Frank Spagnuola, 85, formerly of Philadelphia, one of the original American Bandstand dancers, 1957 Chalypso dance champion, longtime interior designer, and gourmet home cook, died Monday, Aug. 17, of congestive heart failure at the Complete Care at Court House nursing center in Cape May Court House.
Born and reared in South Philadelphia, Mr. Spagnuola was lifelong friends with performers Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Fabian Forte, James Darren, and Jerry Blavat, and dozens of other singers, dancers, musicians, and disc jockeys from the neighborhood. He enjoyed socializing as well as music and dancing, and, at 15, became one of the original dancers when the old WFIL-TV station hosted Bandstand and then American Bandstand in the 1950s and ’60s.
The TV station invited local teens to dance to the latest hits in its Studio B on Market Street in West Philadelphia, and Mr. Spagnuola did just that on many afternoons from 1955 to 1963. In 1957, he and partner Dottie Horner finished first in American Bandstand’s first Chalypso contest, spotlighting an original Philly dance that combines the cha-cha and the calypso.
“We would cut classes” to dance on Bandstand, Mr. Spagnuola, a graduate of the old Bishop Neumann High School, said in a 2017 video interview. “We had eight or nine classes, and we would leave, like, the sixth class. Father would say, ‘Where are you going?’ Well, you know where we’re going, Father. The priests watched the show. I mean, everybody watched the show.”
Mr. Spagnuola graduated from the old Bishop Neumann High School in 1958.Courtesy of the family
It was downstairs at Studio B, Mr. Spagnuola said, that he encountered Bandstand guest stars Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, and Sal Mineo. As a teen in the neighborhood, he performed in local skit shows with Rydell and played football and double-dated with Fabian.
On Facebook, Fabian called Mr. Spagnuola “a gentleman and talented dancer,” and said: “Frank Spagnuola was one of the most popular and beloved regular dancers on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand during the show’s iconic Philadelphia era.”
Mr. Spagnuola is profiled at history-of-rock.com and bandstand.cafex.biz, and he and Dottie Horner are on the cover of the 1997 Dick Clark’s American Bandstand souvenir collectors’ magazine. He is featured in the 1997 New Jersey Network documentary Bandstand Days and called the show “part of American history.”
Over the years, as Bandstand’s popularity ebbed and flowed, he routinely reconnected with other original dancers — they were called the Bandstand Regulars — at reunions, public events, and celebrations in the region. American Bandstand went off the air in 1989.
Mr. Spagnuola and his dance partner, Dottie Horner, were on the cover of this 1997 souvenir collectors’ magazine. Courtesy of the family
“Everybody loved Frank,” said longtime disc jockey and music director Tommy McCarthy. “He had an infectious smile. He was a guy you just liked.”
Friends on Facebook called Mr. Spagnuola “movie star handsome,” “a rock & roll soldier,” “a Bandstand pioneer,” and “one of the nicest gentleman you could ever meet.” One said: “Wonderful dancer, wonderful person, wonderful friend.”
After graduating from Bishop Neumann in 1958, Mr. Spagnuola worked in a high-end carpet store, studied interior design, and earned an associate’s degree at the old Philadelphia College of the Arts. He became an interior designer, worked for Sears at the Moorestown Mall for 25 years, and was active with the American Society of Interior Designers.
On his own, he did private design work for Muhammad Ali, former Eagles assistant coach Jon Gruden, and other local notables. “He cultivated an eye for beauty and design,” his family said in a tribute, “shaping spaces with elegance and functionality.”
Mr. Spagnuola (left above) stands with his wife, Janet, and Bobby Rydell. Below, he is flanked by Fabian (left) and Frankie Avalon.Courtesy of the family
Francis Michael Spagnuola was born Nov. 2, 1940. The oldest of three brothers, he liked to hang out at the Jersey Shore and dine on Italian food.
He married Janet Moretti, and they had a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Carrie, and lived in South Philadelphia and Center City. His wife died in 2005.
Mr. Spagnuola moved to Cape May later, became an accomplished home cook, and was known for his crab salad dip. He was passionate, upbeat, and funny, everyone said, and his children called him “a steadfast anchor and a lifelong source of support.”
His family said: “He leaves behind a memory as warm and enduring as the summer shore and the Wildwood days he so dearly cherished.”
Mr. Spagnuola enjoyed time with his children (above) and grandchildren (below).Courtesy of the family
His son said: “He loved life. He loved people. He loved characters.”
In addition to his children, Mr. Spagnuola is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. Two brothers died earlier.
The Philadelphia Phillies installed artificial turf atAshburn Field in FDR Park in July but still have not obtained a required state permit, according to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection records.
Major League Baseball and Phillies Charities Inc. held a ribbon-cutting for the renovated field, named after Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, on July 10. It was part of festivities leading up to the MLB All-Star Game.
The renovation of the decades-old field included removing natural grass in favor of a “high-performance synthetic turf system and upgraded drainage” at the five-acre complex, according to an MLB news release.
However, documents from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) show that the Phillies never obtained the required permit designed to address erosion control and stormwater release at the site.
Under Pennsylvania law, anyone disturbingmore than one acre of ground is required to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges before beginning the work andexplain how the work will affect drainage going forward.
DEP spokesperson Robyn Briggs said in an e-mailed statement that the agency is “currently reviewing the Phillies’ permit application and the compliance situation at the site. Because this matter is still under review, DEP cannot comment on whether any enforcement action or penalty will be taken.”
The permit review is listed as “paused,” the statement said, because the DEP is still waiting for the Phillies to address outstanding issues.
“Once the necessary information is received, DEP can continue its review,” the statement said.
City approval?
Bonnie Clark, a spokesperson for the Phillies, said in an e-mailed statement that “the recent upgrades to Richie Ashburn Field were undertaken in coordination with the city and relevant governmental agencies.”
Clark said the city authorized the work to proceed while permit applications were in process so the upgraded field could host All-Star Week events.
“We expect to obtain all necessary final approvals as early as next week,” Clark said.
Clark did not specify who at the city, or what department, the Phillies were working with. City officials did not respond to requests for comment.
When asked if this was proper procedure, Briggs reiterated that the DEP is “reviewing the compliance situation at the site” and noted the state law that requires the stormwater permit for construction-related earth disturbance.
Typically, state law supersedes city authority.
What is Ashburn Field?
Ashburn Field was part of an investment MLB made in Philadelphia’s youth baseball community for the 1996 All-Star Game. The field, owned by Philadelphia as part of its park system, is managed by the Phillies. It is the first large turf field installed at FDR Park.
MLB said the newly renovated field will serve about 8,000 participants in the Phillies Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and Youth Academy programs, “while providing a weather-resistant playing surface in an area where rain often forces cancellations.”
On May 27, the DEP sent a letter to the Phillies notifying the team that it needed additional information and logged 32 items that needed to be addressed, according to documents obtained by The Inquirer. That letter noted that final plan drawings had not been submitted, other drawings failed to include the project’s boundary, and not all water discharge areas were noted.
A local engineering firm hired by the Phillies responded in June to each point.
On July 7, the DEP sent another letter to the Phillies again noting technical deficiencies. And it sent another letter on July 24, about two weeks after the ribbon cutting, noting an outstanding deficiencyandtelling the Phillies to resubmit information in coordination with the Philadelphia Water Department.
Adding artificial turf to Ashburn Field is the latest in a yearslong debate about changes to FDR Park.
In 2019, the city’s parks and recreation department released a master plan to overhaul FDR Park, including theinstallation of 12 artificial turf fields in the footprint of a former golf course. (Those fields are separate from Ashburn Field.)
The department said average rainfall left sections of the park unusable for days because of frequent flooding. Officials predicted that flooding would only worsen because of climate changeand saidartificial turf fields would provide better flood control. The plan would require cutting down dozens of trees.
