Thursday, June 15, 2017

Port Richmond Project Part 7: West side of (Port) Richmond Avenue between the train overpass and Grove Avenue

It's been a long time since I put up any pictures of Port Richmond Avenue, so here's a batch. As most of the street is still today, it's mostly commercial with apartments on top. Most of the buildings in the photos from the thirties are still there today, but they've been marred with ugly facades, tattered signage, and a general grubbiness. The latter I attribute to a combination of municipal and community neglect. That it's such a bustling avenue, you'd think that would be enough to encourage both the city and property owners to do a better job of taking care of it. Right.

So, let's get started. Oh, by the way, I've updated the previous post from West New Brighton and included the maps.




This building, now gone, was still there in the late 1980s (see below)












So, funny thing. There's no photo of the Palace Theater among the regular batch. If I can find one later (lots of the pictures were damaged, retaken, then allocated to catchall files. Usually, finding them means lucky) I'll put it up.









I spent a lot of time with my mom in the Port Richmond Woolworth when I was little. I don't remember what she bought there, but I know I got several model planes from there. I was surprised to see how close to the Terrace the store was. My memory had it further south, closer to, or even past, Castleton Avenue.











1917 map - Several of the buildings didn't exist this far back in time. It looks like the building on the corner of Grove (#123) was a single family house back then. 


2 comments:

Unknown said...

The building 86-88 Richmond Avenue was still there up until the 90's, it seems it either burned down or was demolished, I remember walking in there and the building was completely bare, all concrete and nothing was left (not even windows/floors) the sorta thing you would expect when it was first built.

The building next to it (which is now a Senior center) was once a furniture store.

RAM said...

In the 1950's we would go to Lobel's to get kids' coats, etc, for me and my sister.