Its cash reserves have fallen to $208 million, while its debt stands at $1.6 billion, according to Fitch. Fitch called that âprecipitously weak.â By contrast, Temple University Health System reported Wednesday that its cash reserves amounted to 218% of its debt at the end of June.
Towerâs low cash reserves and large debt load mean that its ability to invest in its facilities is extremely limited, effectively only fixing things that break, Fitch said. Long-term, that would make it increasingly difficult to attract patients.
Fitch noted, however, that Tower had improved financial performance from April through June.
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South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito will be skating in a show at the Penn ice rink this weekend, along with other Olympic hopefuls.Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has maintained a 46.3 passer rating when under pressure since Week 10.Exterior of Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia in September 2010.Remediation work continues on Ridley Creek Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, under the Route 1 overpass in Media, Delaware County, where a tanker overturned spilling thousands of gallons of home heating oil in September.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration building in Silver Spring, Md.,The obverse of the new Declaration of Independence quarter with Thomas Jefferson is shown on screen as the U.S. Mint unveils new coins for the Semiquincentennial at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Wednesday night. The reverse features the Liberty Bell.
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Carter Hart was on the ice Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena but will not start vs. Flyers.Villanova will need to lean on its defense and run game to overcome Tarleton State in the FCS quarterfinals on Saturday.Flyers defenseman Cam York had a “hard practice Thursday” and seems to be getting close.
Frank Joseph Tartaglia and his older brother, Joseph Frank Tartaglia, long dreamed of leaving the family fruit stand for Hollywood stardom.
Back in 2006, when they first opened a live music venue on Ninth Street, Connieâs Ric Rac, Frankie and Joe Tartaglia â and their best friend and business partner, Peter Pelullo â would sit for hours after closing, spitballing script ideas. The brothers wanted to tell a South Philly story that captured the neighborhood they knew and that could make their dreams real.
Frank Tartaglia, 45, South Philly writer, director, artist and musician, died suddenly at home on Thanksgiving Day.
Then they were gone.
First, Joe, a filmmaker, a musician, and a father of three, died in 2013 at age 44 of brain cancer. Then, Frankie, a comedian, a writer, an actor, and a true South Philly original, died in his sleep of heart failure in 2022, just a month after his first feature film, Not for Nothing, headlined the Philadelphia Film Festival to positive reviews.
Now, Frankie and Joe Tartagliaâs big-screen dreams are finally becoming a reality.
On Thursday, Not for Nothing, a gritty crime drama set in the heart of South Philly and written by Frankie Tartaglia and Philly-born filmmaker Tim Dowlin, debuted at the Film Society Bourse in Old City. On Friday, the movie, acquired for worldwide distribution last year by the independent film studio Buffalo 8, premiered on Amazon Prime and other major streaming services. It will be available on other cable platforms later this month.
âItâs emotional,â said Pelullo, executive producer on the film. âItâs very rewarding for everyone involved to see it reach this place and get across the finish line. But itâs bittersweet. Joe would have been really proud of Frankie, and Frankie would have been excited for what was next.â
He added, âThatâs the painful part. This wasnât supposed to be the end. It was supposed to be the beginning.â
Family photo of Joseph and Frank Tartaglia
The film has been a journey.
Starring actor Mark Webber and praised by critics as a gripping tale infused with heart and humor, Not for Nothing follows a group of neighborhood friends who set out to uncover the truth behind a young womanâs mysterious overdose. The search for justice soon unravels into a confrontation with the ghosts of South Phillyâs past.
Itâs just the type of authentic South Philly tale Frankie and Joe Tartaglia long strove to share. One that found its first roots in an independent film Joe and Frankie filmed in South Philly in 1998, called Punctuality (a quirky neighborhood film they described as Clerks meets A Bronx Tale). And one that continued to take shape during those long-ago, late-night brainstorming sessions at the Ric Rac, a grungy, glorious haven for South Philly artists and musicians that closed permanently during the pandemic.
Carrying on the dream after Joe Tartagliaâs death, Frankie Tartaglia had reconnected with Dowlin by 2017. The pair had first become friends at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Dowlin, who had already made films with Webber, another high school friend, approached Frankie Tartaglia about making a modern-day South Philly mob flick.
From the start, Dowlin recalled, Frankie wanted to tell something more.
âHe immediately was like, âI donât think thatâs real,ââ Dowlin recalled. âHe wanted to explore something more authentic to the world he grew up in on Ninth Street, and at the bar at Connieâs Ric Rac.â
Their script became less about the neighborhood goodfellas and more about an exploration of South Philly corner bar culture â and the friendships formed there.
