David Smith is a limo driver. Edward Taylor is the pastor at Church of the Living God. However, both men have second jobs.
Although these two men have different occupations and operate in different sections of North Philadelphia, Smith in Strawberry Mansion and Taylor in Brewerytown, both run small businesses as a means “to connect with the community,” said Smith.
Born in New York, but now residing in Philadelphia, the avid Yankees and Giants’ fan sells clothes, houseware, electronics and  furniture outside his house on Ridge Ave. at an affordable price. Most of his merchandise has been donated from …

By 5:00 p.m. the sun was still scorching the kids wearing their uniforms in the playoff game between the two co-ed teams: the Little B.I’s and the Big legends.

The first pitch bounced slightly in front of the plate and glided into the catcher’s mitt. On the second pitch, Kahaliff Lisby swung and missed the ball just by a second. On the third, he hit a ground ball and swiftly ran to …

Derrick Ford points to the corner of 32nd and Fountain.

“This corner is vicious. I shot a guy over there,” he said.

“Most of the people I did drugs with are still at it. Often people ask me did I even go to high school,” said Ford with a grin. “I say, ‘I went to school high.’”

Derrick Ford is the self-proclaimed “mayor” of North Philadelphia and he is known as “Rick” in Strawberry Mansion. Not only does he work for the Philadelphia Department of …

Jazz legend John Coltrane lived in Philadelphia from 1952 to 1958.  His Strawberry Mansion home still stands on 1511 N. 33rd St. with a historical plaque in front.  It was named a historical building in 1999 by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. The commission’s office in City Hall still holds many old photographs and legal documents on file.

Norman Gadson, the late owner of the building, left the property to his daughter, who is not old enough to legally own the property.  The family is in the planning process of preserving the Coltrane home.

The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia …

Row homes line this North Philadelphia street–some of them abandoned and wet from the grip of constant rain. There is a single rumble of thunder. A low-lying fog covers the front of a three-story brick house on 1511 N. 33rd St. near Oxford in North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion section. Plywood and planks help hold this home together. The crumbling window frames accent the collapsed ADT Security sign hanging in the central window. Abandoned …

On a typical front porch in North Philadelphia, a red, blue and white awning gives shade to two signs on the corner of 33rd and Diamond streets. One sign advertises water ice in a bright, fruit-flecked rainbow of cherry, lemon and blueberry Italian ice. The other sign says simply: “Capt. Robert Tresville VFW Post 6700. Join the Veterans Who Fought For Our Country.”

Tresville doesn’t live here—he was never found in combat. But 58 African-American veterans do live here, in a …

Dr. Pate A. Purvis, Jr. will turn 53 next month—at least, he hopes to. He has what his doctors feared in January 1985: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. He squeezes his brimming eyes shut, “what is killing me is not just the AIDS anymore” Dr. Purvis sighed. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with an invasive stage of cancer. So far, the best medicine for Dr. Purvis …

Every big city has its neighborhoods to avoid after the sun sets, but in Philadelphia, our problem can be seen everywhere and they cannot be avoided. The difference between a city such as Washington, D.C., and North Philadelphia is that in Washington, the slums are only seen from a distance. But in Philadelphia our badlands are an eyeshot away.
Scattered throughout Philadelphia, yet more prevalent in some areas, abandoned buildings, warehouses and homes provide a constant reminder of what was once a location for commerce, production and living. According to the 2000 Census, Philadelphia had almost …

Bill Thrasher is an officer in North Philadelphia’s 22nd Police District. His blonde hair is youthful, unaltered by sun or life. …