But that was pre-pandemic.
As COVID restrictions shut down the world, the golf course returned to a wild state and became a beloved space by dog owners, hikers, and birders. They nicknamed the space “the Meadows.”
Local opposition to the city’s plan grew, with critics objecting to the use of artificial turf amid natural lands. A grassroots group of South Philadelphians formed the Coalition to Save the Meadows, which has been vocal in its efforts to stop the park overhaul.
At the same time, the fields drew support from youth athletic clubs.
In March 2024, 11 South Philly residents filed suit calling for a stop on all work across FDR Park.
In May, Orphans’ Court Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper denied the critics’request to temporarily stop work on the park as the trial played out.
In a recent social media post, the Coalition to Save the Meadows asked why the Phillies were allowed to move forward on Ashburn Field without the permit.
“PA DEP regulations and permitting requirements exist for a reason: to protect our waterways, watershed, and the people and wildlife that depend on them,” the post read. “So how was this project allowed to move forward without a permit — and will there be consequences?”
A legacy of artificial turf
Although Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies, has a natural grass field, the team is no stranger to artificial turf.
The article noted that the death of former Phillie David West in 2022 came at a time when there was growing scientific concern about the perils of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because of their resistance to breaking down.
PFAS were used to make the AstroTurf that was used at Veterans Stadium. The Vet opened in 1971 and was demolished in 2004.
For Ashburn Field, the Phillies also installed AstroTurf. However, AstroTurf says on its website that it now uses a PFAS-free formula. A company news release on Ashburn Field said the infill for the new turf uses an organic material made from cork and olive.
School begins Monday for about 113,000 Philadelphia School District students.
Janis Butler, the interim principal of Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary in South Philadelphia, has decades of experience in teaching and administration.
But she is still thrilled at the prospect of personally welcoming back Coppin’s 500-plus students.
“It’s a rah-rah, we’re back in business now,” Butler said.
Here is what to know about the 2026-27 school year.
Book cover posters highlight positive emotions in the second grade classroom of teacher Gabrielle DiCrosta at Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026 ahead of the start of the school year on Aug. 24 for the School District of Philadelphia.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
But on the cusp of that cutoff, 52 schools remain inadequately cooled. That is likely to come into play as school starts in August, with weeks to go before temperatures cool down.
The district’s extreme-weather protocol calls for schools that lack sufficient air-conditioning in classrooms and other learning spaces to dismiss early if temperatures are forecast to reach or go past 85 degrees by noon. The protocol mandates remote learning if temperatures are expected to hit 85 degrees by 9 a.m.
That means an unequal experience for students across the system, with students in some schools not missing any instructional time when it’s hot, and those in a quarter of schools subject to interrupted schedules.
Gloria Casarez Elementary School, in Kensington, got window units in all of its classrooms in 2024. As of the start of the 2026-27 school year, 52 schools still have no air conditioning.Kristen A. Graham / Staff
The holdup in air-conditioning all district schools is not related to the cost of air-conditioning units, but rather upgrading old electrical systems in the 52 schools.
Such upgrades are tricky. An HVAC project at Kensington High went awry this summer, triggering asbestos issues that forced students and staff to relocate for the rest of the calendar year.
Watlington cited dips in student attendance around half days, and said they are inconvenient for parents who must scramble to plan for childcare around the irregular schedule.
Eight half days had been previously scheduled for this year.
This is the final year before some schools close, and others merge
The school board voted in April to move forward with a $3 billion facilities plan that will close 17 schools and renovate 169.
The first closures are expected at the end of the school year. That means that this is a planning year for 50 schools — those that are closing, beginning phaseouts, or receiving students in the 2027-28 school year.
Students, teachers and supporters rally before a community meeting at John B. Stetson Middle School in this February file photo. Stetson is one of 17 schools ordered closed by the Philadelphia school board.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The district is forming transition committees at those 50 schools, and will begin accepting applications Aug. 31 for roughly 20 spots on each transition committee.
Plenty of administrative shifts have happened
Watlington has made a number of changes at the top of his administration, some as a result of departures. Other leaders were given new roles or responsibilities.
Among the changes are: a new chief of talent, Kristi Murphy Baldwin; a new deputy superintendent of academic services, Brenda Elliott; a new chief academic officer, Michael Farrell; and additional responsibilities for Nathalie Nérée, who becomes chief of special education, diverse learners, and wellness.
Nyshawana Francis-Thompson has a new title:senior adviser for strategic initiatives and innovation.
Jamina Clay-Dingle is now assistant superintendent of school management and organization.
Kahlila Johnson, a former principal of Overbrook High, is now an assistant superintendent responsible for a district learning network.Courtesy of the Philadelphia School District
There are some new assistant superintendents for various learning networks around the city: Kelly Espinosa and Kahlila Johnson will serve full-time, and Wilfredo Ortiz and Lucy Feria on an interim basis.
Noah Tennant is now associate superintendent for secondary schools, and Tomás Hanna is now associate superintendent for student life and school operations.
A number of schools have new principals, too: Adaire Elementary, Amanda Strain; Bridesburg Elementary, Louis Depa; Clemente Middle School, Regina Barr; Edison High, Albert Sniezevage; Benjamin Franklin Elementary, Ryan Sullivan; Heston Elementary, Kamia Smith; Lawton Elementary, Michelle Todd-Coleman; Memphis Street Academy, Wayne Diggs; Northeast High, Andrew Lukov; Southwark Elementary, Mason Luksch Wilson; Bayard Taylor Elementary, Claire Charles; Tilden Middle School, Jessica Culp; Waring Elementary, Cathryn Anderson.
Whitney Biennial curators travel the length and breadth of the country, paying visits to artists in their studios, surveying their work, and picking creators whose work they think represents the present climate of art making in the country. Together, they bring a once-every-two-years expansive exhibition to New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art, often regarded as the most prestigious and faithful register of American art.
Past biennial curators — the 2024 edition was curated by the Institute of Contemporary Art’s former associate curator, Meg Onli — have embarked on these travels separately, but for the country’s 250th year and the biennial’s 82nd, Whitney curators Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer traveled together.
Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial 2026 curators Drew Sawyer, Marcela GuerreroBryan Derballa
“We wanted to just listen to artists and see where they were at, see what they were thinking about, how they were processing recent events,” said Guerrero. They traveled for a bit over a year, nationally and internationally, and visited more than 300 artists.
“The idea of relationality and how do we relate in different ways” at political and interpersonal levels, is a theme that eventually emerged from their survey, Guerrero said.
While in the past some curators have traveled as far as Hawaii, Guerrero and Sawyer’s short travel to Philadelphia in the winter of 2024 proved equally fruitful.
“Philly was such a productive trip and very coherent in terms of what we were hearing from artists on gentrification, displacement, and the cost of living,” Guerrero said.
Artists in Philadelphia, Sawyer noticed, “seem to be particularly preoccupied with ideas of infrastructure” and there exists a strong sense of connection among them. Several of the city’s artist are graduates of the MFA programs at the University of Pennsylvania and University of the Arts, taught by the same professors like Michelle Lopez (whose work is included in this year’s biennial) and Sharon Hayes (whose work was a part of the 2024 biennial).
Maia Chao, “Being Moved,” 2026. Performance, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 14–17, 2026. Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.Julieta Cervantes
Performance artists Maia Chao and Jonathan González, both of whose works are part of the biennial, live in West Philadelphia and are friends and collaborators. Emilio Martínez Poppe attended Penn and studied with Lopez, and was particularly interested in the idea of infrastructure from the perspective of the labor of public sector employees to help build and maintain our social and civic architectures.
“A kind of certain institutional critique, I would say, was common” among Philadelphia artists, said Sawyer.
“One of my biggest takeaways is the real vibrancy of the artistic scene in Philadelphia,” he said.
Here are the Philadelphia artists whose works appear in the Whitney Biennial.