Still in the process of selling the film at the time of Frankie Tartagliaâs death, Dowlin and Pelullo worked for three years to make sure that his vision reached audiences.
This summer, Connie Tartaglia, 76, an artist who ceaselessly encouraged her sons â and was the namesake of their old club â died from an illness. She had hoped to live long enough to see the film released, Dowlin said.
Before Thursdayâs packed premiere, Dowlin told the crowd about the friend and collaborator he had lost â and that Philly had lost, too.
âHe was an unstoppable force of love and art,â he said of Frankie Tartaglia. âHe embodied every artist everywhere. He was a champion for the unseen and unheard.â
Frankie had planned on dedicating the film to the older brother he looked up to, Dowlin said.
Now, he hoped the film would live in both of their memories.
âI would like to dedicate this film to both of the Tartaglia brothers,â he said.
Listen â Philly has a reputation. We know this. We wear it like a badge. We boo Santa, we heckle refs, we meltdown on WIP like itâs an Olympic sport. But thereâs passion, thereâs unhinged, and then thereâs driving to Moorestown at 3 a.m. to egg the offensive coordinatorâs house because the Eagles lost to the Bears.
Thatâs not passion. Thatâs just loser behavior.
Patullo said all the right things this week. That criticism is part of the job, that heâs been here five years, that he loves the city and the fans. But he also made it clear: When it involves your family, the line isnât just crossed⌠itâs obliterated. And heâs right. Yell at the TV, tweet about it, call WIP at 6 a.m. pretending to be âBryce from Bridesburg.â But families are off-limits.
The good news? Neighbors rallied, the community reached out, and Patullo isnât going anywhere â not from his home, and not from the sidelines (despite Nick Folesâ dream of him coaching from the booth like itâs Madden franchise mode).
Philly can take a joke, a hit, and a heartbreak season. What we canât take is letting a few clowns make us look like we egg coaches every time the offense ranks 24th in yards.
Save the eggs for tailgates. Or better yet, breakfast.
A cheesesteak from Dalessandro’s in Philadelphia, on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. Michelin recently recognized the restaurant with a Bib Gourmand. Cheesesteak restaurants Angelo’s and Del Rossi’s were also recognized by Michelin.
Philly is Americaâs No. 1 foodcation destination: A (obviously)
All because of one thing: the cheesesteak, which topped the national list with 27% of Americans saying itâs their dream domestic âfoodcation.â Translation: People are now booking vacations around a sandwich we buy at 1 a.m. like itâs no big deal.
Food & Wine says Americans spend about $910 on their typical food-focused trip and would nearly double that budget if the bite was bucket-listâworthy. So somewhere out there is a family justifying a $2,000 vacation to stand outside Angeloâs at 10 a.m. behind 70 locals who think they have âa system.â
Meanwhile, New York tied us at 27% for pizza â but letâs be serious. A cheesesteak beating out an entire cityâs worth of pizza is so Philly-coded it should count as a parade.
A Waymo car drives down Market Street Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Philadelphia.
The company says its cars are now driving autonomously (with a human babysitter for now), mapping our neighborhoods and âlaying the groundworkâ to eventually chauffeur actual Philadelphians around.
Bold. Truly bold. Because sure, a driverless car can operate in Phoenix. But can it:
Identify a pothole before it becomes a crater?
Handle a double-parked Amazon van, a food truck, and a guy pushing a sofa on a hand truck⌠all in the same block?
Not get stolen? (Itâs Philly. We have statistics.)
City officials say theyâre âmonitoring the situation,â which is Philly-speak for: If this thing blocks a SEPTA bus, there will be consequences. Meanwhile, Waymo has been chatting with local groups â the Bicycle Coalition, Best Buddies â which is smart, because theyâll need all the friends they can get once these cars try to merge on I-95.
Delco Donny turning Wawa parking lots into concert venues: A
Only in the Greater Philadelphia region could a man with a guitar, a thick Delco accent, and a dream turn random Wawa parking lots into 100-person pop-up concerts â and somehow it feels⌠correct.
âDelco Donny,â the alter ego of musician Jake Dillon, started as a joke for his girlfriendâs Delco mom, reported Philly Voice. Now heâs pulling six-figure TikTok views by belting out Oasis, the Killers, and âCreepâ between parked Hyundais and people sprinting inside for Sizzlis. At his Boothwyn Wawa show, fans were literally acting like he was Noah Kahan, except with more vowels flattened and more hoodies with paint stains.
The shtick is simple: He shows up, leans into the Delco accent America learned during Mare of Easttown, and sings like heâs headlining the Spectrum in 1996. And people eat it up. Wawa corporate even started sending him merch, which is basically the Delco version of getting knighted.
