McGlinchey’s Bar, which survived decades of shifting tastes, smoking laws, and disco, is now on the market, five months after its closing.
The asking price for the property at 259 S. 15th St. is $2.45 million, according to the listing, which is being handled by Nadia Bilynsky and Dennis Carlisle of MPN Realty on behalf of the Sokol family, which has owned the building since 1968.
The family is selling not only the century-old building — with bars on two floors and a vacant third floor — but its liquor license and the McGlinchey’s name.
For generations of regulars, McGlinchey’s was known less for reinvention than for what it refused to give up: cash-only tabs, smoking long after most bars banned it, and prices that seemed detached from inflation. It seemed to outlast trends simply by ignoring them.
And if walls could talk, McGlinchey’s would probably ask for another shot before answering.
Its building, on 15th between Locust and Spruce Streets, opened in 1922. For the first decade, it housed offices for the Allen-Sherman-Hoff Co. In 1932, Joseph A. McGlinchey bought it, leasing the first floor to a book and gift store called the Odd Shop, opening McGlinchey’s Restaurant on the second floor, and living upstairs.
The bar downstairs opened in the 1950s, and Henry Sokol purchased the business in 1968. In 1976, he converted the second floor into Top’s Bar, which began as a disco, later hosted music and poetry, and eventually became an extension of McGlinchey’s itself.
Five decades ago, the neighborhood sat on the seam between old Center City grit and the city’s new, corporate face; the clientele continued to reflect a broad cross-section of society.
Stained-glass windows inside of McGlinchey’s on Aug. 18, 2025.
After Henry Sokol’s death in 1985 — the year construction began on One Liberty Place, the city’s first building taller than William Penn’s hat on City Hall — McGlinchey’s was passed along to sons Ronald and Sheldon.
Ron Sokol died in 2022, and last summer’s closing was prompted by Sheldon’s retirement.
“It was just time,” said Sandra Sokol, Ron’s widow.
Sheldon Sokol was the daytime manager, while Sandra Sokol said she handled administrative work behind the scenes. Douglas Sokol, Ron and Sandra’s son, worked at the bar, too.
McGlinchey’s owner Sheldon Sokol in a 2004 photo taken for “The Regulars,” a series by former bartender Sarah Stolfa, who went on to publish the collection in a book of the same name.
For Sandra Sokol, the bar’s meaning extended well beyond its balance sheets. “We used to joke that we had two children, but McGlinchey’s was [Ron’s] third child,” she said. “It was that important to him. He was really responsible for what it became.”
Under Henry Sokol, she said, the business began as a more traditional restaurant and gradually evolved. “When Ronnie began hiring art students as bartenders and waitstaff, that’s when it started to shift into something more edgy,” she said. “What it became wasn’t planned. It just morphed that way, the way family businesses often do.”
Sign at McGlinchey’s.
That evolution extended upstairs as well. Sandra Sokol recalled visiting Top’s in its early disco days. One night, her sister, visiting from out of town, was asked to dance by a man who turned out to be a carpenter, still wearing his tool belt — hammers and all — straight from work. “It was that kind of place,” she said. “Spontaneous, serendipitous moments.”
Those moments, she said, added up to something larger. “People would often say — and I agreed — that it was like the experience of Cheers,” she said. “It was more than a bar. More than a business. It became an institution — and in many ways, an extension of our family.”
Even the bar’s most controversial feature — smoking — was handled pragmatically. “It was a double-edged sword,” she said. “If they banned smoking, they might gain new customers, but they would lose longtime ones.”
A Miller High Life on the bar inside McGlinchey’s on Aug. 18, 2025.
When Ron Sokol died, former employees turned out for the memorial. “So many people who had worked at McGlinchey’s over the years came and told me how important the bar had been in their lives,” she said. “I’m not really talking about the business side — I’m talking about the presence it had in people’s lives.”
Among its alumni was Fergus Carey, the serial Philadelphia bar owner, who got his start in the industry there, as did his business partner, Jim McNamara. Carey said they had considered putting in an offer on McGlinchey’s, “but at this point, Jim and I have let it go in our hearts. We met so many people there — people we worked with, people we served, people who became friends. It was an important steppingstone for both of us, professionally and personally. It’s a big part of our history in this business.”