West Philadelphia-based artist Maia Chao’s performance pieces “Being Moved’ and “Scores for the Museum Visitor” are part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial.Amelia Golden
Maia Chao
“Scores for the Museum Visitor,” “Being Moved”
Maia Chao’s performance art emerges from studying social behavior. Where some might see the mundane walk from home to work, she sees choreography, a rhythm, and an interaction of the body with its surroundings.
Her biennial performance piece Being Moved, choreographed by Lena Engelstein, takes inspiration from how museum visitors interact with the art. “It reframes the focus from the art itself to the visitors’ experience,” she said. The title refers to both “this potential to be moved by an artwork,” but also “of the ways that the institution makes us move, makes us move our bodies, and makes us behave in the presence of extremely valuable assets.”
That tension of the push and pull of a museum — where its mission might seem inviting and welcoming but once inside, rules around how to behave, what to touch abound — is at the center of Chao’s piece.
Maia Chao, “Being Moved,” 2026. Performance, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 14–17, 2026. Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.Julieta Cervantes
When visiting the biennial beyond Chao’s performance schedule, visitors view Scores for the Museum Visitor as a set of prompts, an invitation to create “micro performances” of their own.
Among the scores are: “Identify another museum visitor. From afar, copy their movements as closely as possible.” “While holding a museum brochure, clasp your hands behind your back. Drop the brochure.” “Find a bench. Take a seat. Imagine the artworks slowly falling to the floor.”
“These are invitations to kind of transgress the rules, [for] engaging with the artwork, or interpreting and encountering an artwork,” the artist said.
Maia Chao, “Being Moved,” 2026. Performance, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 14–17, 2026. Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.Julieta Cervantes
Chao first caught the curators’ attention with Agents of Deterioration (2024), made in collaboration with Ethan Philbrick, a performance piece commissioned by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Sawyer was drawn in by Chao’s “legacy of institutional critique through affective registers.”
“There’s a real kind of commitment to the institution, even as Maia is critiquing it, which we felt was important in this moment where there’s, from many different directions, an eroding of faith in institutions. We were really interested in the way she both critiques and pushes institutions to do better,” he said.
Artist and Penn professor Michelle Lopez whose “Pandemonium” is part of the 2026 Whitney BiennialKelsey Valencia, Denniston Hill Residency
Michelle Lopez
“Pandemonium”
Pandemonium is a fully Philadelphia piece of art. It was made in collaboration with the Moore College of Art and Design and the Franklin Institute, supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and the University of Pennsylvania, filmed at Northeast Philadelphia’s RAIR (Recycled Artist in Residency), premiered at the Fels Planetarium and the Galleries at Moore, and inspired by artist Michelle Lopez’s earlier work exhibited at the ICA.
“Philadelphia is just a really supportive environment for artists,” said Lopez, who is an associate professor of fine arts at Penn’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, where she leads the sculpture program. “I could not have made that work in New York.”
The video project, as Lopez says, came from a desire to “situate the viewer in the eye of a storm so that they could feel, on a somatic level, what it was like to have their environment really collapse around them.”
At the Whitney Museum, Pandemonium plays on a domed screen on the ceiling of the gallery and demands that the viewer sit below it and look up. What they witness is things moving around with a violent force against the sky — debris, newspapers, packaging, clothing (including Lopez’s own and her son’s old underwear), and other markers of extreme human consumption.
In order to make this mayhem happen, Lopez, who is trained in sculpture, built a tornado machine using a robotic contraption, industrial fans, and leaf blowers. Together they created a simulation of a tornado at RAIR which was then filmed and eventually screened in the Fels Planetarium.
“A lot of the work imagistically, came from seeing images of tornadoes and hurricanes wiping out towns. I was really interested in the way nature could collapse culture,” said Lopez, who lives in South Philadelphia.
Installation view of Whitney Biennial 2026 (Whitney Museum of American Art, March 8–August 2026). Michelle Lopez, “Pandemonium,” 2025.Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
While a Whitney gallery is nowhere close to the grandeur and wonder of the Fels Planetarium, the 360-format video manages to suck in a viewer who feels almost weightless as the feeling of being thrown around by the forces of nature is simulated.
When the curators visited Philadelphia for studio visits, “top on our list was Michelle Lopez,” said Sawyer. “We were aware that she had been working on this major moving image project that departed from what she’s most well known for, which is sculpture. So we were really excited to meet with her, especially because her work had not been a part of the biennial before.”
Artist Emilio Martínez Poppe, whose work “Civic Views” was on display in the City Hall courtyard last year. This year, it’s a part of the Whitney Biennial.Neal Santos
Emilio Martínez Poppe
“Civic Views”
Like Lopez’s Pandemonium, artist Emilio Martínez Poppe’s Civic Views is an artwork that is only possible because the city of Philadelphia exists. Several Philadelphians have already seen Martínez Poppe’s workwhen it was on view last year in the City Hall courtyard.
Martínez Poppe was then studying city planning and working toward an MFA in visual art from Penn when he was mulling over the future of city planning graduate students who’d go on to join the public service workforce.
It was in conversation with professors that he found out that the oldest surviving daguerreotype in the country, which is stored at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, was taken by Joseph Saxon, who was a public sector employee working for the U.S. Mint.
“That was shot out of the U.S. Mint, where the Widener Building is today. He’s following Daguerre’s technological recipe, he uses it to photograph what he sees through the window. Unlike Daguerre, who was a theater entrepreneur, Saxton was a public sector employee who was doing something he was not hired to do,” said Martínez Poppe. “He was hired to work on the newly nationalized currency and he was tinkering with this invention in his office, and that view is one of the only real entry points that we have into his position at his job there, which is interesting.”
Emilio Martínez Poppe looks out the windows at the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services office on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 in Philadelphia. Emilio Martínez Poppe is working on a project curated by Jameson Paige that documents the views from municipal service buildings. The project also includes interviews with city workers.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Inspired, Martínez Poppe visited municipal buildings all across Philadelphia and photographed views from the inside out so he could document what city workers see from their windows. Alongside, he conducted “dozens of long form, anonymized interviews” with city workers from more than 20 agencies.
“I would ask them, what was your perspective of city government before working here, who taught you about the value of public sector work? Often, so many people would tell me it was their mothers.”
Civic Views is a result of those conversations — a coming together of anonymized interview snippets and photographs displayed in a scaffolding-like structure in the middle of a Whitney gallery. “It’s the scaffolding that dissolves the authoritative center, even in the Whitney Biennial,” said Martínez Poppe.
An installation view of Emilio Martínez Poppe’s “Civic Views.”Summer Surgent-Gough
“The public sector is vulnerable to radical change, for better or worse. With my work, I want to say that it’s time to seize the means, seize our technology to create the world that belongs to us,” the artist, who now works for the New York City Mayor’s Office as a civic arts programs coordinator, said.
“We need to assume that responsibility. That’s why the project centers the voices of workers and how their positions shape their views. But also how their views shape the structures that we are living in and living through.”
On the curators’ Philadelphia visit, Guerrero recalled seeing Civic Views and people of the city interacting with it. “It was very touching,” she said. Her favorite part about the work is that it uses “the tropes of the camera, of the interview, of bureaucracy, but then upends it completely.”
Installation view of Whitney Biennial 2026 (Whitney Museum of American Art, March 8–August 2026). “Civic Views” (2024) by Emilio Martínez Poppe, “Philadelphia Housing Authority, South,” 2024; Emilio Martínez Poppe, “Philadelphia Department of Sanitation, North,” 2024; Emilio Martínez Poppe along with works of Kainoa GruspeJason Lowrie/BFA.com
“You see how important the job of a public servant is,” she said, “and how you know they’re in kind of a double bind because they’re the face of the government and also they receive the same services they provide … their kids are in the public school system, they depend on the Department of Sanitation.”
