The Philadelphia deejay Bob Horn hosted Bandstand, which was broadcast regionally from Studio B at WFIL-TV from 1952 to 1956. Horn’s popular afternoon program for teenagers was the forerunner of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
This 1952 photo shows the pre-tunnel relationship of the rapid-transit El to the trolley tracks beneath it. One set of tracks continues west; another set bends southwest on Woodland Avenue from its intersection with 32nd and Market streets. Thirtieth Street Station appears upper left.
This 1956 photo shows the demolition of the 32nd St. station of the Market Street El. Removal of above-street tracks extended to 45th St., and the El stations at 36th and 40th streets were taken down.
This 1956 photo shows a train arriving from the 45th Street portal at the 46th Street station of the Market Street Elevated. Remnant tracks extending east from 45th Street are in the process of removal.
The appalling scene on the 4300 block of Sansom Street, 9 August 1952. "Pit mined by water escaping from breaks in the sewer carrying Mill Creek underground, extends from curb to curb. Hole measures 40 by 30 feet with a depth of 35 feet."
Between 1947 and 1955, the Philadelphia Transit Company completed a subway tunnel for the Market Street Elevated west of the Schuylkill and took down the El between 32nd and 45th streets.
University Redevelopment Area Unit 3 came to represent the divide between university and community after residents were displaced as part of the creation of the University City Science Center.
Following World War II, urban renewal provided the resources for city officials and developers to create dramatic changes to the physical and social landscape of West Philadelphia.
This map, recreated from the Redevelopment Authority's 1965 Annual Report, represents the approximate boundaries of the major initiatives from 1948–1965.
