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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 5h

One cool thing about cities with great public transit to stadiums is fewer people leave playoff games early to get a jump on traffic.

A picture of a Philadelphia baseball player batting against the Dodgers. Behind him most of the seats are empty.

A screenshot from the broadcast showing heavy traffic leaving Dodger Stadium.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

Images in this thread were taken from the design firm's website: gretelny.com/philadelphia...

And also the art museum's Instagram.

Philadelphia Art Museum — Gretel

gretelny.com

Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

All of that said I love the return of the griffin, I think the name change will be net positive, and the merch is good and will sell well.

Rebrands are often received poorly at first, but I don't expect the rest of it to stand the test of time.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

An accomplished Philadelphia design firm that's been killing it lately is Smith & Diction.

I think a local studio like them could have pulled off better branding that's more authentic to Philadelphia's character and the museum's legacy, while still being new.

An screenshot of Smith&Diction's work for PARADIGM, a local Philadelphia art gallery.

Another screenshot of Smith & Diction branding work for Philadelphia's Rail Park.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

But my biggest complaint is that this new branding is meant to be about putting Philadelphia first, and yet they again hired a NYC design firm to do the branding.

It could be in my head but the 'voice' in the branding, and the style, feels like a Brooklynite cosplaying a Philadelphian.

A series of bumper playful bumper stickers branded for the art museum. One just says "FISHTOWN" in all caps.

A screenshot that says "COME AND SEE 'EM AT YOUR MUSEUM"

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

The brand is very typography forward and I think the design language looks fantastic on print and on posters.

The streetwear inspiration also makes it look great on the new clothes and merch, which I expect will sell well.

But on the walls of the museum, and next to the art, it looks awkward.

A woman wearing a "PHILADELPHIA ART MUSEUM" shirt that features bold typography, a bit like a poster on a shirt.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

Which brings me to another observation: a rebranding is a chance to reintroduce yourself. You aren't just saying "Here's my new card" you're saying "Here's me in a new light".

Their rollout is all about the branding and the merch, not about showing how the new branding frames the existing museum.

A picture of the text "WALL TO WALL ART FOR ALL" on the parking garage entrance.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

Looking at their Instagram my gut feeling was that this feels like a well branded creative small art gallery, or maybe a streetwear brand.

A screenshot of their Instagram with text like "COME AND SEE 'EM AT YOUR MUSEUM".

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

And that's where I think the branding goes astray.

Fun is great! But in a literal sense I don't think the branding 'reads the room'. It's fighting the actual architecture of the museum to try to be a different sort of place.

An image of a room in the museum with a bright yellow poster on the wall with bold typography.

An image of banners hanging along columns in the museum with text that says things like "THIS IS YOUR MUSEUM" and "COME ONE COME ALL".

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

First: the name. Changing to "Philadelphia Art Museum" is fine by me. It's what a lot of people call it anyways and in 10-20 years most will accept it.

The acronym: PhAM. It's cute but I think the playfulness of it draws too much attention and sets a tone that undermines some of the gravitas.

A screenshot of the following text from the design firm's website:

"Along the way, the museum's name shifted to what much of the city had already called it: Philadelphia Art
Museum. It's simple, casual and approachable. In short:
PhAM."

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 15h

The full new Philadelphia Art Museum branding is out. I have mixed feelings, which is normal for rebrandings.

Directionally there's some good (I really like the griffin), but I think it also invites an identity crisis.

A thread with some thoughts:

An image of a woman wearing a hoodie with Philadelphia Art Museum merch.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

The maps featured in this post were all taken from this map: www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/...

It shows the location of springs, guard houses, trails, landscaped gardens, footbridges, creeks, and public toilets most of which are now removed or no longer maintained.

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Reposted by Civic Grit

Jon Geeting @jongeeting.bsky.social · 2d

SEPTA released some info about their Reimagining Regional Rail reform proposal on a TRB webinar. Some details on the Build Philly Now Substack buildphillynow.substack.com/p/sneak-peek...

Sneak Peek: SEPTA's Reimagining Regional Rail Agenda

SEPTA's proposal could increase service by more than 100%, while doubling regional rail ridership

buildphillynow.substack.com

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Reposted by Civic Grit

unlikelydeb.bsky.social @unlikelydeb.bsky.social · 2d

Fairmount should be accessible to all, and it’s extra disappointing that we had better pedestrian access but the city hasn’t maintained it. Thank you for compiling this historical evidence.