She finds this complexity “beautifully translated” in Civic Views. “You can really put yourself in the shoes of the person who’s speaking and feel the care that really goes into this type of work that should not be overlooked.”
Artist Jonathan González whose performance piece ‘magic hour — golden time’ is part of the 2026 Whitney BienialRudy Gerson
Jonathan González
“magic hour — golden time”
Like Chao, Jonathan González’s work also sees a two-pronged approach with performance and photography. Three Super 8 photographs, A, B, and C, mark the locations, across the museum, of the three-hour long performance piece presented by González and their co-artists.
“Each photograph shares with the performers how to perform the work,” said González, who also lives in West Philadelphia. Magic hour-golden time, they said, “is a double leaning. Magic hour comes from the usage in broadcast television when you have the highest viewership. And golden hour is that moment of the sunset. And so the piece is merging this experience of looking out and also being seen over three hours.”
Jonathan González, “magic hour–golden time,” 2026. Rehearsal performance, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 12, 2026. Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.Julieta Cervantes
From three terraces around the museum, the performers follow the sun’s movement for three hours. In the first hour, the performers “embody the architecture that surrounds the museum” and makes up the city’s skyline. The second hour, they said, “is a procedure of call and response … the dancers dance with every dance you’ve ever danced, and take information from one another as dancers, as well as from the pedestrians.”
The final hour, González said, is performed on an inaccessible terrace. “It can only be viewed from across the street, you cannot see it from the museum. It’s called the ‘Endless Bow,’ and it’s 60 minutes of bowing to the sun and bowing to the world and bowing to the performance.”
Philadelphia, the former University of the Arts professor said, gives them “the capacity to slow down to hear these voices, and have dreams, visions come to you.” The city allows them the time to spend time in the studio with friends like Chao and inspires them to “collaborating not toward a particular product or aim, but much of the time experimentation.”
Jonathan González, “magic hour–golden time,” 2026. Performance, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 12, 2026. Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.Julieta Cervantes
“Just the fertile nature of Philly as a historical Black geography has been really important for me to really situate the questions of time and what happens to a city at the late stage of industrialization, and to really think critically about what a group can do, what mutuality is,” they said.
“Certain artists just stay in your mind, and you want to come back and see what they are working on,” said Guerrero recalling her first tryst with González’s work. “The work felt so mature. There’s this notion of how, through improvisation, you can be attuned to your surroundings. In the case of their performance, they make these other effective strategies [for attunement] that don’t always rely on the senses, and that is something that is very present in the show.”
The Whitney Biennial 2026 is on view through Aug. 23 and on partial view, which will include all of the Philadelphia artists’ static works, through Oct. 12. The Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St., New York. whitney.org
Philadelphia is one of three finalist cities to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, the party announced Thursday.
In addition to Philadelphia, the Democratic National Committee said it is also considering Denver and Boston on its narrowed short list of cities to hold the next presidential nominating convention. The announcement means that Atlanta and Chicago, which were on a previous list of five potential host cities, have been eliminated from contention.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement that the three finalist cities put forward “incredibly strong bids.” He did not say why the party is no longer considering Atlanta or Chicago.
If Philadelphia is picked, the convention would take place from Aug. 7 to 10, 2028, at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the South Philadelphia stadium complex. The Republican Party’s 2028 convention will be held in Houston.
Democrats in 2028 will choose from an array of potential candidates to succeed President Donald Trump. No major candidate has formally launched a campaign, but Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is widely considered to be a contender.
The announcement comes as Martin has faced criticism for his leadership of the party, especially as it relates to fundraising. Democrats trail Republicans ahead of this year’s midterm elections when it comes to money in the bank.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is joined by city leaders and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and his team for a “One City” salute group photo Thursday, April 30, 2026, after they toured the Xfinity Mobile Arena facilities as the city makes its bid to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The party’s decision to narrow its 2028 convention short list comes after Martin and other top officials traveled to the five finalist cities in the spring to assess logistical readiness, including arena capacity, technological capabilities, transportation and security infrastructure, and more.
In April, local Democratic officials and some of the city’s biggest boosters wooed Martin over the course of a three-day trip and presented the city as an improved tourist destination since 2016, the last time the party hosted its major convention in the city. That year, Democrats nominated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the general election to Trump.
The events draw thousands of party members and journalists from around the world, putting the host region in the spotlight for several days. Proponents of hosting the convention also argue that it will generate business as visitors eat, shop, and play; the true economic impact of conventions, however, is up for debate.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who has led the city’s effort to bid for the 2028 convention, said in a news release that Philadelphia this year has “proven that we can do big things better than any other city in the country.”
She cited this summer’s litany of big events in the city, including FIFA World Cup games, the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, and events associated with America’s 250th birthday.
“We are ready to welcome the Democratic Party and the nation back to our city,” she said.
David L. Cohen, the longtime Democratic Party stalwart and president of Pick Pennsylvania, the city’s host committee, said in a statement that Philadelphia’s selection as a finalist “is a testament to the ongoing strength of our bid and our record of success.”
“We have presented an unmatched case,” he said, “built on experience, preparation, strong partnerships, and a proven ability to deliver major national and international events.”
You say you want a revolution? That’s not quite what SEPTA’s proposing. This weekend, the region’s transit agency will roll out the first phase of its New Bus Network, the bus system’s first significant update since the agency was formed in the 1960s.
Sound familiar? Once dubbed Bus Revolution, the project began in 2021 after transit agencies around the country saw massive declines in ridership. SEPTA’s Bus Revolution was set to launch in 2025 but faced significant community pushback and coincided with the state funding crisis that halted many planned transit initiatives. It was officially shelved in November 2024.
Later phases of the plan, which will roll out in 2027, will impact other neighborhoods. The number of bus routes in SEPTA’s system will drop from the current 124 to 106 when all four phases are complete.
SEPTA says the changes are needed to modernize the system and make it easier to use.
To help you navigate the changes that will impact how you navigate the city, we’re here to breakdown down all 30 impacted routes.
This route remains the same but with reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 16-25 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturdays
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 22-25 minutes
Every 30 minutes
6
Cheltenham-Ogontz to Olney Transportation Center
On weekdays, route 6 will have increased service during peak hours, but a reduced service otherwise.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 11-13 minutes
Every 10 minutes
Weekdays
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 20 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Weekdays
midnight to 4 a.m.
Every 30-40 minutes
Every 60 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
17
Front-Market to 20th-Johnston
Route 17 will be shortened and no longer operate on its old route from 20th Street and Johnston Street down to the stadium complex or the Navy Yard. SEPTA recommends Navy Yard commuters take route 45 instead.
This route will also operate with reduced service overnight.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
midnight to 5 a.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
25
Frankford Transportation Center to Front-Spring Garden
Route 25 is essentially being cut in half. The old route ran down Delaware Avenue to Columbus Commons. The new route will terminate at the Spring Garden Market-Frankford Line station. The old route from Spring Garden to Columbus Commons will be serviced by the new route 76.
Route 25 will now operate for 24 hours a day, as part of SEPTA’s late-night OWL network.
This route will also have increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20-30 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Weekends
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 20 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
32
Broad-Carpenter to Ridge-Lyceum
Route 32 will have slightly reduced service with fewer buses overall. All route 32 buses will terminate at Manayunk, as opposed to the previous schedule where half would terminate at 33rd Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. There’s also a slight route extension into Roxborough for school service.
35
Manayunk Roxborough Loop
Route 35 will be discontinued on Aug. 23. SEPTA recommends riders take route 61.
According to SEPTA’s operation statistics, route 35 is the seventh most expensive bus based on the average cost per passenger.
39
Richmond-Cumberland to 33rd-Dauphin
Route 39 will remain the same but with reduced service on weekdays and slightly increased service on Saturday evenings..
