Philadephia – Page 2

June 1, 2020

Historic Church in Chester, PA Burns

I’m really bummed about this; a while back a buddy of mine, who’s family is part of the Chester Historical Society, mentioned that the society took ownership of a very old and historic Presbyterian church in Chester. As such, we went to the church to help them start to clean it up as well as look around and get a bunch of pictures of the building, noting issues that would need to be addressed and so on.

4 years later, on May 27th 2020, the church burned to the ground.

April 30, 2020

Franklin Institute W3TKQ Station – 1990s to 2002

As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot of my Franklin Institute… obsession?…is related to what used to be called the “Futures Center”; a massive addition to the Franklin Institute in the early 1990s that not only added on a large portion of the building, but filled it with all things modern, like computers, virtual reality, automation, space, and so on.

April 28, 2020

Franklin Institute W3TKQ Amateur Radio Station Updated in 1962 (With Sound!!)

You may recall a previous post HERE where I show an original QST card from the original W3TKQ ham radio station, located in the Franklin Institute in 1958.

Well as all things go with technology, the station needed an update after a few years, and in May 1962, Dr. Wynn Laurence LePage, W3QCV, then president of the Franklin Institute, introduced a new, updated W3TKQ station…

April 15, 2020October 22, 2021

Franklin Institute – Flyer from 1930s?

Here’s another piece of Franklin Institute ephemera, likely from the late 1930s. One interesting aspect of this, is that its printed on waxed paper (like a magazine), which surprises me considering the age. A lot of this stuff likely got printed in FI’s own functional print shop, which I believe used to be housed behind glass walls (for public display) in the basement level (now office space). It was only natural for them to have a print shop, as Ben Franklin himself worked in a print shop for quite a while in his lifetime.

April 15, 2020October 22, 2021

Franklin Institute – Fire Island Lighthouse Light Postcard (1936)

After reviewing my FI stuff on here, not only did I find I goofed a bit on the tags and categories, but I found I didn’t even scan/post all of my FI stuff yet! That said, with my new-found time, let’s get to correcting that!

Show below is a postcard, postmarked in 1936 (when the current Franklin Institute building opened), showing a lighthouse light (originally from Fire Island Lighthouse in NY), that was taken out of service in 1933, and placed on display in the Franklin Institute likely from when the building opened, to around 2000, when the actual light was taken down and placed in storage.

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019

Video Finale of the Wanamaker (Macys) Christmas Light Show – Dec 22nd, 2018 (Philadelphia, PA)

2018 Wanamaker Christmas Light Show Display

This day last year (2018) I took my nephew to the city, and we went to watch the Wanamaker Light Show. As we waited a gentleman offered to show us the organ console up close, and we got to hang out and watch the light show from the console, then witness the finale get played on the mighty Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia, literally the largest fully-functional musical instrument on the planet…

October 4, 2019October 22, 2021

Franklin Institute – 1960s and 1970s

Yet more Franklin Institute postcards! This cool collection came in a few days ago and must have all been purchased at once, as they show what looks to be all from a particular period and all have a similar format. I’m guessing these are from around the 60s to 70s, likely leaning towards the mid to late 60s. Enjoy!

October 3, 2019October 22, 2021

Early Franklin Institute Memorabilia – Taylor and Smith 1874

Being a serial/multiple hobbyist means I often have to weigh how much I want to invest into a particular hobby, and for my “collection” hobbies, this can come with a cost of “missed opportunity” per se. Although I would have REALLY liked to have it, I decided not to bid, and missed out on an extremely early piece of Franklin Institute memorabilia last weekend.

October 2, 2019October 7, 2019

REMINDER: Philly Mini Maker Faire is THIS WEEKEND! Sunday, October 6th 2019!

Just a reminder that the Philly Mini Maker Faire is this weekend on Sunday, October 6th!

Location: Pennovation Works, 3401 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146
Time: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

I highly recommend checking it out if your a maker, tinkerer, fixer, or just interested in technology or mechanics. Maker Faires are not limited to computers, electronics, and other “nerdy” activities, they’re all about making, which includes things like clothing, jewelry, glass blowing, knife making (iron works), food, snacks, and any other “making” activity.

Note that parking for the event is a couple blocks away from the event itself, and there are free shuttle buses available that take you back and forth.

Buy your tickets early for a discount! Web site: https://philly.makerfaire.com/

See you there!

September 8, 2019September 5, 2019

Cinema I & II Movie Theater – Plymouth Meeting Mall 1992

I figured I’d share this to get a copy posted up here. My sister sent me this since it was shared on Facebook recently, and as a nostalgia nut this is the kind of stuff I LOVE finding. This is the movie theater at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, in Plymouth Meeting PA, likely around 1992 (due to the movie poster you see – the movie was “Boomerang“.)