PHL Dpt Planning & Development

Join #PhilaDPD and #OTIS staff for a Wednesday Night Rides this evening from MSB at 7pm in celebration of bike month! We'll be visiting some newly installed bike facilities. the ride is 9 miles, flat, and will end at Parks on Tap at Matthias Baldwin Park. Come join the biking fun! 🚲 More info: wednightrides.org/posts/2026/05/130/ride

📍4601 N 18th St 📑 Added to Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1956 Stenton is one of Philadelphia’s best-preserved colonial houses and a remarkable witness to the city’s early history. The grand brick mansion was built in the 1720s as a country estate for James Logan. Logan was a devout Quaker, secretary to William Penn, a judge, and a political leader. He filled the house with locally- made fine furniture and a large library which later became part of the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia (@librarycompany ). Logan’s opulent lifestyle was enabled by the labor of enslaved people as well as indentured servants and free workers. An enslaved woman named Dinah lived and worked in bondage at Stenton for over 50 years, before being freed in 1776. Dinah is credited with saving the building from being burned by British soldiers during the Revolution. A new memorial to her bravery, designed by artist Karyn Olivier, was unveiled in 2024. Stenton is maintained and operated by the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (@nscdapa ). Image Captions: -Contemporary image. Courtesy of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. @stentonmuseum -Portrait of James Logan by Thomas Sully, 1831. @library company -1969 photo. Historical Commission files. -Plan of the Stenton buildings. Drawn by Mary Ellen Strain, 1998, for the Historic American Buildings Survey @librarycongress -Students participate in the History Hunters program at Stenton @stentonmuseum -Artifacts on display in the back dining room. @stentonmuseum -Photos from the 2024 unveiling of a memorial to Dinah, by @karynolivier . @stentonmuseum #PRHP1776 #philly250 #historicpreservation #thisplacematters

You’ve gotta be kitten me right meow. City Hall has cats?! 😸 Next time you’re near City Hall…LOOK UP! Out of the 250 sculptural pieces on City Hall, eight of them are cats! Our Archivist Rebekah is back to talk about the cat sculptures (based on real cats!) you can only find at Philadelphia’s City Hall. If you want to learn more about City Hall and see antique photographs of City Hall as it was being built, come check out the Look Up! A.M. Calder and the Faces of City Hall exhibit coming to City Archives’ headquarters on Spring Garden St. beginning Monday, May 19 and running until September 15.

Exciting things are happening on Market East! Yesterday, we cut the ribbon on the @meantimephl on Market initiative, which is now open for business! Local pop-up stores are ready for customers along the Market East corridor with something for everyone. @almostfamous.us @artphilly2026 @clubfriendsradioandrecords @rarify @siddiqswaterice @twopersonscoffee @lovenowmedia

The @meantimephl on Market initiative is now open! The partnership from @phillymayor , @phlcommerce , @centercitydistrict , @meantimephl , @comcast , Harris-Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, and the @fashiondistrictphl came together to activate vacant store fronts with local pop-up stores along the Market East corridor. There is something for everyone to enjoy: 🧥 @almostfamous.us 🎨 @artphilly2026 🎶 @clubfriendsradioandrecords 🪑 @rarify 🍧 @siddiqswaterice ☕️ @twopersonscoffee 📺 @lovenowmedia Shop local, and support small businesses in Philly!

Folks all over Philly have important connections to Market East. If you have an idea to support its future, let us hear it! Get more information and take the survey now: www.phila.gov/market-east (Survey is available in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese)

The @CityofPhiladelphia neighborhood of Market East, which stretches from City Hall to Independence Mall, has long lacked an identity. Jefferson students in a unique College of Architecture and the Built Environment capstone studio plan to change that. Throughout the spring semester, students conducted intensive research, met with community stakeholders and city leaders, iterated and built models, and on April 17, presented their concept—an ecological district that restores the heartbeat of Market East. Rooted in history and driven by the voices of its itinerant populations, the capstone studio asserts a vision that embodies Jefferson’s mission and core values. 👉 Click the link to our bio to watch the full video.

Calling ALL areas of Philly! Save the date because it’s coming BACK! The #PhilaPHDC Annual Housing Fair is coming back to the @templeuniv STAR Complex! Meet with housing pros and get all your questions answered. Reserve your spot now! phdcphila.org/housingfair

Philly is an incredible place to build a career! Interested in working with us? #PhilaDHCD is currently hiring for a Grants Management and Compliance Officer. Get more info and apply using the link in our bio!

📍32 properties on Elfreth’s Alley and Bladen’s Court  📑 Added to Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1956, 2003 Elfreth’s Alley is a narrow street flanked by houses built between the 1720s and 1830s. A connected small footpath, Bladen’s Court, contains three more historic homes. Most of the properties are still residences today. Early Philadelphians crowded near the rivers and Elfreth’s Alley was created in 1703 to make residential and commercial properties in the middle of a larger block. The houses built there were affordable for laborers and craftspeople including tailor Cuff Douglas, who had been enslaved for the first four decades of his life. They were home to many newcomers to Philadelphia, including immigrants from Europe and jobseekers coming from the American South as part of the Great Migration. The Elfreth’s Alley Association, founded in 1934 by preservationists, has organized annual festivals where residents regularly open their homes and, since 1966, has operated 126 Elfreth’s Alley as a house museum. Image captions: • 2025, Historical Commission staff. • Residents on the Alley, 1932. Courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center. Temple University Libraries. Philadelphia, PA. @temple_scrc • Drawings of 130 and 132 Elfreth’s Alley, 1931. Historic American Buildings Survey, @librarycongress • Annual Fete Day, 1948. @temple_scrc • Cars parked at the end of Elfreth’s Alley, 1960. Historical Commission files. • 1973. Photo by David C. Cook, uploaded by his grandson, Rob Ketcherside Flickr user tigerzombie. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 #PRHP1776

#PhilaDHCD released its Housing Trust Fund Report highlighting more than $360M invested in housing programs since its inception in 2005 and support for over 100,000 households citywide! The HTF remains a critical tool in expanding access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. The HTF has produced and preserved over 9,000 affordable housing units across all funding sources, supported over 11,000 jobs, and provided necessary funding to the City's critical housing programs. Read the full report: www.phila.gov/documents/housing-trust-fund-report

Think you can't own a new construction home in Philly? 🤔 Think again! With #PhilaLandBank's Turn the Key, you can own an affordable luxury home for less than what you might be paying in rent! Learn more about the #TurnTheKey initiative and get started on your home-buying journey by visiting phdcphila.org/turnthekey