As the property changes hands, Sandra Sokol said she hopes its identity survives the transition. “I would really like it to remain McGlinchey’s and for a new owner to keep it as close as possible to what it was,” she said. “I especially feel that way because I know Ronnie would have wanted it to continue into the next chapter.”
An Inquirer analysis of the decisions and the data behind them shows the proposed closures would disproportionately affect Black students. And despite efforts to minimize the impact, schools in the most vulnerable sections of Philadelphia would also be disrupted.
The closures would mostly address buildings with hundreds of unused seats, though some largely empty buildings were spared. And eight of the closures would affect schools given the district’s worst building condition rating — though 30 more buildings in that category would stay open and receive upgrades of some kind.
Monique Braxton, district spokesperson, said the facilities plan was “designed to provide access to high-quality academic and extracurricular programs across every neighborhood regardless of zip code.”
Most affected students — 90% — would be reassigned to schools with similar or better academic outcomes, and all would be reassigned to schools with either similar or better academics or comparable or better building conditions. Receiving schools will get additional supports, Braxton said.
Overall, the proposal would shake up at least 75 schools, with 20 closing entirely, four leaving their current buildings to colocate within other schools’ buildings, and three moving to new buildings. It would create new schools and, in one case, result in a new building. Nearly50 other district schools would take in displaced students from the closing schools, with some adding grades and others modernizing to fit new programming needs.
Collectively, about 32,000 district students learn in the 75 affectedschools — more than a quarter of the district’s total enrollment — not counting children in pre-K programs.
And those are just the changes Watlington introduced this month. Other shifts, some of them major, district officials said, are expected to be announced by the time he presentsthe planto the school board next month. A final vote is planned for later this winter.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington (center) speaks about his proposal this month for the Philadelphia school facilities master plan.
The racial impact
The 20 schools that could close have twice as many empty seats as the district’s other schools. But The Inquirer’s analysis found that the closures will hit Black students disproportionately.
Among the closing schools, about 68% of the student population is Black, compared with 40% for the rest of the district’s schools — not including disciplinary or other specialized schools.
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
Of the district’s schools where at least 90% of the students are Black, more than half are scheduled to close or take in more students from the closures.
Overall, amajority of students in the 75 schools that could close, take in students, or change in some way are Black, at about 54% of enrollment.
Some majority-Black schools, however, are earmarked for upgrades. Bartram High would get a modern athletics facility after nearby Tilden Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia is closed and upgraded for that purpose.
Nysheera Roberts is the parent of multiple children who attend Waring Elementary, in Spring Garden, which landed on the closure list. Waring now educates under 200 students; its pupils would be sent to Bache-Martin.
Roberts is stunned that her school — which educates mostly Black students like her kids — could close.
She worries about the logistics of getting her kids to school safely further away, then getting to her job in home care in Frankford on time. She worries what will happen to her children, including the niece and nephew she now raises who have lived through significant trauma and have behavioral and learning needs, if they have to adjust to a new and larger school.
“It’s not fair,” Roberts said. “They’re hurting Black kids more.”
Paying attention to vulnerable neighborhoods
In deciding which schools to close or expand, the district considered the vulnerability of the surrounding neighborhood.
Two dozen neighborhood elementary schools were labeled “very high risk,” meaning they have likely dealt with a previous school closure, or the community is otherwise vulnerable to high poverty, housing concerns, or other factors.
(function() {
var l2 = function() {
new pym.Parent(‘school_closing1’,
‘https://media.inquirer.com/storage/inquirer/projects/innovation/arcgis_iframe/school_closing1.html’);
};
if (typeof(pym) === ‘undefined’) {
var h = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0],
s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.type = ‘text/javascript’;
s.src = ‘https://pym.nprapps.org/pym.v1.min.js’;
s.onload = l2;
h.appendChild(s);
} else {
l2();
}
})();
Welsh, in North Philadelphia, was the only school building in a neighborhood labeled “very high risk” to land on the closing list.
Bethune in North Philadelphia and Martha Washington in West Philadelphia will colocate with other schools.
But three schools with building conditions considered unsatisfactory, poor programming options, and “very high risk” neighborhood ratings were left off the closure list. Those schools are Philadelphia Military Academy in North Philadelphia, Sheppard in West Kensington — which has successfully fought off closure in the past — and Francis Scott Key in South Philadelphia, the district’s oldest building, constructed in 1889. Sheppard and Francis Scott Key are both majority-Hispanic schools.
