. To provide important updates on the Calvary building, including plans to restructure the CCCC Board to provide for broader community representation and more effective management and maintenance.

2. To encourage networking and relationship-building in support of Calvary’s ongoing function as a critical center of community activity.

3. To invite your consideration as to how you (and/or your office/organization) might be involved in or otherwise support the CCCC’s mission going forward.

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The Blanche A. Nixon Library after renovation (rendering image).

Rebuild Philadelphia, the City’s program that invests in public spaces, broke ground on a major renovation project for the historic Blanche A. Nixon Library located in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia (at 58th and Baltimore).

“Built in the 1900s, the Blanche A. Nixon Library requires critical accessibility improvements to equitably meet the needs of all the residents it serves,” Mayor Jim Kenney said at the groundbreaking ceremony held last week. “The renovations at Blanche are set to transform and restore this historic building into a clean, safe, modern, and accessible community asset for many generations to come.”

A community staple within the Cobbs Creek neighborhood, the Blanche A. Nixon Library is undergoing major renovations thanks to Rebuild’s $8.5 million investment, which includes nearly $1.7 million in grants including $250,000 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and $1.4 million in federal Community Project Funding (CPF) for ADA upgrades to the library, secured by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

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The map of proposed improvements to Clark Park.

The Master Plan process for Clark Park, which began last year, has been recently completed and now The Friends of Clark Park group is working with the City on a final plan. This new plan will help expand the park’s impact on the community, proponents say. It includes nature-based playgrounds (see image below), a multi-height basketball hoop, a permanent bathroom, and many other improvements to the park (see more details and images here). By the way, this is the first Clark Park master plan approved by the City since 2006!

To help the plan move forward, The Friends of Clark Park is seeking community support and Giving Tuesday has kicked off their first fundraising drive. The all-volunteer group is hoping that community members will support the plan with their donations, “no matter how small.”

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The “Black Bottom” archeological excavation site at the Community Education Center near 35th and Lancaster (Photos by Tony West).

The archeological exploration of the oldest urban area in West Philly wrapped up on Nov. 17 at the Community Education Center (CEC). The dig revealed traces of the suburb of Greenville, where highways from Lancaster and Chester met rail lines on flat ground at the Market St. bridge across the Schuylkill River. Parts of Greenville, including the excavation site, became known as the “Black Bottom” after 1915.

The Black Bottom was a mostly African American community situated between 32nd and 40th Streets near Market, a neighborhood between what is now the Penn and Drexel campuses to the south and the Powelton and Mantua neighborhoods to the north that was razed over time to make way for “urban renewal” beginning in the 1960s. The area later became what is now considered University City.

Heritage West: West Philadelphia Community Archeology Project, led by Penn Anthropology Professors Meg Kassabaum and Sarah Linn, has been conducting archaeological digs in area since 2019. The project included close study of historical archives of the area, followed by a ground-penetrating radar survey. The team also collected oral histories of the neighborhood from members of the Black Bottom Tribe organization and the Lancaster Ave. 21st Century Business Association.

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The annual Philadelphia Marathon returns this weekend, with events taking place from Friday, Nov. 17 through Sunday, Nov. 19. Two main events, a half-marathon and marathon will be held on Saturday and Sunday respectively. As always, the marathon events that draw thousands of visitors and participants, will shut down many roads in the city. Here is a summary of what roads and streets in West Philly will be closed to accommodate runners. Also, check out information below on cheer zones. Race maps are available here.

Both races kick off at Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 7 a.m.

Cheering zones for Saturday’s Half-Marathon:

• 33rd and Walnut Street
• 33rd and Market Street
• 34th and Girard Avenue (Philadelphia Zoo)

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The Gray 30th Street Station after renovation (an artist rendering).

Community members are invited this Thursday to a Public Open House meeting to learn more about a major renovation project at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station. The meeting will take place from 4-7 p.m. on November 16 at the station (behind Amtrak Ticket Office). It is hosted by Amtrak and Plenary Infrastructure Philadelphia (PIP), the private contractor that will implement and maintain the station improvements for the next 50 years as part of a public-private partnership agreement.

The project is being implemented in phases. The design phase began in 2021 and the construction phase, which is also divided in phases/milestones, is scheduled to begin this Fall. Amtrak operations will continue during the renovation period.

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