A Punk Rock Tour Across Europe Gave Me Hope for Philly’s Revival
Photographing My Hometown’s Urban Neglect Captures the Hidden Potential in a City’s Ruins
Growing up in Philadelphia, I played and photographed in the ruins of buildings—some noble, even ones designated as important national historic landmarks. I wasn’t really cognizant of their importance in history then, but our surroundings have a way of impressing themselves upon our hearts.
As I grew up, like most Philadelphians, I accepted as normal the run-down condition of my city, a once burgeoning industrial metropolis exploding with promise. The boom years, between the Civil War and World War II, define most of Philadelphia architecturally. Solidly constructed, the edifices erected in …