Sheppard Elementary School in West Kensington has faced the threat of closure in the past but was spared in the latest proposal.
The district plan calls for closing five schools in neighborhoods it deemed to have a “high risk” of vulnerability, the level below “very high”: Blankenburg, Harding, Stetson, Tilden, and Wagner.
Watlington has made it clear that the district is phasing out middle schools when possible, in favor of the K-8 model — and of that list, four are middle schools. Only Blankenburg, in West Philadelphia, is an elementary. Also, of those schools in vulnerable neighborhoods, four of the five are rated as having “unsatisfactory” buildings, the district found.
Perhaps no section of the city faces as much disruption from the recommendations as the lower part of North Philadelphia.
Fourteen schools with a combined enrollment of 5,400 students could be affected, including the closures of Ludlow, Morris, Penn Treaty, and Waring.
“If you are closing schools during a literacy crisis, then you should be held directly accountable to the people you serve,” Young said last week.
Right sizing mostly empty buildings
Underused space was a factor in the district’s decision-making, an Inquirer analysis found.
Data released by the district last year identified about 60 schools that were more than half empty. The recommendations attempt to realign some of these schools by taking significant action on 31 of the 60 half-empty schools.
Of the 20 schools the district wants to close, 14 are currently at less than half capacity.
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
AMY Northwest, Conwell, Robert Morris, Motivation, Tilden, and Welsh are all recommended for closure, with each educating fewer than a quarter of the students they have room for.
Overbrook High in West Philadelphia — a 100-year-old school with roughly one in four seats filled — would remain open but begin sharing space with the Workshop School, a small, project-based high school located nearby.
Overbrook has received millions in funding from the state for remediation and a new roof. It also has a strong alumni association.
Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia has thousands of empty seats but was not tapped for closure. Instead, The Workshop School, a small, project-based high school now located in another West Philadelphia building, will colocate with Overbrook.
Having a more robust enrollment, however, did not save some schools from landing on the closure list. Harding, Parkway Northwest, Pennypacker, Robeson, and Stetson operate at 50% to 74% of capacity but would still close.
Besides shutting down underused schools, the plan would alter an additional 17 half-empty schools by moving them into colocations, adding grades, or otherwise expanding their use by taking in students from the closing schools.
To make it work, the district’s recommendations often involve a series of logistical steps. A pair of North Philadelphia neighborhood schools built in the 1960s are one example.
Hartranft, a K-8 school in North Philadelphia with a building rated in “good” condition but only 37% occupied, would take in students from Welsh, a school marked for closure. Welsh teaches the same grades but in a building rated “poor” about a half a mile away. The district would then convert the Welsh building into a new year-round high school.
John Welsh Elementary school is on the list of 20 schools proposed to close by the 2027-28 school year.
Getting students out of (some) fatigued buildings
By one city estimate, district schools need about $8 billion in repair costs for 300-plus buildings that are about 75 years old on average. Watlington’s plan calculates the district could do it for $2.8 billion.
Even with some investments over the last decade, many schools still have asbestos, lead, or mold issues. And many schools that don’t have bad building quality ratings still need improvements.
Eight schools recommended for closure are in buildings rated “unsatisfactory” by the district, its lowest score.
An additional 30 schools also rated “unsatisfactory” would remain open under the plan, including some expected to see an increase of students.
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
Watlington wants the district to pay for $1 billion of the plan’s price tag with its own capital funds over the next decade. That would leave $1.8 billion unfunded, and he wants the state and philanthropic funders to cover the rest.
If the full $2.8 billion plan is funded, Watlington said, the district could improve every building labeled “poor” or “unsatisfactory.”
To achieve this, some buildings could get the same kind of treatment Frankford High received — a $30 million major renovation project to remedy significant asbestos damage. Students had to relocate into an annex and another building for two years while the work was done.
The district plan calls for some of the buildings in the worst shape to receive more students. Bache-Martin, Catharine, Howe, John Marshall, and Middle Years Alternative are in buildings that need significant upgrades, according to the district’s analysis, but all would take on more pupils.
In the case of Howe, the district wants to add grades to keep students who would have attended Wagner, a middle school that is proposed to close.
The district has said Bache-Martin would receive upgrades if the plan is adopted. For other schools, neither the timeline nor the fixes they would receive are clear.
The recommendations so far only mention a handful of schools set to modernize.
Among them is Comly, a K-5 in the Somerton neighborhood.