Thereâs something kind of pure about it: a Northeast Philly native channeling a fictional Boothwyn legend who meditates in a cluttered van, reviews local pizza joints, and humbly accepts Marlboro Reds as offerings from the people. The man is doing character work in a gas-station parking lot, and somehow it feels like local folklore in the making.
Opera Philadelphia hosted “Home for the Holidays” at the Wanamaker Buildingâs Grand Court on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
The Wanamaker Christmas comeback: A
In the most Philadelphia plot twist imaginable, the Wanamaker Grand Court took what couldâve been a gut punch â Macyâs closing, holiday traditions dangling by a thread â and turned it into a full-blown victory lap complete with a wreath-wearing Wanamaker Eagle, opera singers, dinosaur dancers, and an organ flex so powerful it could rattle the Market-Frankford Line.
âHome for the Holidays,â Opera Philadelphiaâs one-night takeover, wasnât just a concert, it was a statement. Philly looked at a soon-to-be shuttered space and said, Fine, then weâre going out in style. The whole night doubled as a nostalgia bomb: marching-toy projections for anyone who remembers buying Christmas presents in the old store, an audience gasping at the tree like it was 1978 again, and the ground-shaking Wanamaker Organ.
But the real Philly heart came from the subtext: This was also a campaign to keep the space public, alive, and musical long after renovations. You donât raise $1 million for a Pipe Up! series unless youâre gearing up for a fight.
Philly is getting a cruise terminal again (!!): A-
PhilaPort struck a deal with Norwegian Cruise Line, building a new terminal in Tinicum Township with 41 voyages already on the books over the next two years, reported 6ABC. Norwegianâs locked in through 2033, sending thousands to Bermuda, the Bahamas, Canada, and New England, all sailing straight out of the airportâs backyard.
Itâs a major comeback for a region that hasnât had a real cruise hub in more than a decade, and the timing couldnât be better with the 250th, the World Cup, and the All-Star Game all landing next year. Economic impact? Around $300 million annually. Jobs? More than 2,100.
And yes, itâs a six-hour ride down the Delaware before you hit the Atlantic. Phillyâs response: New York isnât much faster, Baltimore is way slower. So grab a drink and enjoy the shoreline.
Franklin Mall, previously known as Franklin Mills, is for sale again.
Franklin Mills (sorry, âFranklin Mallâ) is officially for sale: C
Franklin Mills, the place where Northeast Philly teens found Hot Topic, freedom, and an alarming amount of Orange Julius, is officially on the market. Again. After years of falling occupancy, collapsing value, and visitor counts dropping from 20 million a year in the â90s to 5.6 million today, itâs basically being lilsted as: â137 acres⌠willing to become literally anything.â
Industrial redevelopment? Sure. Warehousing? Probably. Housing? Maybe, if City Council blesses it. A mall again? As one architect put it: âUnlikely.â (Philly translation: absolutely not.)
This place is 1.8 million square feet (second only to King of Prussia), but while KOP is still the superstar of malls, Franklin Mills slowly slid into its âlegacy actâ phase. The valuation dropped from $370 million in 2007 to $76 million last year. Even the name had to be changed back because Simon Property Group kept the Mills trademark, which feels like getting your hoodie taken in a breakup.
Real talk: The building is basically a demolition project waiting for a permit. But to its credit, 65% occupancy means it isnât a ghost town yet â just a mall trying to remember who it used to be.
It might become warehouses, apartments, or over a million square feet of âdonât worry, itâll create jobs.â But one thingâs for sure: If Northeast Philly wakes up to find a sea of Amazon vans where Franklin Mills once stood, people will still call it Franklin Mills.
Chris Emmanouilides, 63, of Rutledge, Delaware County, digital media director, award-winning filmmaker, TV executive producer, cameraman, teacher, and mentor, died Saturday, April 26, of a heart attack at his home.
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Los Angeles, Mr. Emmanouilides followed his then-girlfriend back to the city in the 1980s, earned a masterâs degree in radio, TV, and film at Temple University, and crafted a 36-year career as an independent filmmaker, vice president of programming for Banyan Productions, cofounder and chief content officer of the VuNeex video marketing platform, and director of digital media at the King of Prussia-based American College of Financial Services.
He specialized in independent documentary films, commercials, and early forms of reality TV, and cofounded Parallax Pictures in the 1990s. His films were screened at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, the Sundance Film Festival, and elsewhere around the world.
His 40-minute film Archive premiered at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in 2013 and earned the Audience Choice Orpheus Award. His 1989 film Suelto! earned first prize at the 1990 Sundance Slice of Life Film Festival.
