[quote=LAAFTERHOURS]I remember in high school that roxborough was touted as a rough neighborhood but as I aged and got to know the city, I realized more and more those claims were a bit over the top. I cant believe they are attempting to gentrify Chester. They have stood up a casino there (of all places). We had to drive through there to get to the airport before the blue route opened. I give them an A for effort in trying the things they are doing.
Oh and before I forget, “Fly eagles fly, on the road to victory!”[/quote]
That’s out-and-out BS re: Roxborough. At that time, Roxborough was a middle-class mixed blue collar/white collar neighborhood. However, it’s proximity to North Philly made living there an exercise in caution (as it is in any inner-city neighborhood). In fact, I can remember visiting friends in Roxborough when I was 20, and made a wrong turn off Henry Ave. I landed up *very* lost for about 30 minutes in the worst area of North Philly. A rather surreal (and scary) experience.
I know…..Chester, right? I couldn’t believe it, either. However, I can definitely see the potential. But it is gonna take a boatload of money to accomplish, and even more to maintain. You’re not just dealing with a down-on-its-luck slum. The surrounding area has to be considered, also, and there’s some serious deterioration of that area of Delco. Chester is one of those all-or-nothing propositions, and I’d want to examine the cost-benefit analyses very closely before sinking any of my hard-earned money into that project.
