Interactive Visuals: Eye-Popping “Then and Now” Sliders of Philadelphia
Screenshot of a RENTCafé slider. Scroll down to see what it is!
Warning: It’s probably best you save this for after you’re off the clock lest you go on a slider binge and don’t get to what’s actually next on your to-do list. You can thank the folks over at RENTCafé for that, as they’ve compiled a list of eye-opening before-and-afters, from 2007 and 2014, respectively, of various spots throughout Philadelphia.
Check ’em out and let us know what other ever-evolving Philly sites warrant the slider treatment!
Temple University: Morgan Hall
If ever there was a place from which to photograph the southern swaths of North Philadelphia, this place is it. Temple kids, don’t forget to hashtag your pics.
Dilworth Park
Once a drab place with less than friendly vibes, City Hall’s Dilworth Plaza is, fortunately for us, all but a dim memory. In early 2012, plans to redevelop the site into a park a smidge closer to William Penn’s vision of a Center Square entered reality with a January groundbreaking. More than two years later, Dilworth Park opened to anxious masses September 2014.
Rittenhouse Square: 10 Rittenhouse
This then and now images for 33-story 10 Rittenhouse speak for themselves. Now you see it, now you don’t (um, reverse that).
University City: 3200 block of Chestnut Street
It’s Drexel University you have to blame for the thriving scene on this block of Chestnut Street. With the school’s Chestnut Square, a mixed-use student residential tower named one of the best real estate projects in the city by the Urban Land Institute, and its LEED-Gold certified Constantine N. Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (which has the country’s largest living biowall, FYI), this makeover was bound to change things up.
Washington Square: Penn Medicine
It had its ceremonial groundbreaking on October 24, 2011, a notable day for Pennsylvania Hospital’s newest facility: never before had PAH had a developer project of this magnitude. The chosen one? Liberty Property Trust.
Logan Square: 1900 Arch
Say it with us: luxury loft rental community. Oh, don’t roll your eyes. You know you’d like it, especially with how close it is to everything.
Rittenhouse: 2116 Chesnut
A Louis Magaziner building once graced the property at 2116 Chestnut – that is until the John Buck Company stepped in to construct a shiny 34-story apartment complex with a slew of amenities, including a dog run! (Select dog breeds allowed, though.) Today, the high-rise is a mainstay in the neighborhood and offers everything from studios to two-bedrooms, plus a community sundeck, yoga room, and more.
Logan Square: Family Court Building
A glassy nine-story building overlooking LOVE Park? Sounds like a winner, though Inga Saffron might beg to differ. No matter. Aside from the still relatively new Family Court building having 29 courtrooms, a bevy of administrative offices and judge chambers, there’s a playroom and computer room too.
Poweltown Village: Millennium Hall
Shout out to architectural diversity: picturesque Powelton Village got a unique neighbor when Millennium Hall was born and now the 17-story tower, which opened to students in 2009, is a neat feature in the neighborhood.
University City: Colket Translational Research Building
Sometimes all the glass and metal buildings popping up around the city start to feel repetitive and you wonder what’s the point. The Colket building in West Philadelphia, however, will never make us doubt it. Said its namesakes during its groundbreaking: “This new research building will help ensure a healthier future for the children of tomorrow.” That is awesome.
