On this 4th-of-July-Eve we're going to take a look at some Before and After
restorations in Philadelphia - the American city where the Declaration of
Independence and the United States Constitution were signed.
This historic home in the Powelton Village area
of Philadelphia was in dire need of a restoration:
Before
After:
Beautiful job!
These next few homes are located in
neighborhoods just outside Philadelphia.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The stucco on this house was damaged beyond saving:
As you can see from the inset photo, bottom right, a row of fire-
damaged historic townhouses in the Arbor News area was salvaged:
A young couple happened upon a Philadelphia church
that had stood abandoned for over 40 years:
The church was scheduled to be demolished by
the city when the couple decided to purchase it.
After photos:
Heavenly!
enthusiastically restored a South Philly home:
Even an inner-city vacant lot can be improved
when volunteers pitch in to help:
Before After
Neglect, vandals, and a fire had left
this historic row house uninhabitable:
owners were able to restore this home to its former glory:
This before photo is almost too painful to view:
But look at the beautiful after:
The Betsy Ross house in 1905:
The Betsy Ross House today:
Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts in 1900:
The Academy today:
The corner of 10th and Chestnut Streets in 1906:
The same corner today:
A view of the Benjamin Parkway, center of the photo, in 1931:
The Parkway surrounded by skyscrapers today:
Philadelphia is a thriving metropolitan city whose roots are the bedrock of
American history. The City of Brother Love is striving to restore and
preserve its historic buildings while meeting its needs in the 21st century.
Well. About all I can say is, "That's a lot of beer."