In 1994, Inquirer movie critic Desmond Ryan called Mr. Emmanouilidesâ film Remains âespecially noteworthy.â In 1997, The Ad and the Egoearned the top prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
In 2001, critic Damon C. Williams reviewed TalkFast for the Daily News. Mr. Emmanouilides was the filmâs director of photography. Williams said: âIt does an incredible job in detailing the desire, dedication and heartbreak that go with pursuing a dream. It also shows that some do indeed find success in chasing their dreams.â
From 1997 to 2014, Mr. Emmanouilides was an executive producer, director of special projects, and vice president of programing at Philadelphia-based Banyan Productions. Working with the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, the Food Network, TLC, Lifetime, and other TV outlets, he and his colleagues created thousands of hours of popular award-winning programming. Among his series credits are Travelers, Reunion, Trading Spaces, Deliver Me, Cruises We Love, and A Wedding Story.
âWhat we pull off in four days â the emotions and the intimacy â is extremely rare on television,â he told The Inquirer in a 1998 story about the Reunion series. âItâs a constant push, trying to make a high-quality show on a limited budget, with limited time. And the question is, will it find an audience?â
He worked with Readerâs Digest and Hope Paige Designs on video marketing projects at VuNeex in 2015, and spent the last 10 years as a senior producer and director of digital media at the American College of Financial Services. âChris was relentless in the pursuit of quality,â Jared Trexler, senior vice president at American College, said in an online tribute. âHe was inquisitive, introspective, and always learning. Most importantly, he was kind, caring, and funny.â
Mr. Emmanouilides won the 2013 Audience Choice Orpheus Award in Los Angeles.
In tributes, colleagues called him âan amazing man and incredible coworkerâ and âvery passionate about our field.â One said: âHe always brought genuine fun and energy to whatever we were doing.â
Gregarious and energetic, Mr. Emmanouilides taught film and production courses at Temple, the University of Toledo, the Scribe Video Center, and the old University of the Arts. He lectured at Drexel and Villanova Universities, spoke at conferences and seminars, and taught English-language classes in Greece and Spain.
He was a longtime member and onetime board president of the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and he mentored production novices at Scribe Video in Center City and elsewhere. âThese newcomers donât respect the conventions of film that much,â he told The Inquirer in 1993. âTheyâre trying to find their own voice. So theyâre finding new ways to tell stories.â
Christopher George Emmanouilides was born Aug. 31, 1961. His family moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles when he was young, and he earned a bachelorâs degree in philosophy at Colorado College in 1983 and a masterâs degree at Temple in 1992.
Mr. Emmanouilides was a talented cameraman and photographer.
He met Sandra Enck at an independent film event in Philadelphia, and they married in 2004 and had a daughter, Isabella. He doted on his family, and especially enjoyed seeing films with his wife and decorating his daughterâs breakfast pancakes with eyes, nose, and mouth cut from fresh fruit.
âWe took their pictures, and we eventually had hundreds of faces from countless mornings together,â his daughter said on her website facethemorning.com. âNone were the same, and each seemed to have something to say.â
His wife said: âWeâd see a film and then talk about it for three days.â
Mr. Emmanouilides was an avid reader and photographer. He liked to fly-fish, ski, hike, and cook.
This article about Mr. Emmanouilides (left) appeared in the Daily News in 1997.
He had an infectious laugh, performed magic tricks, listened to the Grateful Dead, and followed the Eagles and Phillies. âHe was a big thinker,â his wife said. âHe was buoyant and a powerful life force. You never forgot that you met him.â
In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Emmanouilides is survived by three sisters, a brother, and other relatives.
Celebrations of his life were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.
They donât go âdown the Shoreâ on the other side of the Delaware Bay. First Staters go to the beach â or, more geographically correct, to the Delaware Beaches: the neighboring Atlantic towns of Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, and Fenwick Island, familiar to most Philadelphians even if theyâve never been.
The Delaware Beaches and Lewes, their historic bayside gateway, are charming and festive during the holidays. Come for the tax-free shopping and craft-beer icons, stay for the smart indie restaurants and pristine nature. Itâs a quick trip across the bay on the ferry. Margate, Ocean City, and Wildwood will still be there when you get back.
Getting to Coastal Delaware is half the fun when you take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. It takes about the same amount of time to drive directly from Philly to Lewes as it does to drive to Cape May and board the boat for the 85-minute crossing, but only one option gives you cinematic views of the Delaware Bay â historically the most important waterway in the region. (No bay for Billy Penn to sail up, no founding of Philadelphia.) Itâs also a key environment for marine life, from oysters and mussels to dolphins and seals. You might even catch a migrating humpback whale on the 17-mile crossing.