Please consider signing Philly Bike Action‘s petition for a safer park.

bikeaction.org/campaigns/de...

Demand a Safer Fairmount Park! - Philly Bike Action

In the wake of Philly Bike Action member Harry Fenton’s death on Belmont Ave, we’re calling for immediate action. Sign our petition to City leaders and PennDOT to make Fairmount Park safer for everyon...

bikeaction.org

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Reposted by Civic Grit

peter kim @peterskim.org · 18d

Someone on the @5thsq.org Slack asked about urbanist museums. I've been to a lot! I consider a museum "urbanist" if it tells the story of urban society or culture. Typically architecture, transit, and city museums meet that requirement. Here are the ones I've been to and recommend!

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

What happened is cars weren't allowed on the road initially, early cars were smaller and lower speed, and the road wasn't paved.

It took many decades to acknowledge that crossings like that weren't safe anymore, and by then the options were either remove the pedestrians or slow the cars.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

These changes have made the park unsafe, inaccessible, and difficult to use as a park.

And the problem isn't just limited to Kelly Drive. All throughout Fairmount Park similar regressions have occurred, and as a result the park is significantly underused.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

If you were to walk this stretch of the Schuylkill River Trail today it'd take you about an hour and you'd have 2 legal opportunities to cross to upper Fairmount.

If the park stayed true to its historic design you'd have at least 9 places to cross.

This no doubt significantly decreases park usage.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

8. The Furness Gateway. An ornate staircase designed by famed Philadelphia architect Frank Furness

Now it's totally cut off by one of the most dangerous stretches of Kelly Drive.

This would have once been one of the main ways to get from Strawberry Mansion to the Schuylkill River Trail.

An image of the Furness Steps with a damaged car parked in front.

An image of the map showing the staircase connecting to the upper part of the park.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

7. Another spring and a stone staircase leading up from the river to Reservoir Drive.

Now it's inaccessible to pedestrians and the staircase is buried under dirt and overgrowth.

Even if it were accessible the pedestrian side path on Reservoir Drive has been removed.

An image of the historic map showing the path of the staircase and how it connects to the side path on Reservoir Drive.

A streetview image showing the spring, stone wall, and staircase still exist today.

Another street view image showing how obstructed the staircase and spring is now.

A street view image of Reservoir Drive showing the lack of side path.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

6. An ornate natural spring with staircases connected to paths leading up the hill into the upper portion of the park.

Now entirely inaccessible to pedestrians

An image of the map labeled "spring" showing a stone wall and 2 short staircases.

A photo of the stone spring today, no longer running and in disrepair.

A photo of one of the small staircases with its steps buried under dirt.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

5. A connection from the river to Boxer's trail complete with a public toilet.

Even today people still clearly risk their life crossing here, as seen by the path worn in the dirt.

A map image showing the wider path and entrance to Boxer's trail.

A Google Streetview screenshot showing the worn dirt where that trail still is today, but it terminates in Kelly Drive which is unsafe to cross.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

4. Two staircases up from the river and a pedestrian footbridge to cross the train tracks near the Columbia Bridge.

This footbridge I believe was relatively short lived because I have yet to find a good photo of it.

An image showing the two staircases coming up from Kelly Drive and the footbridge crossing the rail tracks.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

3. A pedestrian crossing by the rock tunnel, a scenic gazebo atop, and a reclusive landscaped garden built with stone.

An image of the rock tunnel showing a paved pedestrian crossing location on the left side of the road, a dirt path on the right side, and a gazebo atop the rock tunnel.

A map showing the trails by the gazebo and the landscaped garden on the hill.

A historic image of someone walking across the road in front of the rock tunnel before it was paved to modern standards.

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Civic Grit @civicgrit.bsky.social · 2d

2. A safe footbridge attached to the underside of the Girard Ave Bridge, again providing safe access between the river trail and Brewerytown.

This also provided a far more pleasant crossing of the Schuylkill, into West Fairmount Park.

An image of the footbridge attached to the underside of the Girard Ave bridge.

An image of the footbridge showing ornate railings.

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