[quote=briansd1]I’m still getting familiar with Philly. I’m not there that much so I stay mostly in City Center. I make it a point to drive to the other neighborhoods to get a better lay of the land.

It’s interesting how you only really get to know a city after living in it, or at least visit frequently. [/quote]

Agree with your philosophy 100%, Brian. And Philly does have some great neighborhoods. I’m an architecture junkie, and some terrific examples in Philly. However, it can be painful to go through some of the residential neighborhoods and see the reno “butchering” that has occurred over the years. There’s a stretch of South Broad Street below Wash Ave, where someone back in the 70s bought a row of 4 or 6 great old enormous classic brownstones. They then proceeded to put aluminum siding over their facades (I’ll pause to allow for involuntary retching)…..and then installed a fake mansard roof across the entire stretch of buildings that covered the top 1/3 of the facades. It was some kind of shiny synthetic material that was supposed to resemble cedar shakes (because nothing says late 19th century brownstone elegance like shiny cedar shakes, right?)

It was probably the most egregious renovation I’ve ever come across.