đ 1200 Lincoln Blvd., North Cape May, N.J. 08204
Stay: Dogfish Inn
One of the original craft-beer brands, Dogfish Head is maybe the most famous Delaware resident who wasnât also POTUS. Sam Calagione founded the Milton brewery â more on that in a minute â in 1995, and it became such a tourist magnet that a hotel was a natural expansion.
The friendly, 16-room Dogfish Inn opened in 2014 and sits along the LewesâRehoboth Canal, walking distance to both the ferry and downtown. Rooms are simply furnished and stylish, with branded swag and pops of olive and teal. Outside, beer pilgrims, holiday shoppers, and their dogs (the inn is pet-friendly) gather around the Cowboy Cauldron, the nickname for the communal firepit.
Fig-tahini danish, pumpkin-cheesecake conchas, and sugared doughnuts plumped with chai-spiced cream gleam in the pastry case at the Station on Kings, a charming cafĂŠ with arboreal dĂŠcor and a greenhouse dining room that feels sunny even when winter clouds cover the coast. Grab a table and settle in for a leisurely brunch of those excellent baked goods, a creamy French omelet, maybe the calendar-correct Mistletoe Matcha, Stationâs matcha latte sweetened with white chocolate-peppermint syrup. After, browse the selection of candles, soaps, ornaments, and other local and artisan gifts.
đ 720 Kings Hwy., Lewes, Del. 19958
Shop: Tanger Outlets
Continue making your list and checking it twice at the Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth. Bargain hunters come year-round, but the holiday sales are especially enticing. The complex is divided into three clusters (Surfside, Seaside, Bayside) along Route 1, with more than 100 brands, including Nike, North Face, and Le Creuset.
đ Route 1 Coastal Hwy., Rehoboth Beach, Del. 19971
Thereâs a windswept solitude to the beach in December that, for anyone raised on towel-to-towel summer crowds, is narcotically surreal. Encompassing more than 5,000 acres of sandy shores, reedy wetlands, and maritime forest, Cape Henlopen State Park is the place to get centered in nature at the Delaware Beaches. Walking trails lace the preserve, winding through historical sites like Fort Miles, which played a critical coastal defense role in WWII, and around Gordonâs Pond. Head to the Point, near the hooked tip of Cape Henlopen, for views of the 140-year-old Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse.
đ 15099 Cape Henlopen Dr., Lewes, Del. 19958
Sip: Dogfish Head Brewery
Despite being bought by the Boston Beer Company in 2019, Dogfish remains a Delaware darling. The brand offers multiple touchpoints throughout the beaches, but itâs worth the 15-minute drive west of Lewes to the Milton brewery. Tours run three times daily, seven days a week, and include a pour of 60 Minute IPA. For an extra $8, enjoy a tasting flight in the on-site taproom.
đ 6 Cannery Village Center, Milton, Del. 19968
Eat: the Blue Hen
Located a block and a half from the beach, on the ground floor of the Avenue Inn & Spa, the Blue Hen gives cozy coastal tavern vibes with pewter-blue paint, carved woodwork, and a gallery wall of framed photographs. The cooking, from chef Julia Robinson, elevates the genre: gingered lobster toast with dashi aioli, mezze rigatoni with pistachio pesto and confit chicken, Iberico pork Milanese.
Robinson bought the Blue Hen with her wife, sommelier and GM Heather Sharp, in 2022 after moving from Philly in 2017. Walking the Rehoboth boardwalk after dinner, itâs easy to see the appeal.
đ 33 Wilmington Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del. 19971
Famed architect Frank Gehry died Friday in his home in Santa Monica at 96 after a brief respiratory illness. And while he is gone, cities all over the world will continue to hold a piece of him â including Philadelphia.
Though he is known for the striking, rambunctious architecture of buildings like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, around here, Gehry will perhaps be best remembered as the man behind the Philadelphia Art Museum as we know it today. Gehry in 2006 was selected from a slate of more than 20 renowned architects to oversee what would become a $233 million renovation of the Art Museum.
Known as the Core Project, the effort â completed in 2021 â was designed to open up the museumâs floor plans, reclaim a ground level that had been closed to the public for decades, and add some 20,000 square feet of new gallery space. Completed in phases over more than a decade, Gehryâs planned renovations were designed to make the building more accessible, revitalize its aging infrastructure, and give the space more flow â all while not disrupting the museumâs iconic look.
Frank Gehry with a model of his design for the museum’s expansion, to be on display in the exhibit “Making a Classic Modern: Frank Gehry’s Master Plan for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.”
