You may never have heard of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia, but not because it hasn’t been around for a while. It was founded in 1888, by members of a veterans group called the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and it’s the oldest Civil War museum in the nation. It has resided since 1922 in a brick row house on Pine Street. For most of that time it was simply the Civil War Library and Museum; in 2003 it added “Underground Railroad” to its name. Philadelphia, with a large free black […]
AD: ERNIE KOVACS For Dutch Masters
Seems that back in the ’50s, smoking actually saved lives. Those were the days…
LIVE FROM THE MILTON MAN MARCH
When you’re laughing, the whole world laughs with you.
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Martha Raddatz has been to Iraq 12 times since the American invasion. She has a new book about a battle that was a turning point in the war, an April 2004 fight in Baghdad’s Sadr City. Raddatz says it was then that American troops realized they were facing an insurgency. The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family is about the soldiers who fought that battle, and their families. One of the soldiers in the battle was Casey Sheehan, the son of antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan. ALSO, Pulitzer Prize winning […]
BREAKING: Head Of Walter Reed Relieved Of Duty
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Thursday that the two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of command following disclosures about inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers. Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman [NOT pictured], who was commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command as well as Walter Reed hospital, was relieved of command by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey. In a brief announcement, the Army said service leaders had “lost trust and confidence” in Weightman’s leadership abilities “to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care” at Walter Reed. The Army and the Defense […]
HOT DOC: Peeps Of The United Internets Vs. The RIAA
BY ADAM FRUCCI/GIZIMODO In case you missed it, last Friday we declared the month of March Boycott the RIAA Month. We’ve gotten sick and tired of always seeing the RIAA pulling deplorable moves and decided it was time for us to do something about it. We’re kicking the month off with this, our manifesto. We want to be absolutely clear about what this fight is about and why it’s so important. This is an overview of what the RIAA does, why it’s damaging, and what we need to do to stop it. Consider this our planted flag. Who We’re Up […]
THE EARLY WORD: Fate Up Against Your Will
Got an event that needs some luv? Well, you better have a badass flyer or ain’t nobody goin’ no how. Seriously. And send it to FEED@PHAWKER.COM. Like, early and shit. We’ll let you know if it sux or not. Because, really, you should know.
THE YARDBIRDS: Train Kept A Rollin’
From Blow-Up.
GUNCRAZY: Three More Dead Since You Went To Bed
Philadelphia police are investigating a double homicide that happened overnight in the city’s Mantua section. The victims, a man and a woman both appearing to be in their 50s, were found in a car near 32nd Street and Mantua Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. Both were shot once in the head, police said. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Names were not released this morning. The deaths raise the city’s 2007 homicide total to 65. INQUIRER: Dead & Deader ALSO: Philadelphia police were investigating yesterday morning’s murder of a man in the 4900 block of Master Street in the […]
GAMBLOR: The Empire Strikes Back!
BY JEFF SHIELDS INQUIRER STAFF WRITER — The fight over development of two casinos on the Philadelphia waterfront turned nasty yesterday, as SugarHouse Casino claimed “widespread and pervasive fraud” in the petition drive to ban slots parlors from Delaware Avenue.The allegations are contained in a complaint that casino lawyers said will be filed today in court. A copy was provided in advance to The Inquirer. SugarHouse lawyers, led by two attorneys who are investors in the project, Richard Sprague and William Lamb, accuse activists of forging signatures and circulating petitions with two different versions of a proposed ballot question. John […]
THE EL Celebrates 100 Years Of Being Mostly On Time
The Market Street subway-elevated line turns 100 years old on Sunday, and riders get the birthday gift: free trips for the afternoon. The birth of the Market Street Line, which allowed passengers to travel easily from 69th Street to the Delaware River, linked Center City to burgeoning new development in West Philadelphia. And it helped spawn more growth west of the Schuylkill, as 69th Street Terminal sprouted in the midst of cow pastures. Philadelphia’s oldest high-speed line — which has since grown into the Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated — emerged at the dawn of intra-urban rail travel, coming just a decade after […]