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20-30 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturday
5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 40-60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
44
Front-Market to Ardmore
Route 44 will no longer run along its old route that would sometimes terminate at Gladwyne. Beginning Aug. 23, all 44 buses will run to Ardmore, with select trips stopping at Narberth.
This route will also have reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 15-30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
Weekends
6 a.m. to midnight
Every 30 minutes
Every 60 minutes
45
Navy Yard/Broad-Oregon to 12th-Noble
Route 45 will be extended to the Navy Yard to cover for the changes to route 17.
After 9 p.m. the route will have reduced service on weekdays.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 20 minutes
Every 30 minutes
46
58th-Baltimore to 63rd-Malvern
Route 46 will have increased service on weekdays.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Saturdays
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every 20 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Sundays
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Every 30 minutes
Every 20 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
47
Whitman Plaza to 5th-Godfrey
Route 47 will merge with route 47M and have increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 8-9 minutes
Every 7-8 minutes
All days
Midnight. to 5 a.m.
Every 45 minutes
Every 30 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
47M
Whitman Plaza to 7th-Spring Garden via 9th
Route 47M has been discontinued and will now be served by a more frequent route 47.
The merger of these two routes includes a realignment so that the northbound 47 runs on Seventh Street, as opposed to Ninth Street. Southbound buses will still run on Eighth Street.
49
33rd-Dauphin to 40th-Baltimore
Route 49 will look very different from its old route. It will no longer serve Gray’s Ferry. SEPTA recommends riders take route 79 instead.
Route 49 will also operate on many different roads. The most notable change is taking 33rd Street instead of 29th Street. in Strawberry Mansion and Brewerytown.
These changes are paired with generally reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 18-22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Saturdays
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Sundays
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Every 22 minutes
Every 30 minutes
52
49th-Woodland to Wissahickon Transportation Center/50th-Parkside
Route 52 will no longer follow its old route to Gladwyne. SEPTA cites low ridership and doesn’t offer an alternative route.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
53
Carpenter Station to Richmond-Westmoreland
Buses on route 53 will no longer follow the old route that terminated at Sedgwick Street and Wayne Avenue. Instead, service will end at Carpenter Regional Rail station. There are additionally a bunch of small differences across the route. For example, route 53 will now serve Roosevelt Boulevard. on the western side of Hunting Park.
The 53 will also continue past G Street and extend into Port Richmond.
54
Richmond-Cambria to 33rd-Dauphin
Buses on route 54 will have reduced service during weekdays and increased service during evenings.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Every 15-18 minutes
Every 20 minutes
All days
9 p.m. to midnight
Every 45 minutes
Every 30 minutes
57
Whitman Plaza to Fern Rock Transportation Center
The old route 57 occasionally would terminate at Packer Marine Terminal, that service will be discontinued.
During weekends the route 57 will run at a reduced service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekends
All day
Every 10-12 minutes
Every 15 minutes
Service along Crescentville and Cheltenham Avenues will be reduced to every hour.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
60
Wissahickon Transportation Center/35th-Allegheny to Richmond-Westmoreland
Most of route 60 will continue to go down Allegheny Avenue, but it will not follow its old route where some buses stopped on Delaware Avenue and Lewis Street.
The 60 will occasionally take an extended route and continue to the Wissahickon Transportation Center. The schedule is roughly split 50:50 whether a bus will continue to this new terminus or stop early at 35th Street and Allegheny Avenue.
Route 60 will also see increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Every 10-15 minutes
Every 10 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
61
9th-Market to Ridge-Summit
Route 61 will be extended to Upper Roxborough. This is primarily to cover for the discontinued route 35.
62
9th-Market to Andorra
Route 62 will be discontinued. SEPTA recommends riders take routes 9, 27, or 61 as an alternative. According to SEPTA, route 62 was the fourth most expensive route to operate, costing an average of $45 per passenger.
64
50th-Parkside to Pier 70
Previously, route 64 would occasionally terminate at 49th Street and Woodland Avenue. Under the new network, all trips will terminate at Parkside Loop. The 64 will also no longer take the old route’s detour into Grays Ferry.
Route 64 will operate at a increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
All days
6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Every 12-18 minutes
Every 12 minutes
All days
9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Every 20 minutes
Every 15 minutes
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
72
Cedarbrook Plaza to Frankford Transportation Center
72 is a brand new route that mostly operates on Cheltenham Avenue and will run every 30 minutes.
73
Frankford Transportation Center to Richmond-Westmoreland
Route 73 will now run at a reduced service from every 20-25 minutes to every 30 minutes.
Additionally the route 73 will no longer be part of the OWL network, ending 24-hour service on the line. SEPTA recommends riders take route 25 for overnight buses.
76
Rising Sun-Olney to Columbus Commons
Route 76 is a brand new route that will mostly run along Delaware and Frankford Avenues every 30 minutes. This route replaces service removed from the newly aligned route 25.
78
Express from Cornwells Heights to Center City
Route 78 will be discontinued due to lower ridership. SEPTA does not recommend an alternative bus.
According to SEPTA figures, the 78 was the most expensive bus to operate in their network. It has an average of 2.4 passengers per hour, costing the agency $394 per rider.
79
Columbus Commons to 29th-Snyder/40th-Market
Route 79 will occasionally be extended into West Philadelphia. Roughly every other bus will continue to 40th and Market Streets, instead of the current terminus of 29th Street and Synder Avenue.
SEPTA also rolled out new signage that identifies certain routes as “frequent red”, indicating a bus is scheduled to arrive within 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
80
Express from Horsham to Olney Transit Center
Route 80 will be discontinued. SEPTA stated that “ridership has declined significantly since 2019 and the same connection can be made with a transfer on local routes 22, 51, and 310.”
According to SEPTA data, route 80 was the third most expensive route to run, costing the agency $50 per passenger.
89
Front-Dauphin to Arrott Transit Center
Route 89 will be discontinued. SEPTA says route 89 is “duplicative of other routes,” and offers “routes 3, 5, 25, 39, 41, 43, 53, 56, 75, 76, and K as alternatives.”
105
Paoli/Rosemont to 69th Street Transit Center
Route 105 will extend to Paoli for roughly every other bus, essentially merging with the now discontinued route 106.
The old route that serviced Suburban Square will no longer operate. There are also minor alignment changes in Overbrook.
Route 105 will operate at a increased service.
Days
Times
Previous
Now
Weekdays
All day
Every 30-60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
Weekends
All day
Every 60 minutes
Every 30 minutes
These changes will take effect on Aug. 24.
106
Paoli to 69th Street Transit Center
Route 106 will be discontinued on Aug. 24.
Do you still have questions about the changes to SEPTA’s bus network? Read our Q&A guide for details on how to contact SEPTA, information about future alterations in 2027, and much more.
Methodology
The animating buses on the diagram are an approximation of the number of buses active at 9 a.m. on a weekday schedule.
Old routes are accurate to SEPTA’s bus network on Aug. 4.
For simplicity, if a route can have different terminuses, we show all possible paths the bus operates on.
story continues after advertisement
Staff Contributors
Design, Development, and Data: Sam Morris
Reporting: Sam Morris and Erica Palan
Editing: Cynthia Henry
Subscribe to The Philadelphia Inquirer
Our reporting is directly supported by reader subscriptions. If you want more journalism like this story, please subscribe today
An unusually visible collection of Philadelphia-area restaurant institutions is reaching a turning point at the same time — with some closing for good and others seeking buyers as a generation of longtime owners reaches retirement age.
At Kelly’s Seafood, the end is definite. The Northeast Philadelphia restaurant will close this month as its owners retire, ending a run spanning three generations of the Kelly family. So will Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, whose history in the Northeast also reaches back nearly 70 years.
Elsewhere, the outcomes are less certain.