âFrank always felt in the design of the core project that he was collaborating with the original architects,â said retired Philadelphia Art Museum chief operating officer Gail Harrity Friday. âHe often said he was following the bread crumbs left by the original architects to revitalize a building that needed a flow, needed the restoration of the east-west access, the north-south access.â
Gehryâs work on the Art Museum created âviews toward a work of art that pull you like a magnet into the galleries,â Harrity said. And in a 2021 Inquirer review of the revamp, architecture critic Inga Saffron found that the redesign gave âmuseum officials precisely what they wanted: clarity, light, and space.â
A contentious choice
But when he was selected to lead the effort, Gehry was something of a controversial choice. At the time, Gehry was known for flamboyant architecture dotted with playful, tumbling forms â much different from the Greek Revival and Neoclassical design that made the Art Museum an icon on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Some museum lovers worried he would desecrate Phillyâs art museum, while others pondered why museum officials would pick such a high-profile architect to design features that largely would not be seen from the outside.
âNothing [Gehry] has done gives me a good feeling,â one reader wrote to The Inquirer in 2006. âPlease rethink using this man to destroy the Philadelphia Museum of Art.â
Gehry himself did little to quell his detractorâs worries. As he put it to The Inquirer at one point: âWe will set off a bomb. But I canât tell what kind till the fat lady sings. I think weâll make it memorable.â
A $233 million Frank Gehry-designed renovation of the Art Museum focusing on the buildingâs bottom two floors. The Core Project’s goals were to open up the museumâs floor plans, reclaim a ground level that had been closed to the public for decades, and add 20,000 square feet of new gallery space.
Ultimately, Gehryâs design would be understated and in line with the museumâs existing structure. In fact, it was Gehryâs work on the â60s-era Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena â which he transformed into a series of serene, classically arranged galleries in the 1990s â that convinced Art Museum officials to go with him for their redesign, so there was perhaps little to be concerned about all along.
Museumgoers got their first taste of the revamp in the fall of 2012, when work on an art-handling facility was completed. That project moved a loading dock and backstage area from the buildingâs northeast side near Kelly Drive to the Schuylkill side, and would allow for Gehryâs redesign project to progress.
And, at least to Gehry, big plans were afoot.
âI wonder if people in Philadelphia know what a big deal this is,â he told The Inquirer in 2014. âBilbao was a sleepy little town before the Guggenheim came along. This is going to change Philadelphia.â
The unveiling
By 2017, the Art Museum officially broke ground on the Core Project phase of its redesign. Two years later, in 2019, it reopened a long-shut entryway on the buildingâs north side, leading to a vaulted walkway more than 600 feet long, running the width of the museum. An auditorium was demolished, being replaced by the area today known as the Williams Forum.
Its removal opened up the interior of the museum, allowing visitors to see through the entire building, bringing in light and street vistas through windows, and âpossibly ending that feeling of being lost amid proliferating galleries of art,â The Inquirer reported at the time.
In 2021, the Art Museum officially unveiled Gehryâs work, showing off the result of 15 years of planning, design, and reconstruction. The Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries and Robert L. McNeil Jr. Galleries made their debut, housing contemporary and American art, respectively.
âGehry has provided the canvas,â Saffron wrote of the redesign. âNow itâs up to the museum to make the most of it.â
View of the vaulted walkway at the Art Museum.
But the design wasnât exactly completely finished. Gehry also created the Philadelphiaâs museumâs master plan that includes a proposed next phase: building more gallery space beneath the museumâs east steps. The project has been on hold for a number of years, and its status remains undetermined, a museum spokesperson said Friday.
The museum had also had informal discussions recently with Gehry about designing a learning and engagement center, but that projectâs status is also undetermined, the spokesperson said.
âThe building is a landmark that is iconic in Philadelphia, thatâs difficult to change the exterior of, and in many respects is on a site that is hard to expand,â said Harrity. âSo in looking at previous ideas and designs I think Frankâs solution for further increasing gallery space while responding to the architectural integrity of a landmark that is beloved in Philadelphia is brilliant.â
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
NEW YORK â Christmas concerts are Godâs gift to early music groups such as Piffaro (Philadelphiaâs Renaissance wind band). Audience love taking refuge in holiday exuberance from what we imagine as a better, centuries-ago past.
The Thursday concert of 17th-century German music titled âEin Kind Gebornâ (A Child is Born) â the first in a string of performances that includes Philadelphia and Wilmington â had Piffaro fruitfully collaborating with New Yorkâs Tenet Vocal Artists, whose finely-etched sound and deep musical comprehension make their concerts drop-everything-and-go occasions.
The partnership with Piffaroâs recorders, theorbo, and bagpipes (gentle ones) was a sound feast â of and for a particular sort.
