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Thu
Aug 2
2012

What’s With the Vacant Lot Next to Pat’s Steaks?

A reader checked in, asking about the curious vacant lot that’s next door to one of the more prominent (non-historic) tourist attractions in Philadelphia. If you’ve ever visited Pat’s Steaks at any hour of the day or night, you’ve probably noticed the murals that surround the vacant lot directly to the east at 829 Wharton St.

Perhaps you too have thought, ‘geez, isn’t it kind of weird that there’s this giant empty lot next door to Pat’s, I wonder what’s up with that?’

The lot

Pat's

For years, a church was located here. According to this thread on Philadelphia Speaks, Slovak church St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church stood here, until it merged with another Slovak church in Northern Liberties in the late 1970s. The church finally came down in the early 1990s, and a mini-golf course was apparently established for a short time. It’s really tough to find any images of the church, but we found one, from a distance, snapped after the Lafayette Cemetery was closed, and before the Capitolo Playground was built.

That's the church, in the background. Best photo we could find

According to public record, the lot is owned by Anna Olivieri, a member of the family that owns Pat’s. Ms. Olivieri apparently owns some other parcels in the area, one of which was renovated in recent years by the Rachael Ray Show. On the plus side, the space is apparently available to become a garden under the supervision of the Passyunk Square Civic Association, if a group of committed near neighbors wish to put in the time and energy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the lot, which measures nearly 8,000 sqft, is available for sale for redevelopment, which would seem to be the most appropriate thing for this site.

In the meantime, enjoy the murals…

A bunch of dream boats

7
COMMENTS
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Posted in Passyunk Square | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments
  • Anon

    You can see the church in Rocky. Stallone gets a steak at Pat’s and walks across the street and stands in front of it. Also I think your dates may be off. When I move here in the early 90s, the church was long gone, and the mini golf was out of business and tall grass and weeds had grown over the course.

  • barryg

    Only in Philly do you see empty lots and vacant buildings abutting adjacent to high traffic tourist destinations (that also happens to be in the middle of a dense neighborhood). It makes no sense not to develop this lot. 

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/KS5GHC5MHU6WKSVOQ5FDEJ2VVA asddfgaf

    Really, who would want to live next to a 24-hour tourist trap like that? You might as well just move back to New Jersey. Plus, it would be a repeat of South Street all over- people move into a really-busy tourist area and then get all worked up because there’s noise and drunk tourists everywhere. Then Philly dot com has to do story after story on the homeowners because people drunk enough to need a cheesesteak at 2 am can’t stop tearing up their fake flowers and defecating on their dog. There’s no win/win situation here.

    Containment theory is the way to go. One domino falls and there goes the neighborhood with gastropubs serving micro brews alongside $25 burngers and artesian brunch spots everywhere.

  • http://nakedphilly.com/passyunk-square/explaining-the-other-lot-near-pats-steaks/ Explaining the Other Lot Near Pat’s Steaks | NakedPhilly

    [...] week, we wrote about the surprising vacant lot next to Pat’s Steaks, and in response, a reader checked in with some questions about another nearby lot. If it’s [...]

  • Mememe

    The lots arent owned by the same people who run Pat’s Steaks. The sister who owns the lots owns the Pat’s Steaks name, but her brother, with whom she does not get along, owns the actual franchise located at the corner of 9th and Wharton. Thus, the lot isnt maintained by the business and, outside of last name, has no connections to it. 

  • Mememe

    The property owner of these lots also owns lots that were recently put for sale on the 1300 block of Passyunk Avenue and the 900 block of Wharton St, so thats a start. Hopefully over time the other lots will be sold as well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8201023 Scott Gross

    Sibling rivalries aside, seems like it wouldn’t be too hard for one of places to pay someone to clean up the wrappers or mow the lawn, even if they themselves aren’t the deadbeat owners. I regularly clean up the garbage in front of the abandoned house across the street from me, and my estranged sister doesn’t even own the lot OR my business name!

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