Cherry Street Tavern has been around for a century at 22nd and Arch Streets.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The Pub, the sprawling Pennsauken steakhouse known for its open hearth, medieval decor, and thousand-plus seats, is on the market. The restaurant, which dates to 1951, is not closing: It is on its customary summer break and is scheduled to reopen Sept. 18.
The owners of Cherry Street Tavern, the Logan Square bar that has operated for more than a century, are looking for a buyer after 50 years of stewardship by the Loughery family. The buildings that housed Mamma Maria’s, the East Passyunk Italian restaurant that opened in 1992, went up for sale this month. Aldar Bistro in Bala Cynwyd has been sold after 34 years and will give way to an Italian restaurant called Bruzi.
McGlinchey’s, the Center City dive that closed last year after nearly 90 years, is back on the market after a prospective buyer walked away from a deal for the building.
McGlinchey’s, at 259 S. 15th St., after its closing in August 2025.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
And the nearly 40-year-old Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar in Manayunk is being marketed for sale as owner Bruce Cooper looks toward retirement.
Restaurants have always turned over, and the recent activity does not appear to reflect a restaurant market in retreat. The Inquirer counted 86 Philadelphia-area restaurant closings in 2025, while more than 100 new restaurants and bars were on the drawing board for 2026. What distinguishes many of the businesses now closing or being sold is their longevity: They survived for decades, weathering the pandemic and recent increases in food and labor costs, before their owners reached retirement.
‘The gray wave’
People in the restaurant, liquor, and real estate businesses say the turnover is part of a broader generational transition among small businesses as longtime owners reach retirement without children interested in taking over.
Jim Creed, handling Jake’s listing, calls it the “gray wave.”
“You’ve got operators who have been in business 40 or 50 years, and they don’t have heirs who want to take over the business,” said Creed, a senior vice president with CBRE.
His father, also Jim Creed, knows the issue from the other side. He opened Creed’s Seafood & Steaks in King of Prussia in 1982 and, at 78, has no immediate plans to sell. “I go to the restaurant every night,” he said. “It’s actually fun.” But when he does decide to close, he said, his children don’t want to take over.
For the counterexample, consider McGillin’s Olde Ale House in Center City. Open since 1860, it has survived through generations of owners; the Spaniak family has run it since 1958, with Chris Mullins Jr. now the third generation involved. There are no plans to sell. “It’s part of my DNA, part of our customers’ DNA, part of our staff’s DNA,” Mullins told The Inquirer this year.
Irene Levy Baker and Chris Mullins Jr. lead a toast at McGillin’s on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 in Philadelphia. Attendees gathered for a book talk on “Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern” on Tuesday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Ed Taraskus has watched generations of restaurant and bar owners come and go over 50 years of practicing liquor licensing law. He could not say whether the current number of sales and closings constitutes a statistical trend, but said the succession problem is familiar.
“The parents retire and the children don’t want to get into the business — because it’s a hard business,” he said.
Taraskus said the hours can be punishing for small family operators. His clients also complain about finding employees willing to work nights and weekends. Drinking habits have changed, he said, and some businesses are still feeling the effects of the pandemic.
Taraskus knows the succession question personally. His South Philadelphia family owned a small restaurant and tavern, but his father discouraged him from entering the business. When his parents retired in the 1960s, they sold.
Real estate on the line
Retirement can present a second question for operators who own their buildings: What, exactly, are they selling?
A restaurant may have value as a going business, but decades of appreciation can make the underlying real estate a substantial part of an owner’s nest egg. Sometimes the economics favor a different restaurant — or an entirely different use.
Douglas Green, a principal at commercial real estate brokerage MSC, said the value of restaurant real estate is closely tied to the sales a location can support and, consequently, the rent an operator can afford.
“The more volume they do, the more rent they can pay,” Green said.
That means a location can be worth more to another restaurateur if the existing operator is underperforming. And in some cases, Green said, a restaurant may no longer be the property’s most valuable use at all.
“At some point, perhaps the building becomes obsolete,” Green said. “Perhaps the highest and best use of the real estate is no longer a restaurant.”
Those possibilities are playing out among the region’s longtime establishments.
The Pub restaurant near the former Airport Circle in Pennsauken in 2024.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
At the Pub, the Gelman family is seeking a buyer for the restaurant and its roughly 6.3 acres on Kaighns Avenue near the former Airport Circle. The family has operated it since Marc Gelman bought it in 2000.
“I don’t think there’s one thing in general why we’re selling, but it’s time for a new steward — if you will — of the business, or the property,” Marc’s son David Gelman said.
At Cherry Street Tavern, at 22nd and Arch Streets, the Loughery family hopes to find a buyer who understands what generations of regulars value about the place.
McGlinchey’s illustrates the other possibility. Its nearly 5,000-square-foot property at 259 S. 15th St. is listed for $2.45 million, including the liquor license, bars, and McGlinchey’s name, as either a turnkey bar and restaurant or a redevelopment opportunity.
Decisions for buyers
Creed said longevity itself can tell a prospective buyer something about a restaurant property.
“Anytime you have operating longevity, that speaks to the real estate,” he said. “When you have a concept that has been in operation for 40 years, clearly the real estate has something to do with that, too.”
The retirement of one operator does not necessarily mean the end of restaurant use.
The former Mixto space is set to become the revival of South Philadelphia bar Toll Man Joe’s.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
Mixto closed July 12 after nearly 24 years at 1141 Pine St. Within weeks, restaurateur Lori Penrose bought the property and announced plans to revive her former South Philadelphia sports bar, Toll Man Joe’s, there.
The exterior of Marra’s Restaurant on East Passyunk Avenue is due to become a branch of Dan Tsao’s burgeoning restaurant group. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“There are pros and cons to both,” Tsao said of taking over an existing restaurant rather than starting with a new space. “But with an existing restaurant space, especially a legacy restaurant, it already has a place in the neighborhood, and a place in the memories and hearts of generations of customers.”
Such properties may also have much of the expensive infrastructure required to operate a restaurant.
But for Tsao, the attraction isn’t purely economic.
“I also like the idea of preserving some of that history,” he said, “while giving the space a new chapter.”
The first phase of SEPTA’s bus network overhaul begins Aug. 23, and Brandon Miller is mobilizing hundreds of employees for a final push to meet face-to-face with riders in the days leading up to the changes and during the first week after they take effect.
“It’s a blitz,” said Miller, manager of planning programs at SEPTA, describing discussions at “pop-ups” as an effective way to help people navigate the new network.
Unlike some transit agencies, SEPTA has not done a comprehensive redesign of its bus network in its 58-year history. The agency has publicly pushed to do so since 2021, but change was delayed by opposition, political wrangling, and, later, a two-year fiscal crisis.
Originally the “Bus Revolution” was supposed to happen all at once, but SEPTA ultimately decided to phase in changes to routes.
“I think there’s more willingness to accept the fact that … we need to make the bus network a little bit more efficient,” Nemiroff said. “We need to make the system more attractive for people.”
Some routes with low ridership or that duplicate nearby service will be eliminated. Others will be extended or run more frequently, and two new routes will be added.
What routes will change?
New and expanded routes: Route 72, a new crosstown bus running along Cheltenham Avenue, and the new Route 76 bus from Columbus Commons to Rising Sun and Olney. Route 45 will be extended to provide service to the Navy Yard, and Route 79 will be extended from South Philadelphia into University City.
Eliminated routes: 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106.
Riders can call SEPTA customer service at 215-580-7800 or email specific questions to planning@septa.org.
I want to talk to someone in person.
Beginning Monday, street teams will conduct “pop-up” visits at key transit hubs at various times between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Next week, visits will include South Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, Cedarbrook Plaza, Hunting Park Station for changes to Route 53, Spring Garden Station, and Willow Grove Mall.
Staff are also attending community events.
When will changes happen?
The majority of changes will take effect Sunday, Aug. 23, followed by the Route 105 extension and elimination of Route 106 on Monday, Aug. 24.
