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Globe Dye Works Has A Three Story Conversation Piece

The boiler room in the concrete poured building which is part of the Globe Dye Works still has the boiler in it, and it’s right off the main lobby too.  And it’s huge.  Like three stories huge.  You can’t help but to stare at it.  Charlie Abdo, operations point man on the project, told me there was discussion to keep it because… well look at it.  But with scrap prices climbing higher we’re kinda at a wait and see moment.  But I’m voting keep it.  Frankford was a mecca for industry once, and that thing screams it more than anything else I’ve ever seen.  My eyes couldn’t take it all in at once.

boiler room through lobby window

boiler closeup

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Holiday Thriftway Dubbed Modernist Gem

Holiday Thriftway

I’m all sorts of late on this one, but what can you do.  Inga Safron, architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a piece about Northwood native Betsy Manning, staff photographer at Temple, who’s on a journey to document the hidden gems of modernist architecture here in Philadelphia.  And bam tops on the list is Frankford’s own Holiday Thriftway at Pratt and Frankford.  To quote Safron:

The soaring glass vault of the old Penn Fruit store, now a Thriftway, on Frankford Avenue is a perfect example of how midcentury designers’ modernist buildings in the urban environment of Northeast Philadelphia needed to work at two scales, one seen from the road, the other from the sidewalk.

Damn, pretty cool.  The building was originally built by the  Penn Fruit Co. which was founded in Philadelphia in 1927 and grew to 80 stores in the 70’s before losing price wars to local competitors and filing bankruptcy.  We got a cool building out of it though.  And when you think about it, we got a large building that fronts Frankford Ave under the Market Frankford El with it’s parking in the back.  That sounds like transit oriented developement to me and that sounds awesome.

[link]  Changing Skyline: Modernist gems of the Great Northeast

[link]  Architectural Wallflowers

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Haitian-American Painter GUY STANLEY PHILOCHE featured at Globe Dye Works in One of Only TWO Philly Shows

I’ve been press released on a featured artist coming to the Globe Dye Works: Layers exhibition next Saturday.  Haitian born, Connecticut raised Guy Stanley Philoche is being shown courtesy of the James Oliver Gallery in center city.  Friday he’s opening in Olde City but Saturday he’s coming to Frankford.   Here he is talking about his art form in ebony.  George Clooney owns his stuff(that just peaked my wife’s attention).  IT’S ABSTRACT ART!!.  You gotta show up for this.  The full press release follows.
"Untitled Series" 2008

"Untitled Series" 2008

As you may know, the art season is in full swing, and while many artists and galleries in New York are focusing on their shows, locally James Oliver and Veronica Scarpellino are bringing New York to Philadelphia. Its part of a growing trend of artists leaving the traditional art pockets of the US: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, to gain exposure in markets that are proving to be just as strong critically and financially.

Guy’s tour begins with a solo show at James Oliver Gallery with an Opening reception Friday, May 8th, 6-10pm. “When you see Guy’s work in person, you can see that he is a naturally talented painter,” says James Oliver, of his decision to bring Philoche to his namesake gallery. “He’s definitely an rising star in the art world, and his works show a lot of potential. Even though Guy is a contemporary artist, his work appeals to the young and the hip as well as the more conservative.” He adds, “The quality of the work is there-15 layers of paint!–and you can see there is a dynamic progression if you look at is work as a whole.”

The following day, curator Veronica Scarpellino hosts an Opening reception Saturday, May 9th 5:00-9pm for Guy and other artists at the Globe Dye Works warehouse. The warehouse compound has been the site of one of longest running dye factories in Philadelphia. Now under new ownership, Globe will enter its next phase of life as an art community. “Globe Dye Works: Layers,” its first art exhibition, will showcase some of Philadelphia’s and the art world’s best established and emerging artists.

Philoche’s Haitian background causes Basquiat to come to mind, yet his art is more reflective of Rothko and Barnett Newman. Born in Haiti and moving to Connecticut with his parents at the age of three, Philoche has always been driven by his interest in art, deciding at an early age that he wanted to be a painter. After graduation from art school, Philoche was scouted by an independent art dealer, with his works were purchased by white gloved society members and celebrities such as George Clooney and Uma Thurman. He is now an independent artist being courted by the renowned Marlborough Gallery but his collections can be seen as part of corporate collections at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and sold at Christie’s auctions.

Guy Stanley Philoche
www.philochestudios.com
Please also see a recent article about Philoche on Ebony.com
http://www.ebonyjet.com/culture/index2.aspx?id=3D12346on

James Oliver Gallery
723 chestnut street, 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.jamesolivergallery.com/future.htm

Globe Dye Works
Veronica Scarpillino
4500 Worth Street
· Philadelphia, PA 19124
www.globedyeworks.com/exhibitions

Portia Holt
Founder
Agrani Consulting
244 Fifth Avenue#223C
New York, NY 10001

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Crime Map Update

We have updated the crime map page with data from 4/13 to 4/26/09.  I was curious about how this compared with last year at the same crime graphictimes so I ran took the data for 2008 for comparison.

  • Homicide in 2008 = 1, 2009 = 0
  • Robbery in 2008 = 12, 2009 = 16
  • Aggravated assault in 2008 = 20, 2009 = 21
  • Burglary in 2008 = 27, 2009 = 9
  • Crimes with guns in 2008 = 8, 2009 = 7
  • Crimes with knives in 2008 = 5, 2009 = 1
  • Crimes using some other weapon in 2008 = 5, 2009 = 13

Well, we are down in homicide so far this year.  That is a big improvement.  Not sure where all the burglars have gone.  Maybe a convention somewhere.  We’ll see if they return on our next update.

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I Made It Into Globe Dye Works

globe-dye-works-signYesterday, local Frankfordian and free lance journalist Christopher Wink and I took our misadventures on the road to the Globe Dye Works.  And this is what we’ve learned.

  • Charlie Abdo, brothers Matt and Ian Papajohn, and 3 other guys(sorry I can’t remember their names) have gone partners in the Globe Development Group.  Charlie and and another guy are the operations guys on this project.  GDG has other buildings in other neighborhoods too
  • this Charlie Abdo founded North Star Bar back in ’81 as their history states, so he has already touched on awesomeness.
  • by some estimates, the facility has 165,000 square feet of space
  • Globe Dye Works isn’t just one building.  It’s many buildings built side by side as the organization expanded through it’s existence
  • The development of the facility appears to be very organic, it’s just evolving.  The one thing that’s being concentrated on is its environmental sustainability
  • they bought a house across the street at sheriff sale to make sure something will get done with the place, super cool
  • Here’s it’s entry by Torben Jenk on workshopoftheworld.com
  • There’s a metal worker, wood worker and a UPenn art professor already taking up space in the building
  • An art exhibition showcasing the building is on May 9th from 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM.  I’ll be there.
  • I have a ton of pictures from this very cool place that I will be showcasing for quite some time.  Below is a little taste:
long-floor

lobby

red-doors-green-walls