Minor Misadventure - Philadelphia's Victorian Rowhouses and their Shallow Closets

 Looking north up Broad Street at Mifflin Street (the nearest major intersection to my house) in 1936: from PhillyHistory.org

Looking south down Broad Street at Mifflin Street in 1936: from PhillyHistory.org

I moved into a house recently that, despite its flaws, is a really nice space. It has a great back patio that will become very nice shortly, once plants are planted and chairs and tables are procured. One of the most interesting things about this house, though, is that apparently it was a Section 8 house before being purchased by my landlord a few years ago, and basically, the main structure has not been changed since being built sometime around 1910-1920.

 Front room of a typical row house, like mine, in 1920: from Strickland Row

In most ways, this is perfect for me, as I am definitely an antiquophile (I am struggling as I don't think that is a real word), and this crazy old house is perfect for my collection of art deco wardrobes, brass lamps and strange wall art, but the clothes! Where are they supposed to go?

 Please witness that the closet is not deep enough for a standard hanger. What?

Are you telling me that in the olden days people had about 3 outfits and they hung these on hooks in these strange, tiny closets? Must have been: there is no other explanation for closets with no closet rods, only strangely-shaped metal hooks for hanging clothes.


But....it begs the question: it is now 2011 and the house was built about 90-100 years ago. What did people do in the 1960s? 70s? 80s? 90s? last year? It is mystifying that there has been so little renovation here that there is not even a standard closet.


Solutions that I have come up with so far: getting rid of a ton of old clothes. If I hadn't worn it, it is now on its way to the Philly AIDS thrift shop, where hopefully it will earn them some money. Second solution: free-standing antique wardrobes and rolling carts. Also, a small chest of drawers.


Anyway --- the adventures continue. I promise our next misadventure will be more interesting. Today I try the subway for the first time: on my way to the School District of Philadelphia to get my fingerprints taken!

The Misadventures of a British-Texan in South Philly

Map of the Newbold neighborhood

Recently (about two weeks ago), I packed up my worldly possessions into a Penske truck and relocated to South Philly. So far, my opinions are that the neighborhood of Newbold is super diverse, Philadelphians are friendly, and that there is an overabundance of brick and concrete. (Kidding!!!)

 Philadelphia streets are decorated with murals. I love this part of city life. I really love this mural in particular....off Passyunk and Tasker

I live in Newbold, a neighborhood right off Broad and Mifflin that markets itself as diverse and up-and-coming. I have discovered that in Philadelphia, up-and-coming means on the edge of scarytown. In Austin, my last homebase, we had nothing like the urban decay that creeps around the corners of some streets here in Philly. 

 from Satan's Laundromat

But....I digress. Why Philly Misadventures? Well, since moving here, I have had a few mini-disasters happen. 

First was moving into the house to discover that the old residents apparently had a cat collection that rivaled a small army, and that these cats had wild run of the basement, leading to the most disgusting combination of cat pee and cat hair that you can imagine....

Second was the freak thunderstorm that ripped the downspout off the house, leading to a load of water seeping into a crack on the exterior wall, causing giant bubbles to form on the kitchen ceiling which began to pour torrents of water down onto the kitchen floor. 

Third was me getting my roadbike tire caught in the trolley tracks on Passyunk Avenue, flipping over my handlebars and getting a goose-egg on my head, periosteal bruise on my leg, and lots of bruises in other places...but no concussion!

Philadelphia in 1929:  from PhillyVintagePhoto.com.

So...the inspiration for the blog stems from my theory that no matter your luck or lack of adventurous spirit, whenever you move to a new place, there are a series of misadventures, or crazy things that happen and seem much nuttier because you just don't belong there yet. Also, I wanted a site to catalogue all of the great events that are happening here in Philly for an external audience that maybe doesn't have the time to look into these activities themselves.


My hope for Philly Misadventures is to provide a site that reviews and recommends city happenings, venues, activities, museums, etc. so that all the residents of this City of Brotherly Love can have more fun, and tell better stories.


Misadventure for today: walking to Bicycle Therapy to pick up my new bike. It has wider tires.