The question is: Are audiences ready for the kind of uncommercialized, predominantly devotional Christmas concert that many say they long for? It was exuberance without brass, flash, or modern Santa Claus mythologies, and from an era when the loudest human-made sound was church bells. Oneâs ears must adjust.
Tenet Vocal Artists performing âEin Kind Gebornâ with Philadelphiaâs Renaissance wind band, Piffaro, at New York City’s Church of St. Vincent Ferrer on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
The brainy crowd Thursday at Church of St. Vincent Ferrer definitely took to it, with side conversations like âI wanted to hear more dulciansâ (an arcane woodwind) or asking why 17th-century German texts âare so stingy with their vowels.â (Who knows.)
Composers included Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), and his durable âIn dulci jubilo,â plus lesser-known contemporaries (Johann Walter, Melchior Schärer, etc.)
Devised by Piffaro artistic director Priscilla Herreid, the 75-minute intermissionless program had 18 shortish vocal/instrumental pieces, both in German and in Latin, arranged under subheadings such as âFrom Silence to Singingâ and âSweet Jubilation.â
Some selections were hymns, such as the famous âVon Himmel hochâ (the audience was invited to sing along); others, in a more sophisticated form known as âsacred concertos.â Composer Praetorius encouraged diverse adaptations of his music, and in that spirit, no two pieces had the same manner of expression.
Some had the five-member Tenet Vocal Artists unaccompanied (they can do that and stay perfectly in tune) or the nine-member Piffaro players (who alternate between a dozen different instruments, including dulcians) in purely instrumental works. Multi-stanza pieces were built and sustained beautifully, progressing from different pairings of voices and varied interactions with the instruments â though within a richly textured 17th-century sound envelop.
Always a highlight in Tenet concerts are sopranos Jolle Greenleaf (Tenet artistic director) and Clara Rottsolk, whose rather different voices create a compelling blend, whether positioned for antiphonal effects across church spaces, leapfrogging in counterpoint, or coming together in ways that create a shifting highlight of composite sound.
Tenet Vocal Artists performing âEin Kind Gebornâ with Philadelphiaâs Renaissance wind band, Piffaro, at New York City’s Church of St. Vincent Ferrer on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
When not blending, the other Tenet voices invite oneâs ears in low-key ways. This is a long way from Metropolitan Opera singing and is a relief as well as a pleasure.
In other respects, the performances were excellent though the fusion of elements is likely to be better in Philadelphia-area concerts.
There were moments when a particular member of the ensemble would poke out of the texture to lead others to the right musical destination â sometimes necessary in conductorless ensembles.
In general, Piffaro continues to evolve nicely under Herreidâs leadership. Renaissance repertoire is far less standardized than music of later centuries, and the wide possibilities constantly reveal new sounds, both ethereal and with underlying grit â thanks to Piffaroâs inclusion of folky instruments such as hurdy gurdy, the guitarlike cittern and, of course, bagpipes.
âEin Kind Geborn,â Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square; Dec. 6, 7.30 p.m., St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill; Dec. 7,3 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington. $25-$49.
The Festival of Lights, now in its 50th year, kicked off its seasonal run at Rose Tree County Park in Media on Thursday night. Santa was on hand as more than 125 trees decked out in some 300,000 lights were lit for the first time this season.
Despite the chilly temperatures, spirits were high, with families coming out to see the lights, visit with Saint Nick, and shop from vendors at Delcoâs first Fare & Flair night for the season.
Rose Tree County Park’s Festival of Lights was lit for the first time on Dec. 4. It will be lit nightly through Jan. 3. The Springton Lake Middle School Select Choir counts down the illumination of the 50th annual Festival of Lights at Rose Tree County Park. An attendee captured the lighting, which includes some 300,000 lights. Santa met with festivalgoers throughout the night, including 7-year-old Iris Yang. While the temperatures were cold enough for snow, only the faux kind fell during the opening night of the Festival of Lights. Three-year-old Liliana Napoletano and Marco Napoletano, both of Media, reveled in the faux snow that fell during the festival’s lighting. The display includes a walk-through lighted tunnel. A display of reindeer also returned this year. Savannah, 3, and Ace, 8, of Drexel Hill, looked at the lights.Thursday was the first night of the Delco’s Fare & Flair nights, when food trucks and vendors line the back of the park. Work to wrap some 125 trees throughout the park began in October. Even dogs came out to enjoy the festival’s kickoff on Thursday.
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Googleâs 2025 âYear in Searchâ report offered its annual glimpse into Phillyâs proudly weird psyche. Compiled annually, the data lists trending searches that experienced a high spike in traffic from the year before.
