philadelphia today

My Wonderful Block.

The two pictures today are of the block I live on, the 2000 block of Delancey Place, a truly wonderful block of late 19th-century urbanism. A little enclave (as are so many streets in Center City), the 2000 block is bordered on the 20th Street end by a statue of the White Buddha overlooking the street and on the 21st Street end, by like-minded buildings. The perfect street to turn onto during a leisurely stroll ... or after a hard day at the office. The block is within several blocks of many coffeehouses, bakeries, and restaurants. On the block is the Rosenbach Museum dedicated to books and writers. The museum is known for its connections to the works of James Joyce and Marianne Moore; it houses a handwritten copy of "Ulysses" and stages a yearly "Bloomsday" reading on the block, and it has recreated Moore's Greenwich Village studio. The block was featured earlier this year in a show on Home & Garden Television ("Dream Drives: Philadelphia's Delancey Place"), to be repeated in late July. This is the block where the Bruce Willis character lived (and died) in "The Sixth Sense." Also in the vicinity are sites of location shots for a new ABC drama - "Philly" - starring Kim Delaney.