At the corner of Lancaster and 38th, the curved facade of Hawthorne Hall stands just as it did 100 years ago when fraternal organizations and civic associations were its main occupants. But inside is a whole different story: cabinets have been transformed into doorways, attics into twisted dining halls, dust-covered rooms into art galleries.

This makeover is the work of the Rabid Hands Art Collective, which transformed the space into an art exhibit celebrating the building’s mysterious history for the 2013 Hidden City Festival.

Last weekend, the nonprofit news site Hidden City returned to Hawthorne Hall for a guided tour of the Powelton area. Powelton–bordered roughly by Lancaster Ave., Haverford, Race and 32nd Streets– is a mix of student housing and large Victorian mansions and duplexes.

Photos by Alex Vuocolo.

As tour guides Rachel Hildebrandt and Caroline Acheatel explained, Powelton was once home to a class of entrepreneurs and business managers from the mid-1800s that were excelling in new industrial fields. These individuals spread into West Philadelphia as railways and bridges were built across the Schuylkill River and the area’s large agricultural estates were subdivided into neighborhoods.

But Powelton is more than frat houses and old mansions. Hildebrandt and Acheatel, both employees at Partners for Sacred Places, guided the tour through a mix of inconspicuous cultural landmarks and historical buildings, including backyard museums, the building where Alfred Barnes (of The Barnes Foundation fame) built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and a church adapted for affordable apartments.

The tour’s strong suit was that it explored the interiors and unknown histories of places many of us pass by everyday.

The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum, for example, is just off Hamilton and 38th on a quiet stretch of residential homes. Without venturing down the museum’s alley entrance, you might never know that a courtyard formed from connected backyards contained original art from two generations of the Tiberino family.

The Cloisters, a church converted into apartments at Spring Garden and 38th, is equally discreet. Besides a large banner reading “now renting,” there is little to suggest that within its stone walls there are over 64 units of affordable housing.

To discover more of Philadelphia’s past, keep an eye out for Hidden City tours around the city.

– Alex Vuocolo

As West Philly Local reported, Mighty Writers  recently opened its West Philly location, Mighty Writers West, in the People’s Emergency Center at 3861 Lancaster Avenue. Mighty Writers West welcomed their first students on Monday:

Day 1 at MW West! pic.twitter.com/h5ovxudj1i

— Mighty Writers (@MightyWriters) September 16, 2013

One of the programs offered by Mighty Writers is a daily after-school Academy where students get help with their homework and learn how to produce informative, persuasive, narrative and poetry writing.

This free program runs from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the school year and spaces are still available for students in grades 3-8. To download an application, click here. For more information, visit: http://www.mightywriters.org/west-philly-academy/

Hawthorne Hall. Photo via Hiddencityphila.org.

West Philly neighbors and friends have a great opportunity to learn more about the Powelton and Garden Court neighborhoods and their hidden architectural gems at a series of neighborhood walking tours that begin on Saturday, Sept 21. Here’s more details:

• Two Powelton Village tours, organized by Hidden City, will take place on Saturday (Sept 21). Each event will start with a tour of Hawthorne Hall, home to a remarkable installation created for the 2013 Hidden City Festival. Then participants will get a chance to check out the Divine Tracy once owned by Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement, the Hotel Powelton (Albert Barnes’s first factory), the Cloister, a gorgeous church converted to apartments, and more.

The tours will be led by Rachel Hildebrandt, a writer for the Hidden City Daily, who has an MA in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and now works at Partners for Sacred Places, and Caroline Acheatel, who is also of Partners for Sacred Places.

The tour hours are: 1:00 p.m.  –  2:30 p.m. and 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. and the starting point is Hawthorne Hall, 3849 Lancaster Ave. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) and spots can be reserved here (Tour I) and here (Tour II).

• Also beginning Saturday, Sept 21, there will be a few chances to explore the Garden Court neighborhood. “Farm to Ford” is the name of this historical walking tour. Organized by Garden Court Community Association, it is scheduled for Sept 21, Oct 5, 12 and 19 (all Saturdays).

During this tour you will learn the history of the neighborhood from its rural beginnings to today. You will also find out which children’s author made her livelihood here and discover a “secret” garden typically closed to visitors.

The tours will run from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the starting point is in the courtyard of the Lea Elementary School, on 47th, between Spruce and Locust Streets. Tickets are only $5 (only cash accepted) and the organizers would appreciate if you RSVP at: GCCAtour@gmail.com. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

Photo: Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local

Already home to Philadanco and PhilaFunkLive, the seemingly quiet stretch of N. Preston Street between Market and Filbert Streets is buzzing with even more activity now that Inewsent Studios has claimed space in the historic Bell Telephone Exchange, which once served as a telecommunications enterprise in the early 1900s.