Phase 3 changes are planned to begin in June 2027.
Phase 4 changes are planned to begin in Fall 2027. Many details are still being worked out.
Why redesign the bus network?
SEPTA launched its bus redesign efforts in earnest after ridership declined 13% from 2013 to 2019, a drop attributed to slow speeds, reliability problems, and competition from ridesharing companies. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bus ridership rebounded faster than it did on other transit services, but SEPTA’s thinking is that simplifying the network will make it easier to use, with more frequent service on fewer or shorter routes.
Will bus stops be changed?
Stops will disappear during the first phase on routes that are eliminated, but there will be no wholesale changes yet.
Having more stops per mile provides access to more people, but closely spaced stops can also slow buses and make them less reliable.
Early plans for Philadelphia’s bus network redesign aimed to “rebalance” stops by spacing them farther apart to improve speed. But the idea has been unpopular.
SEPTA may revisit the issue later.
More questions about the New Bus Network?
Email transportation reporter Thomas Fitzgerald at tfitzgerald@inquirer.com.
Thora Jacobson, 77, of Philadelphia, award-winning former chief executive officer at the Fleisher Art Memorial, former executive director at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, former director of design review for Mural Arts Philadelphia, former chief operating officer for Philagrafika, former chair of the Philadelphia Art Commission, onetime adjunct instructor at Drexel University, independent curator, artist, mentor, Mummers Parade judge, and much more, died suddenly Sunday, Aug. 2, at her home. The exact cause of her death has not been determined.
Born and reared in Ridley Park, Delaware County, Ms. Jacobson became interested in art education, administration, and conservation at Trinity Washington College in Washington in the 1960s. She settled in South Philadelphia after college in the 1970s and spent the next 50 years organizing, promoting, and inspiring local artists and art organizations.
“Philadelphia richly deserves to be known as a place that honors its own,” she told The Inquirer in 2006.
She joined Fleisher in 1972, rose to CEO in 1983, and left in 2006 to work over the next two decades at Philagrafika, Mural Arts Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, and elsewhere. During her 34 years at Fleisher, she developed its Center for Works on Paper, the Community Partnerships in the Arts program, and the Challenge series juried competition.
She also oversaw three capital campaigns and told The Inquirer that her priority was “seeing connections and possibilities between and among artists, institutions, and their constituencies.” A colleague said on Facebook: “To many of us she was Fleisher.”
John Ittmann, former curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, told The Inquirer in 2006: “Thora is a real firecracker. She has a wonderful type of energy that is really infectious.”
Ms. Jacobson was also chair of the Philadelphia Art Commission for a decade, interim director of operations for the Asian Arts Initiative, vice president of the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, trustee of the National Guild of Community Arts Education,member of the American Swedish Historical Museum,and, most recently, a visual arts management consultant.
Ms. Jacobson and fellow curator Warren Angle admire an exhibition at the Fleisher Art Memorial in 2002. April Saul / Staff Photographer
“Thora was kind and clear,” colleagues at Social Impact Studios said on Facebook, “but firm as she pushed us to keep tweaking things until they were as strong as they could be.”
She was an adjunct instructor at Drexel University from 2010 to 2014 and led research projects at Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania on social impacts of art in Philadelphia neighborhoods. Her first job out of college was coordinator of the student center at the Art Museum.
She curated and juried shows, and wrote forwards and essays for art books and catalogs. She drew in her spare time and judged the Mummers Parade for years.
She was featured in The Inquirer and Daily News, and appeared in the 1992 TV art documentary Monuments in Love. In 2006, she earned the Visionary Woman Award from Moore College of Art and Design, and was honored for lifetime achievement by Tri-State Artists Equity.
Ms. Jacobson, standing between Jim Straw, to the left, and Ralph Wellington to her right, earned the Visionary Woman Award from Moore College of Art & Design in 2006.Gary Horn Photography
“She’s really respected throughout the arts community in Philadelphia,” Happy Fernandez, then president of Moore, said in 2006. Anne d’Harnoncourt, then director of the Art Museum, said Ms. Jacobson’s “impact has been enormous.”
William Valerio, director and CEO of the Woodmere museum, said: “Thora was a towering figure in the arts of Philadelphia, a builder of institutions whose accomplishments are lasting.”
Thora Elizabeth Jacobson was born Feb. 19, 1949, in Ridley Park. She was the youngest of three children; her father died when she was 3. She played field hockey in high school, was fascinated by words and language, and graduated from the old Holy Child Academy in Sharon Hill.
She met her husband, Antonio Sorgini, when he was taking classes at Fleisher, and they married in 1980 and had a son, Antongiulio. Her husband died in May.
Ms. Jacobson, her husband, Antonio Sorgini, and their son, Antongiulio, lived in South Philadelphia.Courtesy of the family
Ms. Jacobson was a talented seamstress and baker. She did humorous impersonations, collected art, and enjoyed working with young people.
Friends noted her “many kindnesses” and “decades-long advocacy for artists and the cultural community” in online tributes. Woodmere’s Valerio said: “She was both a strong voice and a warm friend to many.”
Her son said: “She had a sharp wit and relished cheerful banter among friends and colleagues. Above all, she took the work of mentorship very seriously.”
In addition to her son, Ms. Jacobson is survived by a sister and other relatives. A brother died earlier.
Friends noted Ms. Jacobson’s “many kindnesses” and “decades-long advocacy for artists and the cultural community.”Courtesy of the family
A celebration of her life is to be held later.
Donations in her name may be made to the Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19147; and Mural Arts Philadelphia, 1727-29 Mount Vernon St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130.
Ms. Jacobson was a talented seamstress and baker. Mark Garvin, / Philadelphia Museum of Art
If you didn’t know better, you could be convinced — as you slide a spoonful of lightly breaded crab cake out from its stuffed shell, gaze at the soft light pouring through stained glass windows, and sip a frosty martini — that Waltz, at Front and Ritner, has been dancing on this corner of deep South Philadelphia for decades.
Cue the crowds that reliably fill the bentwood chairs in its wood-paneled downstairs bar and the bustling upper dining room even on weekdays. Forks angle through heaping platters of spaghetti while the Delfonics, O’Jays, and other Philly soul greats croon in the background. The vintage vibes here are pristine — except for the fact that Waltz is not vintage at all, but a five-month-old passion project thatunpretentiously delivers a style of polished Italian American dining that’s been on the slow fade for decades due to demographic shifts and changing tastes.
Celine Tobin and Joey Dougherty work at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe bar at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
This restaurant’s charm is more than just a wistful nod to “they don’t build ’em like that anymore” nostalgia. Waltz is anything but stale from the moment you’re greeted warmly at the maître d’ stand, most likely attended by manager Celine Tobin, who also happens to be co-owner Joey Dougherty’s girlfriend. A wood-fired oven beckons from just beyond in the partially open kitchen, where the 800-degree hearth fuels a menu built around pizzas, roasted meats, and house pastas.
The menu, conceived and implemented by consulting chef Eric Leveillee, formerly of Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, is key to Waltz’s allure, offering a familiar repertoire of popular dishes, then raising the bar with added elements of craft. The mozzarella is hand-pulled from Caputo Bros. Creamery curds just before service, so the milky white burrata — its core stuffed with rosemary-infused mascarpone — is extra sweet when draped with salty pink curls of prosciutto, juicy cantaloupe, and peppery green olive oil. The pizzas are made from sourdough, which lends their crusts an extra crackle, complexity, and tang.
The burrata with prosciutto, melon, and olive oil at Waltz on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Thehouse-extrudedpastas gain extra vibrance from their springy texture. There’s noticeable resilience in the wide lumache elbows, for example, whose bounce stands up to a spiced blush sauce that’s not simply rich with cream and fistfuls of crab, but boosted by the depth of a freshly steeped crab stock. That pasta, as well as the signature appetizer of crab cakes, is a nod to the hard-shell history of this address’ previous occupant, Anthony’s Crab House.