Philly didnât disappoint.
In 2025, Philadelphians couldnât get enough DeVonta Smith and Cooper DeJean Eagles jerseys. Both players are fan favorites. Like Smith, a star wide receiver known for his elite game-day fashions, Philadelphians displayed a touch of their own sartorial splendor, overwhelmingly searching for the playersâ kelly green-colored game shirts, the data showed.
Amid a year of traumatic news and deepening divides, top national searches included the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the government shutdown, and President Donald Trumpâs One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Philadelphians had other interests.
The nebulously alluring origin behind the “6-7” meme â a lyric lifted from a song by Kensington-based rapper Skrilla â topped Philly slang searches. Philadelphians were also busy googling phrases like âClock It,â the report showed.
Rap concerts by NBA YoungBoy and Chris Brown, a UFC fight, A Minecraft Movie, and FIFA World Cup matches were among Phillyâs top ticket searches. Two Taylor Swift songs â âWoodâ and âFather Figureâ â made the list of Phillyâs most googled songs.
A full list of national search trends are available on Googleâs trends landing page.
After losing back-to-back games to the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears, the 8-4 Eagles have been under scrutiny from national media, including ESPNâs Dan Orlovsky, who thrashed the Eaglesâ offense in advance of their Monday Night Football matchup with the 8-4 Los Angeles Chargers.
âThey donât do one thing well offensively,â Orlovsky said onThursday morningâs edition of Get Up. âIf I had to use the words and give you adjectives to describe this offense over the course of the season: predictable, boring, stale, self-inflicting, uncreative, and unexplosive.â
Orlovsky has been studying the Eagles more closely this week, as he will be on the call of ESPNâs Monsters, Inc.-themed alternate broadcast, the networkâs third animated Funday Football (ESPN2/Disney+). A few hours after ripping the Eagles on air, Orlovsky spoke with The Inquirer and raised many of the same concerns he did on Get Up about the Eaglesâ offense, which has been struggling in Kevin Patulloâs first season as coordinator.
âTheyâre not what they were last year on offense,â Orlovsky said. âLast year, they were historically great when it came to running the football. Thatâs not reality. Their tailback was historically great. He just hasnât had the same impact.â
The Eaglesâ rushing attack, spearheaded by Saquon Barkley, ranks 22nd in rushing yards through the first 12 games of the season. Last year, the team ranked second in rushing yards and Barkley became the ninth NFL running back to record 2,000 yards in a season.
Dan Orlovsky, once a Jalen Hurts critic, says the Eagles offensive line has been one of the biggest reason’s behind the team’s offensive struggles.
Orlovsky says the key difference between last yearâs offense and this yearâs is the play of the offensive line.
âIf you arenât good up front, itâs really hard to consistently be good,â Orlovsky said. âTheir offensive line has to play better.â
The Eagles have been without Lane Johnson for their last two games, as the two-time All-Pro tackle is recovering from a Lisfranc injury in his foot suffered in the teamâs Week 11 win over Detroit.
But the Eaglesâ struggles on the ground predate Johnsonâs absence. The Eagles have rushed for more than 100 yards in five games this season and recorded more than 150 yards just twice. In 2024, the Eagles eclipsed 150-plus yards on the ground in 11 regular season games.
The inability to pick up yards on the ground on first down leads to longer yardage on second and third downs. The Eagles are converting 34.5% of their third-down plays, which is the fifth-worst conversion rate in the league.
âIf you struggle as an offense on first down, it makes second down much harder, and then therefore third down much harder,â Orlovsky said. âUntil they play better as an offensive line and play better offensively on first down, thatâs not going to get fixed.â
Eagles guard Tyler Steen, left, center Cam Jurgens, middle, and guard Landon Dickerson make up 60% of the Eagles starting offensive line.
With five games left in the regular season, the Eagles hold a 1½ game lead over the 6-5-1 Cowboys in the NFC East. If the Eagles can hang onto their divisional lead and earn a playoff spot, Orlovsky says the team needs to be able to âcontrol the gameâ to be considered as a contender to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
â[If] they can dictate to a defense what they want to do, then thereâs no question,â Orlovsky said. âThe group isnât all that different than what it was last year.â
The struggles on offense, including down years from Barkley and Jalen Hurts, loom large over the final five games of the regular season. The talent remains largely the same, but 12 games into the season, Orlovsky doesnât see the current version of the Eagles as a team with an identity.
âThereâs a lot more question marks about their offense and why theyâre struggling in comparison to what it was last year,â Orlovsky said. âBut, they still are a talented group, and I think that theyâre trying to figure out who they are.â