Opened in April, Inewsent, located on the second floor of the 113-year-old Georgian Revival building at 8 N. Preston Street, is a 12,000 square-foot independent multimedia complex meant to support independent journalists and artists living and creating in the city. It’s actually an extension of PhilaFunkLive (PFL), a sweeping 3,000 square-foot live performance hall and screening space in the Exchange that was founded by Powelton Village resident and real estate developer Michael Davis in 2007.

In addition to PFL, which hosts 12 – 15 bands a week, Inewsent houses two offices, three audio production studios, two additional 1,000 square-foot performance spaces in the basement, a 25-person call center, WINR Radio, WPFLTV, Cup O Soul Philly (a coffee shop only open during PFL events), and Inewsent Gallery, a permanent art space curated by Stephanie Santos and Lindsay Gilbert. In the future, Davis plans to also run an independent national news station out of Inewsent and is currently looking for a national news anchor and independent journalist in Philadelphia and 49 other cities across the country, from Alaska to Florida.

“Inewsent Studios provides performance spaces where independent artists can be seen and heard and also provides a productive, creative and collaborative environment,” said 52-year-old Davis, a former Army Military Police officer and Judge Advocate General who also runs his medical malpractice and criminal defense law practice out of the Exchange’s first floor. “I wanted to find the ‘best use’, do something fun and support independent artists, which is my passion.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

One of the Fresh Food Hub’s staff members, Mecca, showing off some brussel sprouts. (Courtesy of West Philadelphia Fresh Food Hub)

West Philadelphia Fresh Food Hub, a non-profit mobile market dedicated to improving nutritional education and access to affordable healthy, locally-grown food, will return to Powelton Village for its second season starting April 30.

At the Fresh Food Hub, West Philly residents will be able to purchase locally-grown and seasonal organic fruits and vegetables, as well as conventional produce, milk, local free range eggs, bread, healthy snacks, and fruit salad. Developed in collaboration between Preston’s Paradise and Greensgrow Farms, the market will operate between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at its regular 37th Street and Lancaster Avenue location and will travel to three local senior centers on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. It accepts cash, credit cards, EBT/SNAP, and FMNP senior coupons.

“Local and organic foods are crucial components to a sustainable food system,” said Julia Dougherty, food access coordinator for the AmeriCorps VISTA program at Drexel University, one of the Fresh Food Hub’s partners, “but it is most important for the Fresh Food Hub to increase overall fruit and vegetable consumption in its target neighborhoods to ensure that the customers’ basic nutritional needs are being met.”

The market will also serve as the pickup location for three CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs: Greensgrow CSA, which offers locally-grown vegetables, fruit, dairy, protein, and specialty items such as beer, honey, and pierogi; Neighborhood Foods CSA, which is focused on urban-grown produce, and offers local fruit, value-added products, honey, and flowers; and Greensgrow’s LIFE Box CSA, a low-cost option only available to customers receiving SNAP benefits.

“Traditionally, the large up-front deposits required by most CSAs prohibit low-income shoppers from enjoying the benefits of joining a CSA,” said Dougherty, whose role is to support the Fresh Food Hub through community outreach and partnership efforts. When enrolled in a CSA, clients pay dues at the start of the farming season in order to receive a weekly or bi-weekly box of local harvest. “But there are farms and organizations—such as Greensgrow and Greener Partners in Media/Collegeville—which are working to remove that financial barrier because they recognize the importance of incorporating educational components in food access work.”

According to Dougherty, profits from the Fresh Food Hub will go towards educational programming in the neighborhood, including cooking classes, nutrition education, and garden demonstrations at Drexel’s recently established Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, located on 35th and Spring Garden Streets.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/WPFoodHub.

Here is the complete 2013 Fresh Food Hub schedule as of this point:

Tuesdays – Fridays
2 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
37th and Lancaster (regular location)

Wednesdays
11 a.m.
Sunshine Senior Center
58th Street and Walnut Street

Thursdays
11 a.m.
St. Ignatius Senior Homes
44th Street and Fairmount Avenue

Fridays
11 a.m.
West Philadelphia Senior Community Center
41st Street and Poplar Street

Saturdays
Available to travel to special events in the community

– Annamarya Scaccia

A Powelton Village resident, Mark, is fostering a mama cat that gave birth to three kittens under his porch last month. He is looking for a home for all of them since he already has three cats of his own. The mother will be spayed soon, and Mark will also pay for the babies to be spayed. Please contact Mark at marklbrack@aol.com for additional information or to schedule adoption.