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.

West Philly Local readers report that a truck crashed through the front of Baltimore Crab and Seafood restaurant at 48th and Spruce Streets Monday evening, around 7:30 p.m. (see photo below). Police weren’t immediately available for more information, but witnesses said that a drunk driver may have been involved.

A reader, Stacey, was in the area immediately after the accident and said that it was a large box truck that crashed into the building, not a car, as it was previously reported. We’re reprinting a part of Stacey’s comment:

“I was walking my dog down Spruce about halfway down the block to 48th (other side of the road) when this happened, and it was a large box truck, not a car. I talked to some of the witnesses who were standing at the corner when it happened and they said the driver was headed north on 48th and was turning left onto Spruce and somehow this was the result. Dude took out the mailbox before he plowed through the front of the store, and then also actually tried to back the truck up out of the store.”

We were not able to confirm drunk driving, but reportedly some witnesses who were close to the scene said that the driver smelled like alcohol.

Twitter photo by @Yagathai.

UC Green volunteers at The Woodlands.

UC Green, a nonprofit organization that with the help of volunteers (over 2,000 people annually) plants trees and cleans and maintains public gardens and open spaces in West Philly neighborhoods, is celebrating 15 years of service to the community this month. To mark the anniversary, UC Green will hold a cocktail reception and a fundraiser, called “The Harvest Moon Social,” on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Hamilton Mansion in Woodlands cemetery (40th & Woodland). The food will be served by Harvest Restaurant which specializes in a high quality, farm fresh menu with ingredients supplied by local farmers. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased through Facebook.

UC Green’s mission is to empower volunteer environmental stewardship in West Philly communities through partnerships and education. Their programs include the summer pruning club of active volunteers that have pruned street trees for 10 years, which greatly increased their chances of survival in tough urban environments. In addition, the UC Green Corps of local, underserved youth has just completed its seventh year of service. Their latest project was the renewal of street trees and pits on 40th and Market Streets.

For more information about UC Green and its work, visit: http://www.ucgreen.org/

Contact sheet of “Everyone is Photogenic” Test Run / Photos by JJ Tiziou.

Stand in line at your local pharmacy and you’ll see the message loud and clear: your beauty is only worth the skin you’re in. It’s a message displayed between the lines of bright and bold typography—insistent typeface meant to catch your attention.

The messages we receive about how beauty’s defined—and what defines it—are a daily part of our lives. The way we regard ourselves is evidence of that.

But for West Philly photographer Jacques-Jean “JJ” Tiziou, there’s another epistle that should be shared—one that, if held with the same earnestness as it envisages, could dismantle superficial beauty standards.

That message? “Everyone is photogenic.”  Continue Reading

West Philly resident Katy and her husband Dave heard a meowing coming from under the hood of a car in the CVS parking lot. They flagged down a CVS employee and asked, “Do you know whose car this is; there’s a kitten stuck in the engine!” It turns out it was his car!

One hour and one random good Samaritan with a jack later, they pulled this little guy safely out of the engine block. Whew! Katy is holding little Fonzy, who looks like he’s not quite certain that he didn’t lose one of his 9 lives in that scary experience.

Fonzy is too young to be adopted just now, so he’ll be fostered by a Project MEOW volunteer until he is ready for all of his vet work. Then he will be available for adoption. If you want to adopt Fonzy, you can apply now by emailing: info@projectmeow.org.

As of 4:30 p.m. 46th Street between Pine and Spruce streets was closed to traffic due to a fallen tree. It is still unclear what caused the tree to fall. One fireman said: “We don’t know what the hell happened.”

Thanks to neighbor Nadia Adawi for the first photo.

UPDATE (9 p.m.): The tree was removed around 7 p.m., according to some neighbors who live on that block.