First 11 Mile Loop of 2005
Even though I hate running in rain, I got myself out of the house at 7 am in a steady rain to do my first extended (I hesitate to say long) run of the year. I ran my regular 11 mile (give or take) loop that takes me down to Taney Park, along the bikepath to West River Drive and up to the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, where I turn left and go through Fairmount Park on Belmont and keep going through Mantua where Belmont becomes 44th St. Running time was 94:34 in what felt like an 8:15-8:30 pace. The rain stopped when I was on WRD, and after that the conditions were primo.
This is the first time I've run this far since the Philly Marathon in November, and everything felt good. Running an old familiar loop after being away for awhile is like catching up with an old friend.
The biggest change I saw in this "friend" was on the last third of the loop, which takes me through Mantua, one of Philadelphia's more "economically depressed" neighborhoods. Running on Belmont south of Girard, I was surprised to see at least three or four rowhouses being gut rehabbed, with construction guys in and around the houses. This is a neighborhood in which blocks that were once solid rows of two-story rowhouses are now pockmarked with abandoned houses and gaps where houses once stood and either collapsed or were torn down. For decades the economics of the area held that the investment to fix these houses vastly exceeded the price that could be gained by selling the refurbished homes. Those economics seem to have changed, and although it is but the beginning of a process that still has a ways to go, it is a very encouraging sign.
Further on, past where Belmont crosses Lancaster, there were at least five or six houses that were torn down in my absence. These are in addition to at least ten that were torn down over the fall and the wholesale demolition of the Mill Creek public housing project. Much of this is part of Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, and the Mill Creek demolition is paid for with Federal money. With the latter the replacement housing is starting to take shape as a substantial platte of low-rise housing, and the rest of the demolition has spawned vacant lots that are now merging into each other to produce larger parcels of land. I'm a bit more ambivalent about these latter changes, as on one hand I still feel that realistically much of this housing (near the site of the infamous Lex St. Massacre a few years back) won't ever be renovated and is in such shape that it will be torn down sooner or later. On the other hand, its a shame to see this housing go, and one is left to wonder what will take its place. Will it be open lots overgrown with weeds, in the style of Detroit? Big box stores as in Harlem? Or something leading to a revitalized neighborhood? We will have to wait and see, probably a few years before any conclusions can be drawn.
So there's a little sociology on the run. Running these same routes over a period of years is like time lapse photography. Running day after day at a speed slow enough to permit detailed observation lets daily observations grow into deeper understandings. Its hard to explain, but after awhile I feel like I become a part of my familiar routes.
This is the first time I've run this far since the Philly Marathon in November, and everything felt good. Running an old familiar loop after being away for awhile is like catching up with an old friend.
The biggest change I saw in this "friend" was on the last third of the loop, which takes me through Mantua, one of Philadelphia's more "economically depressed" neighborhoods. Running on Belmont south of Girard, I was surprised to see at least three or four rowhouses being gut rehabbed, with construction guys in and around the houses. This is a neighborhood in which blocks that were once solid rows of two-story rowhouses are now pockmarked with abandoned houses and gaps where houses once stood and either collapsed or were torn down. For decades the economics of the area held that the investment to fix these houses vastly exceeded the price that could be gained by selling the refurbished homes. Those economics seem to have changed, and although it is but the beginning of a process that still has a ways to go, it is a very encouraging sign.
Further on, past where Belmont crosses Lancaster, there were at least five or six houses that were torn down in my absence. These are in addition to at least ten that were torn down over the fall and the wholesale demolition of the Mill Creek public housing project. Much of this is part of Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, and the Mill Creek demolition is paid for with Federal money. With the latter the replacement housing is starting to take shape as a substantial platte of low-rise housing, and the rest of the demolition has spawned vacant lots that are now merging into each other to produce larger parcels of land. I'm a bit more ambivalent about these latter changes, as on one hand I still feel that realistically much of this housing (near the site of the infamous Lex St. Massacre a few years back) won't ever be renovated and is in such shape that it will be torn down sooner or later. On the other hand, its a shame to see this housing go, and one is left to wonder what will take its place. Will it be open lots overgrown with weeds, in the style of Detroit? Big box stores as in Harlem? Or something leading to a revitalized neighborhood? We will have to wait and see, probably a few years before any conclusions can be drawn.
So there's a little sociology on the run. Running these same routes over a period of years is like time lapse photography. Running day after day at a speed slow enough to permit detailed observation lets daily observations grow into deeper understandings. Its hard to explain, but after awhile I feel like I become a part of my familiar routes.
posted by seebo | 4:34 PM
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