Waltz is a wordplay tribute to the Whitman neighborhood at the city’s southeasternmost corner, an area near the port bordered by railyards and strip malls rich in casual dining options (John’s Roast Pork, Wolf Burger, Oregon Diner, and the newly opened Angelo’s location), but slim on date-night draws. Dougherty aimed to answer that need by rehabbing this corner haunt, which had fallen into disrepair a block from his family’s contracting business, Dougherty Electric. As such projects often go, an intended modest facelift turned into a major renovation: The Doughertys created a wider opening between the dining rooms in two adjoining properties, restored the exterior brick by brick, and completely rebuilt the interior, down to the framed collage of 1924 editions of The Inquirer that had been used inside the walls as insulation.
The stuffed crabs at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe interior of Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Based on the craftsmanship of the fixtures, from the millwork of the wood paneling to the barroom tiles, vintage pendant lights, and even the beautifully outfitted marble bathrooms downstairs, it’s clear the Doughertys used many of their professional contacts here.
They might want a rebate, though, from their HVAC guy. The air-conditioning in the nautical-themed upper dining room cut out halfway through a meal with my boss on a 100-degree day, awkwardly leaving us sweatyover our peperoncini-spiked martinis and the crisply fried fritto misto.
The interior of Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe sourdough piccante pizza at Waltz includes pepperoni, soppressata, hot honey, and onion agrodolce.Craig LaBan / Staff
It’s a tribute to the kitchen that our table remained upbeat despite the sticky heat. The carbonara pizza — a white pie with béchamel and fontina scattered with salty nuggets of guanciale and a golden glaze of egg yolk — was my favorite pizza of that first visit. The piccante — a red pie with pepperoni, soppressata, hot honey, and sweet-tart onion agrodolce — was my pick on a return meal when the AC, thankfully, was working again.
The pastas at Waltz are also consistently excellent, including deftly folded tortellini stuffed with mushrooms in Parmesan cream sauce, and the ruffled-edge ribbons of pappardelle that cradled rustic duck ragù. The snap of fresh noodles lend the already irresistible silver platter of spaghetti with meatballs and sausage in red sauce extra oomph. It was so zesty, I couldn’t help but wonder how this Sunday gravy became a treasured tradition of the Dougherty family in this historically Irish enclave of South Philly.
The tortellini at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe spaghetti and meatballs at Waltz on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We call it ‘Gus’ gravy,’” says Dougherty, noting that his father, Donald “Gus” Dougherty, also a partner at Waltz, learned the recipe in 2008 from some Italian friends he met while he was serving 18 months in federal prison at Fort Dix for defrauding the IBEW Local 98 electricians union, formerly run by his close (but unrelated) associate, John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty. “He’s made it every Sunday since.”
That gravy also features prominently on the chicken Parm, although that is one dish here I found unexciting. Yes, the sharing portion is gigantic, which, at $30, is a reminder that prices here are very fair. But the breading had gone so soggy in all that red sauce the exterior was almost fluffy, leaving this Parm one-dimensional. Your best bets for the handful of large-format sharing dishes emerge from that wood hearth; the heat-blistered silver skin of a butterflied whole branzino, for example, is fantastic over the tangy vinaigrette — called sauce vierge — of fresh tomatoes, capers, and a splash of chili oil that makes it glow.
The superbly tender 14-ounce strip steak, meanwhile, roasted to a perfect medium-rare in that pizza oven, was one of the more memorable cuts of beef I’ve eaten this year. It arrivedfanned over a silver platter beside shatteringly crisp fried fingerling potatoes and a head of sweet roasted garlic glossed in a black peppercorn jus that’s a telltale perk from Leveillee’s years of sauce work in French kitchens.
The 14-ounce New York strip steak with smashed fingerling potatoes, roasted garlic, and black pepper jus at Waltz on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe whole branzino at Waltz is roasted in the wood-fired oven and paired with a tomato and caper vinaigrette.Craig LaBan / Staff
Between that steak, the crab cakes, pastas, and the retro tavern vibe, I can see why some have likened Waltz to a combination of the Saloon and the newly revived Bomb Bomb Bar. Waltz’s still-evolving repertoire isn’t quite that proven or deep yet, even if I have little doubt executive chef Sergio Mateo — an alum of Ambra, Whetstone, and Lacroix who’ll be carrying the menu forward once Leveillee’s consultancy is finished — has the skills to get there.
Waltz’s drink program has a bit further to go. The cocktails offer some trendy twists to classics but occasionally landed shy of their promise (the weak foam on the Fluffy Negroni Sour, for example, had deflated by the time it arrived). The potentially clever concept of a cocktail list organized by glass shapes fumbled over its own format: The Centerbe-spiked Waltz Whit Me camein a large martini coupe instead of the Nick and Nora tulip touted on the menu.
The Blush Sour and the Pepperoncini Tini at Waltz on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
At a very reasonable $15 or less a cocktail, however, it’s hard to complain loudly. Joey Dougherty is admirably determined not to overprice Waltz for a neighborhood that currently doesn’t have many upscale dining options. The small wine list is also full of basic Italian wine values for $13 a glass or less, and a tiny reserve bottle list for a Super Tuscan or Brunello di Montalcino. Dinner as a whole is fairly priced considering the quality, with check averages of $55 to $65 including beverage, before tax and tip.
Dinner finishes up strong with good scratch versions of common desserts. The made-to-order tiramisu, whose lady fingers are dunked to order in coffee then layered with sweet cheese, is somewhat controversial among traditionalists who expect it to be already fully saturated, but I enjoyed the faint crunch of those biscuits softening while we ate. There were no quibbles over the lusciously rich chocolate mousse, which is made with 70% Valrhona chocolate and served with raspberry compote and amaretto whipped cream.
The lusciously rich chocolate mousse, made with 70% Valrhona chocolate and served with raspberry compote and amaretto whipped cream, at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Waltz’s finest finishing moves are the exceptional gelati, which are spun daily before service so the textures remain spoonably soft and vivid of flavor. The pistachio is always my go-to, and didn’t disappoint here, but I could also taste the real Tahitian beans (not extract) steeped into the vanilla. I was thoroughly charmed by the Andes Mint flavor topped with a dusting of the grated chocolate-and-crème de menthe candies. Even better was the strawberry sorbetto, which doubled down on berry flavor with a crimson glaze of strawberry compote.
If you’re going to build a new restaurant that feels like an old soul inspired by another era, these are just the kinds of fresh touches required to appeal to diners today.
Pistachio gelato at Waltz on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Pizzas and pastas: $16-$24; larger sharing plates, $30-$50.
The bar dining room is wheelchair accessible through a side door, but the bathrooms, located in the basement, are not.
About 50% of the menu is gluten-free or can be modified, including availability of gluten-free pastas.
Menu highlights: House burrata with prosciutto and melon; stuffed crabs; fritto misto; pizzas (carbonara, piccante); lumache pasta with spicy crab vodka sauce; tortellini; pappardelle with duck ragù; spaghetti with meatballs and sausage; New York strip steak; branzino; house gelati (pistachio; Andes mint); strawberry sorbetto.
Drinks: Classic cocktails with modern twists are categorized by glass shape (highball, coupe, Nick and Nora) but perplexingly not always served in the advertised glass. The drinks themselves are solid, not spectacular, but fairly priced at $15 or less. The small wine list offers affordable Italian basics, including a Pecorino white and a plush Piemonte Rosso I’d drink all night for $11 a pour.
The owners of Waltz restaurant in South Philadelphia made a collage of articles from a 1924 Inquirer that was found during renovations in the walls of the building at Front and Ritner, where it was used for insulation.Courtesy Waltz restaurant / Joey Dougherty
