>4080 Olive Street

Urban development is a delicate balancing act, and sometimes we must say goodbye to cherished local destinations in order to make way for a plan that is ultimately more beneficial to the community and to the city at large. One of such trade-offs is slated to occur at 7619 Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy, Northwest Philadelphia, where the Trolley Car Diner is set to meet the wrecking ball, to be replaced by a six-story, mixed-use residential development designed by Morrissey Design. Although the charming chrome, neon, mural, and freestanding trolley of the diner will be missed, the proposal at hand makes for more effective use of the site, bringing significant residential density within a two0-block walk of the Mount Airy Station of the SEPTA Regional Rail and replacing the auto-centric restaurant with pedestrian-friendly retail.

Earlier this year, Philadelphia YIMBY ran two features (one introductory and another covering construction) on the iconic PSFS Building at 1200 Market Street in Market East, Center City. The sizable high-rise, developed for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, was a modern marvel at the time it was built, and to this day it still makes an impression with its height and history. The 36-story building stands 491 feet tall, with the antenna bringing the total height to 792 feet. The tower was designed by George Howe and William Edmond Lescaze, who made a few iterations of the design before arriving at a version that became one of the first major International-style skyscrapers.