IRL: Transforming Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Neighborhood | Speedify LIVE

On the 100th episode of Speedify LIVE we explore the streets of Philadelphia’s Spring Arts Neighborhood, with Arts + Crafts Holdings’ own Craig Grossman!

We chat about how this area has been elevated by art and new businesses, how the old train tracks are transforming into a park, and give a number of local businesses like restaurants, music venues and stores a shoutout.

Here are our 5 takeaways from our walk through Spring Arts Neighborhood:

1. People have called this neighborhood by many names: from Callowhill Disctrict to an extension of Northern Liberties, but Craig likes to call it the Spring Arts Neighborhood, stemming from the Spring Arts Lofts project. It’s become a commercial district, filled with like-minded creative people, breathing new life into the area. 
2. Our IRL streaming setup this time is as follows: an iPhone Pro running the stream through Restream Studio, with Speedify combining its own cellular with the Wi-Fi Hotspot of another iPhone, helping to make sure we can walk in and out of buildings without issues. 
3. Philadelphia in general has a lot of murals and public art pieces, so Spring Arts is no exception. It all started with the Mural Arts Program, with the idea of “if you have blank walls, can you do something more with them?”. Craig says they believe that art is an important piece of the puzzle in igniting change in a neighborhood. 
4. Craig says that if you have an empty space, try to think about the ways you can activate it and do something that’s a bit more exciting. For example, turning the Reading train track or a parking lot into a park with lots of local art has helped bring in new residents and businesses.   
5. Spring Arts has a handful of local beer breweries, each bringing new life to the area! Love City has turned one of the pocket parks into their beer garden; Roy Pitz has a small outdoor beer garden; and Triple Bottom is a female-lead business that was the first B Corp brewery in Pennsylvania.