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Picking up my chair from the Paul D' Orazio Custom Upholsterer.

The reading chair saga: I nail the ending, sit down and shut up

I know, I know, the world is waiting to see how I resolved my reading chair dilemma, so now I can finally finish this series of columns and tell you the happy ending. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 5/21/21

The proposed development of 30 W. Highland Ave., currently the home of Edward B. O’Reilly Associates, has sparked a conversation about land use and preservation in Chestnut Hill.

Streetscape: Is 30 W. Highland good urbanism?

Streetscape is a local column about architecture, city planning, and urban design. The controversy over the proposed townhome development at 30 W. Highland Ave. has sparked a debate not only about … more

by Diane Fiske | 5/19/21

A postcard from Henri Matisse dated 1950, with a portrait of Mrs. Matisse, 1869. The painting so shocked the world the critics called Matisse a "fauvist," i.e., a wild animal. Matisse signed his name to the small white space at the postcard's bottom edge.

Henri Matisse, a dollar, a postcard, and a custody trail

I drove home thinking how wonderful it was to own a card once held by the immortal Henri Matisse – one on which he had warmly inscribed thanks to a person who had contributed, even in such a humble way, to making his dream come true. I vowed to always cherish it. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 5/14/21

Children seated near the ponds, taken in 1976 by Edmund Gilchrist, Jr., son of the noted Philadelphia architect. Awbury Arboretum archives.

Reviving the only extant run of the Wingohocking Creek at Awbury Arboretum

Awbury Arboretum has received funding to restore its water gardens in order both to reduce the possibility of potentially fatal flooding along nearby Belfield Avenue and to resuscitate a beloved neighborhood amenity. more

by George McNeely | 5/13/21

One of four proposed art installations for Maplewood Mall. (Photo by Kate Kaman)

Maplewood Mall Project creates permanent, site-specific public art

The City is asking people to take part in a survey to choose from art work proposals by four artists about ways to decorate the walls and benches bookending the mall. more

by Diane M. Fiske | 4/16/21

Photo taken a moment after the author accidentally catapulted himself across the showroom room while test driving the senior citizen, heated, tilting, vibrating swivel recliner with two cup holders and a side pocket for eyeglasses.

Not so easy to end a 25-year seat-of-the-pants affair, Part 2

Twenty-five years ago, my wife, Janet, gave me my favorite birthday gift: a reading chair. Over the years, however, the chair, like myself, has grown older and borderline decrepit. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 4/1/21

An old photo of St. Michael’s Hall (photo courtesy of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy)

Saint Michael’s Hall: A house with three stories

Last week, an article in the Local announced that the large house at 9001 Germantown Ave., now known as Saint Michael’s Hall, is being offered for sale by the Convent of the Sisters of Saint … more

by George McNeely | 4/1/21 | 1 comment

A book made us reconsider our relationship with trees

Every once and a while book comes along that changes your outlook on life. This just happened to me recently when I read The Age of Wood by Roland Ennos. more

by Ned Barnard & Pauline Gray | 3/26/21

Patches and pillows are no longer enough to keep this chair from obsolescence.

Nothing could get between us...until the affair was over. Part 1

The sun and sky were provocative that day. Clear and 68 degrees – so welcome after the recent blitz of snowstorms. Warm and enticing. The weather, after all that hostility, felt like something comfortable you could slip into, like a favorite shirt. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 3/25/21

Barbara Ehrenreich’s observations of working-class struggles in “Nickel and Dimed” sadly remain true 20 years later.

Class struggle investigation "Nickel and Dimed" endures 20 years later

Near the end of the 1990s, welfare reform booted roughly four million women off relief and into the job market. The assumption in the buildup to this action was that a job was the ticket out of poverty and that the only thing holding back welfare recipients was their reluctance to get out and get one. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 3/10/21

If winter can come, surely spring isn’t far behind?

It turned out we won't always have Paris: Notes on the 1st anniversary of the Covid shut-down

In the way that people describe wartime invasions as beginning with the distant thunder of explosions moving closer, so last year the month of March swerved like a dark cloud into view and grew larger in the sideview mirror until it overtook us. more

by Hugh Gilmore | 3/4/21

Chestnut Hill Hospital nurse Marie Minnick administers my first COVID-19 vaccine. It was painless.

Getting vaccinated (Hallelujah!) in a clean well-lighted space

Way back in the distant past, the year 2020 shall we say, around August, certainly by December, the CDC began to announce its suggested protocols for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. more

2/12/21

West Oak Lane resident and architect Tiffany Millner.

STREETSCAPE: NW Philly resident earns top AIA award for work with students

The Philadelphia chapter of the American Association of Architects gave this year’s top Thomas Walter award to a West Oak Lane resident, Tiffany Millner, who mentors high school students. more

by Diane M. Fiske | 2/4/21

Mark O’Connell travels to the bunkers and private doomsday shelters of the rich and famous in his latest book, “Notes from an Apocalypse.”