Comly now has 660 students enrolled, putting it at 107% of its capacity. But the district recommends modernizing the school and accepting middle grades students from the Comly and Loesche catchments. Students who now attend Loesche, another K-5, go to Baldi Middle School, which is also overcrowded.
Watson T. Comly Elementary School in Somerton. It’s slated to be modernized and accept more grade levels under the district’s proposed plan.
What appears to set schools like Bache-Martin apart from some of the closures is higher occupancy. Together, about two dozen schools that are more than half occupied would remain open, even though the buildings are “unsatisfactory.”
Schools on this list — like Barton Elementary, which runs at about 80% of its capacity — are harder to shutter or colocate if no nearby school has low attendance. That makes building upgrades a more logical solution.
But those two dozen schools are not the only ones in need of significant building upgrades.
An additional 45 schools currently operate in buildings rated slightly better at “poor,” the category just above “unsatisfactory.” The district recommends closing seven of them and colocating two.
And beyond that large number of fatigued schools, many others in poorly rated buildings will remain unchanged for now, with about 10 even taking in more students.
Watlington has said that in total, 159 schools would modernize over a decade if the plan is approved and fully funded, but absent extra state and private money, that number could drop.
City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau on Thursday plan to formally introduce their “ICE Out” legislative package, which aims to place restrictions on federal immigration enforcement operations in Philadelphia.
The seven bills range from codifying into law Philadelphia’s existing “sanctuary city” policies to a controversial ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks. Almost all of the bills contain exceptions noting that they do not apply if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents secure judicial warrants for their activities or are acting under superseding federal laws.
It’s likely that several of the bills will face legal questions, such as whether the mask ban is constitutional and whether Council has the authority to enact some of the rules the proposals seek to establish.
After the bills are introduced Thursday, Council President Kenyatta Johnson will refer them to committee. One or more hearings will likely be scheduled in the spring.
At that point, officials from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, stakeholders, and experts will testify. Lawmakers could then amend the bills and vote on them in committee. If they advance, they would head to the Council floor for a final vote.
In a sign that the bills are likely to gain traction, Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson on Wednesday praised Brooks’ and Landau’s efforts.
“My heart breaks for everyone who has been impacted by ICE’s violent and dangerous actions and for everyone who feels afraid and unsafe in their communities,” Gilmore Richardson said, adding that she will work with other Council members “to protect our residents.”
If approved on final passage, the bills would head to Parker’s desk. The mayor can veto them, sign them into law, or allow them to become law without her signature.
Here’s what you need to know about each of the bills.
Banning ICE agents from wearing masks
Author: Brooks.
Key excerpt: “A law enforcement officer is guilty of criminal concealment if the law enforcement officer, while performing official duties and interacting with the public …. wears a mask, facial covering, disguise or any other garment that obscures the identity of the law enforcement officer, or fails to identify themselves to a subject of arrest, holding or detention.”
A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
What it does: The bill would ban law enforcement officers from obscuring their identities with masks. It also would require officers to wear badges, and would make it an offense to conceal badges or to decline to provide identifying information if requested by people they are arresting. Additionally, the bill would ban officers from using unmarked vehicles.
Exceptions: The bill includes exceptions for undercover assignments, medical or religious masks, SWAT teams, and smoke-filtering masks worn during fires or similar emergencies.
How it would be enforced: The district attorney would be able to charge an officer with a summary offense, the lowest level of crime in Pennsylvania. If found guilty, the officer would pay a fine of $300 for each day the law was violated or face up to 90 days in prison.
Additionally, the bill would give any individual “aggrieved by a violation” the right to sue an agent for wearing a mask, with fines up to $2,000 per offense if a judge sides with the plaintiff.
Twist: This bill applies to all law enforcement officers, not just ICE agents. That includes city police. It is likely that the Philadelphia Police Department, which sometimes uses unmarked cars, will have something to say about the proposed rules once the bill gets a committee hearing.
Key excerpt: “No City Agency or Employee shall enter into, renew, or participate in a 287(g) Agreement with the federal government.”
What it does: The primary objective of this bill is to ensure the city never enters into a 287(g) agreement, in which local law enforcement officers are trained to perform immigration enforcement duties. (The agreement refers to a section of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.) Philadelphia is not currently in a 287(g) agreement, so that provision would not have a significant impact in the near term.
