After Nearly 80 Years, Can We Get the South Street We Deserve?

Plans to rezone South St. between 11th & Front could help bring new life to an area that was almost an expressway

For many years, South Street has been the hippest street in town/one of the most important cultural hubs in the entire city. Personally, I remember feeling actually cool for one of the first times in my life when I hung out with friends before a show at the TLA, snagging a slice at Lorenzo and Sons that weighed as much as I did at the time, while seeing the lead singer of MxPx stroll by (Fun fact: you can still relive this exact concert on the live album At the Show, which was recorded in part on this very night). But what has made this stretch so interesting, is just how many people have enjoyed this thoroughfare over the years.

The TLA at 334 South St. today (welcome back to Philly, Matt Barnes)

Lorenzo and Sons across the street, still slinging sizable slices

But did you know that the South Street we know today almost didn’t exist? Back all the way in 1947, the Crosstown Expressway was proposed, slicing east-west through the city right where South Street stands. With the sudden prevalence of the automobile during suburbanization, this proposed highway would have displaced thousands of residents - many of whom were Black. As such, the community came together to push back on these plans, thankfully preventing the destruction and displacement that would have created a major physical barrier, leading once again to the segregation of communities that was sadly so common around this time (See also: the lasting impact of the Vine Street Expressway on Chinatown). However, due to the concerns around the highway construction and its potential impact, the area still saw a great deal of disinvestment as both businesses and people left.

A ring of highways was proposed around Center City, with the Crosstown Expressway on the left (Map by Philadelphia City Planning Commission, 1961)

A sunken highway with residences on top was a last-ditch proposal (Map by Philadelphia City Planning Commission and Temple University-Urban Archives, 1972)

A protest at City Hall opposing the highway (How Ideas Stopped an Expressway in Philadelphia, from Penn Institute of Urban Research)

Which brings us to today, where South Street is still doing its thing - as evidenced by the awesome work of South Street Sam - though there is definitely room for it to be even more. And, excitingly, something is in the works that may lead to just that: a remapping of the zoning along the South Street corridor from 11th Street to the west to Front St. in the east. Per an email from the Bella Vista Neighbors Association, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission is considering a remapping of the area and is starting to gather information from local stakeholders about how they utilize the street today and what they envision in the future. Let’s scope the map.

A map of the rough area of focus - the South Street Head House Zoning Overlay District

A look at the current zoning map of the area

Currently, much of this stretch is zoned somewhere between CMX-2 and CMX-3, with a smattering of multi-family (RM-1) zoning mixed in. It’s no surprise, then, that we see such a commercial-heavy presence here, with this zoning encouraging/mandating business uses on the ground floor. However, these zoning categories also somewhat limit the amount of density that can be built here - especially with the large number of smallish lots along this typical South Philly grid. Which leads to the current scene today: a large number of active businesses, a large number of empty storefronts, and a surprisingly low amount of foot traffic during the day.

We decided to get out and document the area of focus, checking out the scene along every block from 11th to Front (and maybe a bit further) to see what’s happening right now. And - lucky for you! - you can follow along below as we work our way east from 11th Street.

Looking west from 11th & South, beyond the area of potential remapping

Looking east from 11th & South, greeted by a multi-level garage that’s in the are of focus

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens bringing the mosaics to 1020 South St.

A Whole Foods, more parking, a police station, and low-rise mixed-use at 10th & South

Rowhomes with ground floor commercial dominate the south side of the street at 9th & South

South Street Community Garden sitting pretty at 831 South St. on the opposite side of the block

Residential on the north side and mixed-use on the south side at 8th & South

Three-story buildings make up the majority of the 600 block, as seen from 7th & South

Looking east from 6th & South offers a similar view - and donuts

TMoms keeping it weird and wonderful at 530 South St.

Bagels and more varied architecture looking east at 5th & South

The Snipes spot at 417-21 South St. stands out architecturally - and is for sale

Two staples looking west from 4th & South: Jim’s and Milkboy

More commercial and some height looking east from the same intersection

Abbott Square dominates the scene at 3rd & South

Empty retail takes up most of the ground floor on the north side of the block, where a fresh food market was once promised a million years ago

Yowie looking just a bit cuter with its design-forward approach on the south side of the same block

The parking-heavy Head House Square updates from several years back, immediately to the east of Abbot Square

Looking east down the eastern-most block of South St.

The view from the far eastern terminus, where an empty lot sits at the site of a former bar at Front & South

As you can see, this stretch is teeming with charm and interesting architecture but is also facing a good deal of vacancies and what feels like a lack of height along what can be either a wildly energetic or alarmingly quiet corridor. In order for any sort of remapping to be truly successful, we hope that the character of this stretch is required to remain - the storefronts and quirkiness are inherent to what makes this space so special. HOWEVER, we’d be completely fine seeing some thoughtful overbuilds to the existing rowhomes, bringing more people in to add some life to the streets and to provide more customers for what are now empty storefronts.

And there’s one more thing that we believe changes the calculus here: the in-progress South Street pedestrian bridge that is being built in tandem with the new Penn’s Landing Park - also already under construction. This bridge will traverse Columbus Blvd. to directly connect to the amazing Delaware River Trail, right in front of the soon-to-close Chart House out on the water.

The existing bridge over I-95 dead-ends into a parking lot; the view today looking towards South St. across Front St.

At the end of the road, the future pedestrian bridge’s foundations are up

A rendering shows the modern suspension bridge which will connect South Street (off the image to the left) to the trail

With all of these potentially positive forces coming together at once, we hope that this represents a true opportunity to make up for all of the BS of the past. And you should make sure your voice is heard by filling out the survey so you can give your thoughts on what the future should hold for the coolest street in the world.