If there’s any spot in Philadelphia that’s ripe for haunting, it’s the Capitolo Playground.

Rec center

Playground

Giant grassy field

As we mentioned a few weeks ago in our post on the Palumbo Recreation Center, Philadelphia has a long and inglorious history of loose interpretation where the term ‘final resting place’ is concerned.  The frequently used Capitolo Playground, bound by 9th, 10th, Federal, Wharton and Passyunk, is bathed in the tasteful neon glow of the Pat’s and Geno’s intersection.  However, as Samuel L. Smedley’s 1862 Philadelphia Atlas shows, the same plot was once called Lafayette Cemetery.

In 1862

According to Philadelphia Speaks, Lafayette Cemetery was established in 1839.  It would ultimately become a destination for 47,000 of the city’s deceased.  And there it remained through…

Ah, the intersection of 9th & Passyunk, site of countless regrettable midnight meals, location of numerous fights, assaults, and brawls, and home to some of the most ostentatious neon you’ll see this side of Nevada. Yes, Pat’s and Geno’s have been doing their thing here for decades, and show no signs of slowing down.

Looking south

Now, you would think that this intersection, which probably sees tens of thousands of people pass through it every week (especially in the summertime), would be a commercial hotspot, supporting other extremely successful businesses that could make a mint almost by accident due to their close proximity to our city’s most famous cheesesteak places. Only, this has not really been the case.

The delicious La Lupe is probably the biggest success story, holding down their location for…