But the bill includes several other notable provisions, such as prohibiting city employees from assisting immigration enforcement in any way, and requiring them to report requests to assist ICE to their superiors.
How it would be enforced: The city solicitor, Philadelphia’s top lawyer, would be responsible for suing city agencies or employees who violate the bill’s provisions. Potential consequences include a $2,000 fine and termination.
Kendra Brooks shown here during a news conference at City Hall on Tuesday to announce a package of bills aimed at pushing back against ICE enforcement in Philadelphia.
Prohibiting discrimination based on immigration status in city services
Author: Landau.
Key excerpt: “No City agency, official, employee, contractor or subcontractor shall …
“request information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status …
“condition the provision of City benefits, services, or opportunities on a person’s citizenship or immigration status or national origin …
“threaten, coerce, or intimidate a person based on their actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status [or] …
“initiate an investigation or take law enforcement action based on a person’s actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status.”
What it does: This bill aims to protect individuals from being treated differently based on their immigration status when dealing with city government services.
How it would be enforced: The city solicitor or anyone aggrieved by violations of the bill would be able to sue the offending city employee or agency.
Banning employment discrimination based on immigration status
Author: Landau.
Key excerpt:“It shall be an unlawful employment practice to deny or interfere with the employment opportunities of an individual based upon … citizenship or immigration status.”
What it does: The bill would add “citizenship or immigration status” to Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on characteristics including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
How it would be enforced: If the bill is approved, Philadelphians who feel their employers have discriminated against them based on their immigration status will be able to file complaints to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Rights, which adjudicates alleged violations of the Fair Practices Ordinance.
Rue Landau shown here at the Tuesday news conference.
Withholding data on citizenship and immigration status
Author: Landau.
Key excerpt: “No City agency … shall enter into any contractual agreement or arrangement with a federal agency or federal contractor to provide access to any data, database, or dataset where the purpose of such access includes assisting or supporting immigration enforcement operations.”
What it does: This bill aims to prevent the federal government from accessing city data that could help immigration agents determine individuals’ citizenship status.
It also would require the city to produce an annual report tallying federal data requests related to immigration status and any violations of the bill.
How it would be enforced: The city solicitor or any individual aggrieved by violations of the bill would be able to sue the offending city employee or agency.
Prohibiting immigration enforcement on city-owned property
Author: Brooks.
Key excerpt: “It is unlawful to use City-owned or controlled property for the purposes of staging, conducting or assisting federal immigration enforcement activities.”
What it does: The bill prohibits immigration enforcement operations on city-owned land, such as federal agents making arrests in city parks or ICE staging raids on municipally owned parking lots.
The bill also allows city agencies to post signs on municipal property stating: “This property is owned and controlled by the City of Philadelphia. It may not be used for immigration enforcement activities.”
How it would be enforced: The city solicitor may file a lawsuit to ask a judge to order the federal government to cease and desist from using city property.
Advocates and protesters on Tuesday in Center City call for ICE to get out of Philadelphia.
Requiring warrants for nonpublic areas of ‘Safe Community Spaces’
Author: Brooks.
Key excerpt: “No employee or agent engaged in official duties at a Safe Community Place shall have the authority to consent to permitting a law enforcement officer to enter a nonpublic area of the facility … to identify, arrest or otherwise impose a penalty upon a person for purposes of federal immigration enforcement.”
What it does: The bill would effectively require immigration agents to secure judicial warrants to access nonpublic areas in “Safe Community Spaces,” including city-owned or -controlled hospitals, libraries, courthouses, recreation centers, and other city facilities. Currently, agents can access those areas if they get permission.
The proposal also would also require judicial warrants for instances in which law enforcement seeks access to nonpublic areas “to identify or impose civil or criminal liability upon a person” exercising protected rights such as the freedom of speech, assembly, and petitioning.
Lastly, the bill would require city agencies to “identify property that has been, and is likely to be used by, immigration enforcement” and mark it with signage stating: “In nonpublic areas of this property, a judicial warrant is required for law enforcement activities and no voluntary consent may be solicited from any employee.”
How it would be enforced: Only the city solicitor can sue to enforce the bill’s provisions. Such a suit would not be filed against a federal agent. Instead, it would be filed against a staffer at a “Safe Community Space” who gave federal agents permission to access nonpublic areas at the facility.
Staff writers Anna Orso and Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.
