Mann >>>>>>>

I cannot understand how he could spot it for what it was when it was so far in the distance. The man has good eyes.

Oh cool. It's an amazing plane; the way it can move for it's size is almost unbelievable.

My neighbor was working down the Navy Yard and got pix of AF1 and the helicopters. The audio is him saying 'look, Air Force 1' and his co-workers saying now way and then Way.

On that, I have to disagree. Gorgeous building, hell yes, but the City needed a larger, modern Convention Center and CHOP/HUP needed the land to expand. Lord knows their success has been a boon to the region.

Apparently it does pretty well, but not as good as other cities due to union issues.

Ive always had a big concern is with the 13th street corridor and the homeless. It seems dangerous walking around there at certain times…

It's a shame Penn was allowed to knock down the Civic center. It was a gorgeous building with a ton of history, and could have been modernized for restored hockey programs and an excellent concert venue.

Also, to give some concrete data to your request, you can check out the Philly CVB's annual report here: https://www.discoverphl.com/facts-and-research/phlcvb-annual-report/

Preserving the Reading Terminal was good. Unfortunately the rest of it seems like a mediocre convention center that doesn't make up for the dead zone it creates.

The previous site of the convention center in U City was no longer workable by the 1970s, and it made sense to bring it to center city as a revitalization tactic. Clearing out the porno theaters and strip clubs along Arch/Race wasn’t going to elicit much pushback. The landmarking of the Reading train shed also meant something had to be done with the hulking structure. Whether the final design has served its purpose is another question.

Came here to say this. It’s so clear when they let out for lunch break and hundreds of conference attendees walk over with their name badges.

3 Osprey and 2 helicopters

I just saw two choppers and an Osprey(!!!) trailing. They were right over head so no profile.

Comcast 2 is taller than any building in Tokyo (Tokyo skytree is much taller, but it's a TV broadcast "structure").

Comcast 1, Liberty 1 and 2 are all taller than Tokyo's 2nd tallest. Tokyo isn't actually a particularly tall city, it's more like London in that it covers a lot of land with midrise buildings, and has a few clusters of taller buildings near transit hubs.

Anyone who's been to RTM regularly in the middle of the day knows that place stays packed with trade shows. Honestly, if the only things it's doing is keeping those food stalls profitable, I have no qualms with it.

I remember the skate kids now that you mention it!

If you're not in favor of bringing in tax dollars from visitors...then I don't know where to start here really.

I absolutely have my qualms with where the money goes too, but I feel like brining in $$ from out of town is one of the simplest net positives out there.

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The Philly Tweezesteak! Both shows were killer. But yea, the nitrous tanks and the mess that comes along with it are atrocious. Put the balloons in your pocket for christs sake!

Yes, it was really nice for abotu a year or two when it opened (think of it as a precursor to the Bourse Building, witha lot of cool shops) that later nosedived due to a number of factors. I'm guessing high rents, not a lot of weekly foot traffic, and only minimal parking available all played a part. I remember seeing a lot of skate kids hanging out in the late 90s/early 2000s and knew that meant it was past its primeand was becoming a good place to get jumped.

Good argument also for the uselessness of a basketball arena in this section of town. It won’t be used for half the year, and almost everyone at a game will go to the chain stores (and such an arena will bring/open more chain restaurants)….maybe theyll go to the cheesesteak usual spots.

TIL; thanks for that. I always wondered why it fell through.

But, but, but...Sbarro's is real NYC pizza!

I read something recently about why Giant pulled out that I can't recall, but yeah, the whole deal is off for some reason.

Giant was in a fight with PECO over who had to pay for certain electrical upgrades to support the store