One of the seeds on the budding Baltimore Ave. commercial corridor suffered a tragic end on the afternoon of Christmas Eve when Elena’s Soul burnt down just shy of 50th and Baltimore in West Philadelphia.

In 2009

Recent shot

The hope is its neighboring businesses, Gary’s Nails and the Cedar Park Café, can survive the structural stress created by the demolition of Elena’s, which was declared unsafe by L&I.  Felled debris during demolition caused severe damage to Gary’s Nails, which itself might also have to be condemned, according to excerpts from a letter written by the owner of Elena’s, published in the West Philly Local (WPL).

Store next door

The fire originated in the kitchen at Elena’s, most likely above the ceilings, according to an initial inspection by the…

The transformation of East Passyunk Avenue over the past decade has been well documented, with numerous new businesses of all shapes and sizes coming to the Avenue. At the very southern end of the Avenue, however, at 1934 E Passyunk Ave., Colombo’s looms as one of the properties that has not really changed too much as the street has evolved.

A structure that sits on a 2,500 sqft, awkwardly shaped lot, Colombo’s has a restaurant set up inside with a liquor license, as well as permanent outdoor seating. With a well-marketed, properly conceived concept, we could imagine a business finding considerable success at this location. Meanwhile, it’s sat barely used in recent years, offered for sale to anyone willing to meet the owner, Maurice Pisano’s price.

In the past

The property was listed for sale back in 2004 for…

A reader gave us the heads up that 1507 Dickinson St. was currently under construction. This home, located in the Newbold neighborhood, apparently caught fire since Google Maps took its street view photos.

In the past

Photo from Trend

The property was purchased by S&S Remodeling Inc back in April for $65K, and the developers are making progress. We’re not thrilled with the stucco job on the facade, but we suppose it’s possible that the bricks were so damaged by the fire that it would have been prohibitive to restore them. Fortunately, it looks like the cornice is being mostly preserved.

Work in progress

Whether we’re thrilled with the look of this particular rehab, this developer seems fairly legit. They’re working on a new construction project in Northern Liberties that would…

Yesterday, we were driving through the neighborhood, and noticed that 4063 Spring Garden St. was being torn down. A block to the north of a number of student housing units on Baring St., this home sits at the end of a row of examples of truly gorgeous West Philadelphia architecture. Take a look.

In the past

Current view

Closer look.

A fire ravaged this building just a couple of months ago, according to PhillyFireNews. We would imagine the damage from the fire necessitated the building’s demolition. We overheard a worker at the property talking to a neighbor, indicating that the whole building had to come down.

As we mentioned, many of the other properties on the block are just beautiful.

Looking east

…