What others are saying: “Highs: Compliant ride, upscale furnishings, impressive list of standard tech and safety features. Lows: A bit pokey for the segment, F Sport deserves to be sportier,” says Car and Driver.
What Lexus is saying: “The stylish Lexus luxury crossover.”
Reality: Not just stylish, but quick, fun, and supple. But don’t change songs or set the cruise.
What’s new: The midsize SUV from Lexus now features all-wheel-drive standard. It was last redesigned in 2022.
Up to speed: The F Sport adds a lot of oomph to the NX package. The 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is turbocharged and creates 275 horsepower.
It roars to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, according to Car and Driver. That’s actually a little slower than competitors, but it still feels quick. When left to its own devices, the NX 350 F Sport just seems to aim for 70 to 75 mph.
Shifty: The 8-speed automatic does its thing well, so you don’t have to. You can, though; the Prius shifter pattern (up-left for Reverse, down-left for Drive) adds a straight-down pull for Manual mode, and then the paddles take over. Toggle to your heart’s content.
On the road: All-wheel drive and the adaptive suspension combine to make the curves even more fun; the test model rolled through turns and even around corners like a much smaller vehicle. Sport and Sport+ modes are ideal; it can feel a little sluggish in the other modes.
The interior of the 2026 Lexus NX 350 F Sport definitely grabs your attention, and won’t let go.
Driver’s Seat: The NuLuxe seats are delightful, agree Mr. Driver’s Seat and the lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat. They hug, they cuddle, they make you happy like a good Lexus should. (The seats, not the happy couple. Or at least we don’t cuddle you.)
A favorites button on the infotainment screen should help get where you want to go.
If only all the controls were this simple. Read on.
Friends and stuff: People in the corners will be moderately happy, with comfortable seats and plenty of room to stretch out. The center seat is perched and the floor has a hump, so you need the person with the most balance sitting there. But only bring along forgiving friends because they’re going to get mad if they feel the front seats at some point.
Cargo space is 22.7 cubic feet in the back and 46.9 with the seat folded.
In and out: It’s not too big a leg lift to get into the NX.
Play some tunes: Oh, for crying out loud, there has to be someone at Lexus who gets as annoyed at the steering wheel buttons as I do. Every time I want to skip a song or replay a song, I’m left to wonder, “Will it take two stabs? One stab? Several stabs?” It always a mystery, while the hover function waits to recognize my thumbs hovering as intended. Do you really want this? Do other drivers on the road want you to have this?
And that’s not to mention when I want to move several songs forward or back. We’d been having such a good time up till now, but it’s ruined. Just when that dastardly touch pad is gone, too. (Yes, I know it’s been seven years, but it left a mark.)
Sound from the Mark Levinson Premium Audio ($1,020) system is good, probably an A-. Not super clear but pretty close. A volume knob is too small and fussy to be helpful. The touchscreen is large at 14 inches (part of a $2,865 F Sport package) and easy to operate. But those darn steering wheel buttons.
Steady speed: On the other side of the steering wheel, the cruise-control buttons add to the sadness. More confusion, and in this instance it would be impossible to pull over to set it.
Keeping warm and cool: Weird tire-shaped Lexus dials control the temperature, and then the ebony touch pad allows you to heat and cool the seats and adjust the fan or source. But there are all sorts of automatic control adjustments that get way too intricate for someone driving it around for a week, or, more important, trying to adjust things while driving.
Fuel economy: The test vehicle averaged 21.2 miles per gallon and didn’t budge at all while testing.
Where it’s built: Cambridge, Ontario.
How it’s built:Consumer Reports predicts the NX reliability to be a 4 out of 5.
In the end: The NX is a nice vehicle, if you can live with the controls. I don’t think I could.
Among competitors, if I wanted to throw caution to the wind, I’d go for the Stelvio — it’s just so much fun to drive. The GV70 is also nice, especially in full EV form.
Cailin Williams was always interested in hockey. Like most middle-school athletes, she just wanted to make friends and compete. It didn’t matter that she could barely skate — Williams just wanted to play.
But there was one issue: There was no league for her to play in.
In 2021, Comcast Spectator and the Flyers Training Center changed that. Together, they launched The Philadelphia Liberties, a youth hockey program for girls.
The girls train and practice out of the Flyers Training Center and often have a front-row view of Flyers practice. This past month, Flyers forward Trevor Zegras dropped in after a Liberties game to take pictures and meet some of the girls.
