We concluded our visit to
Philadelphia with trip to
South Street. This is an area we rarely got to when we lived in Philly. I love discovering a city anew by visiting after a period of absence. South Street reminded me a bit of
Camden Town in London.
Eye catching sculptures dotted the scene.
I think South Street has a strong Irish heritage. We noticed an unusually high number of Irish pubs and gift shops in the neighborhood.
Even the corner store featured the Irish tricolor.
At the end of South Street, a bridge leads over Highway 95 to the Delaware River waterfront.
We took a moment to admire the Ben Franklin bridge in the distance.
We returned to South Street and our senses were once again stimulated by bright colors and sounds.
Our stomachs were rumbling to we joined the line outside
Jim's Steaks. Locals and tourists in the know prefer Jim's over Pat's or Geno's.
The snaking queue took us inside to a aluminum stamnped Art Deco interior.
The meat slicer was going full throttle to satisfy the hungry crowd.
We could finally see the menu and decided to order a cheesesteak provolone wit' (wit' means with onions).
The ingredients steamed and crackled on the griddle.
Here's a shot of our cheesesteak being born.
So worth the wait...
After lunch, we entered an area of South Street covered in colorful mosaics.
The facades of several homes in the area were beautified in this way.
Striking murals also adorned key public buildings.
We discovered
Philadelphia's Magic Gardens featuring the artwork of Isaiah Zagar.
What made the mosaic truly exceptional was how it took discarded objects including old bottles...
...and even a toilet (!) and made them into something beautiful.
This part of Philly is definitely worth taking a detour off the usual tourist track to see.