A noted writer takes readers on a tour of apocalypse preparedness

Every site described in Mark O'Connell's "Personal Journey" can be seen on YouTube. So, why write a book? What does a book offer that an assemblage of pixels does not? more

by Hugh Gilmore | 1/21/21

Looking to find your creative self in 2021? I have some advice for you learned from when I decided to do the same in 2000.

Finding your creative self in the New Year

Is there some way in which you're hoping to live a more creative life this year? Are you hoping to express yourself? Begin wood sculpting, or quilting, or writing a novel or memoir? Writing songs? more

By Hugh Gilmore | 1/8/21

HOLLAND HOUSE, Kensington, London. An interior view of the bombed library at Holland House with readers apparently choosing books regardless of the damage. Photographed in 1940. The House was heavily bombed during World War II and remained derelict until 1952 when parts of the remains were preserved..Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was a great house in Kensington in London, situated in what is now Holland Park. Created in 1605 in the Elizabethan or Jacobean style for the diplomat Sir Walter Cope, the building later passed to the powerful Rich family, then the Fox family, under whose ownership it became a noted gathering-place for Whigs in the 19th century. The house was largely destroyed by German firebombing during the Blitz in 1940; today only the east wing and some ruins of the ground floor still remain..In 1940, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attended the last great ball held at the house. A few weeks later, on 7 September, the German bombing raids on London that would come to be known as the Blitz began. During the night of 27 September, Holland House was hit by twenty-two incendiary bombs during a ten-hour raid. The house was largely destroyed, with only the east wing, and, miraculously, almost all of the library remaining undamaged. Surviving volumes included the sixteenth-century Boxer Codex..Holland House was granted Grade I listed building status in 1949, under the auspices of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947; the Act sought to identify and preserve buildings of special historic importance, prompted by the damage caused by wartime bombing. The building remained a burned-out ruin until 1952, when its owner, Giles Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl of Ilchester, sold it to the London County Council (LCC). The remains of the building passed from the LCC to its successor, the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1965, and upon the dissolution of the GLC in 1986 to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea..Today, the remains of Holland House form a backdrop for the open air Holland Park Theatre, home of Opera Holland Park. The YHA (England and Wales) "London Holland Park" youth hostel is now located in the house. The Orangery is now an exhibition and function space, with the adjoining former Summer Ballroom now a restaurant, The Belvedere. The former ice house is now a gallery space. The grounds provide sporting facilities, including a cricket pitch, football pitch, and six tennis courts..In 1962, the Holland estate sold a piece of land immediately to the south of what is now the sports field for the construction of the Commonwealth Institute.

How 2020 affected my reading: A curmudgeon's top 6 books this year

In looking back over my reading list for this year I was surprised to see that the great majority of books I read were on my Kindle. more

By Hugh Gilmore | 12/30/20

“Aisha Gaddafi” provided me with this photo: Proof that she is willing to trust me with her undisclosed fortune if I share with her my banking credentials.

So long chumps! I'm taking my Burkina Faso money and hitting the road.

Thanksgiving may be over but it's never too late to be grateful. In this time between White House administrations, nobody's looking if you want to get some international business done. You can't … more

by Hugh Gilmore | 12/3/20

An Eastern White Pine at about 2,640 feet above sea level along the Ridge Trail on the northeast side of Old Rag Mountain within Shenandoah National Park, in Madison County, Virginia (Photo by Famartin/wikicommons)

Local White Pine groves: Magical, but imported

Spending more time outside during this pandemic gives us the opportunity to explore new places and learn more about our neighborhood. Ever popular are the paths on either side of the Cresheim … more

by George McNeely | 11/12/20

This cable news junky can finally turn off the TV.

Detoxing from my 4-year cable news addiction

I was at work one day in 2001 when my wife phoned and said I should come home. An airplane had crashed into the World Trade Tower in New York. Something was going on. It didn't seem like an accident. … more

by Hugh Gilmore | 11/12/20

10 election season leftovers we can have for Thanksgiving

This being the Local's last issue before the election, it's time to summon up some of the issues this writer is glad to have over with. And then give thanks where it's due. If we all figure out … more

by Hugh Gilmore | 10/30/20

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Jul 5, 2022 issue

Fishadelphia brings community fishery to NW Philadelphia

A brand new way to eat delicious and inexpensive locally-caught seafood has come to Mt. Airy this month. Fishadelphia bills itself as a community-based fishery program.

Runa to bring celtic sounds to Pastorius Park

The Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Pastorius Park Summer Concerts series will continue next week with a performance by Runa, a traditional celtic band with roots in Chestnut Hill.

Tempesta di Mare closes its 20th anniversary season

Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, closed out its 20th anniversary season with a concert that is now available online through July 19.

Hill psychologist authors acclaimed 'No Perfect Love'

According to clinical psychologist Alyson Nerenberg, an addictions and relationship expert who has long had an office in Chestnut Hill, many of us enter into relationships with unrealistic expectations - which can lead to crushing disappointment.