“I think it’s just something really cool to experience,” Williams, 16, said. “To be able to have this opportunity, knowing that I get to play when some people aren’t lucky enough to, and then I also get to share the same ice as professional players is really great.”
But it wasn’t necessarily a smooth start.
“We didn’t win one game [that first season],” said Flyers Training Center director of development Jeremy Hall. “Actually, I don’t know if we even scored a singular goal. But that first season was just something to get them started.”
Since then, the Liberties have only continued to expand. The organization started with just one team, but it now has three teams running across various age groups — 10U, 14U, and 19U — for a total of 53 girls in the program.
“We actually won a handful of games [the second season] and just really got some momentum going,” Hall said. “From that point forward, the growth in the last three to four years is honestly quite incredible to see where we’re at today, compared to where we were when we started. I’ve been in the rink here for 17 years, and I haven’t seen another program grow as fast and have had as much success as this one.”
Thank you to all of our staff, volunteers, and teams that make the Liberties Invitational an event we look forward to every year.
Four years ago the Invitational began with 7 teams. Since then this tournament has exceeded our wildest expectations pic.twitter.com/hR96VG6rrf
But the program’s goal wasn’t just getting more girls involved in hockey — it was about visibility for girls’ hockey in general.
In 2023, the program hosted the first Philadelphia Liberties Invitational, which featured seven teams. Three years later, the tournament hosted 45 teams ranging from 8U to 19U. And the visibility that has come from this expansion is setting up the players for a childhood full of opportunities.
These opportunities aren’t just limited to on the ice, though. Through the Flyers and Comcast, the girls have done ceremonial puck drops at Flyers games, have been invited to the White House to skate at the rink, and some players even met Jessica Campbell, an assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken and the first female coach in the NHL.
“Some of those opportunities come from [the Flyers’ Training Center] being our home,” Hall said. “That’s something that the girls definitely don’t downplay. They recognize that it’s a privilege.”
Philadelphia Liberties U16 player Emily Esposito does the ceremonial puck drop at a Flyers game against the Vegas Golden Knights on March 8, 2022, to celebrate International Women’s Day.
As the Liberties have expanded, girls’ hockey in general is on the same path.
“In the last two to three years, [girls’ hockey has] exponentially grown,” Flyers Training Center general manager Jay Freeman said. “Not only for us, but just in general, for the country.”
And that’s the goal of the Liberties: growth. In every possible way.
“I always tell my team that hockey is the most beautiful game in the world,” 19U coach Linda Rehmann said. “And any day you get to play it, you’re a lucky person. But the game is about more than what happens on the ice. Our organization is about growing good people, teaching life lessons that they’re going to take with them, adversity, teamwork, resilience, all kinds of things that I think when you’re in that intense, competitive sport environment, it just accelerates your learning process.”
Rehmann started her hockey journey in Canada when she was just 5 years old. She played with boys for the first seven years before making the transition to girls’ hockey.
Her journey led her to Cornell, where she won an Ivy League title as a sophomore and was cocaptain her senior year.
“Hockey played a huge role the first 22 years [of my life],” Rehmann said. “My whole life was basically centered around my hockey schedule, and I loved it. I really felt like it shaped who I became. I’m an engineer. Professionally, I feel very comfortable in rooms full of men, and I believe that competitive sport makes girls strong.”
Rehmann has been with the Liberties for the past three years, and that message of empowering girls and women has carried over to her athletes.
Congratulations to the New York Islanders and New Jersey Colonials!
After four days of non-stop action, the 4th annual Liberties Invitational has officially come to a close. pic.twitter.com/dS7ru89W9A
“Coach Linda, she’s been amazing,” Williams said. “I started out not really being able to skate very well, and now I can move, I’m doing good. I think a big part of it is having a really supportive group of coaches who are always there and want us to get better.”
Said Rehmann: “I’m getting a little bit teary just thinking about [how Liberties has changed these girls’ lives]. What we offer is a place where they can be themselves. They can be honest with each other; they can make mistakes.
“[They have social pressures in their lives], but at the rink, they can relax, they feel at home, they feel safe. I think that’s really what [this] is. [The Liberties] gives them a tremendous growth opportunity as an athlete. It shows that they’re willing to put [themselves] out there, try new things, and open [themselves] up to something else that [they] might otherwise not be willing to do.”
If you’ve never heard the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” you can watch it unfold in real time over the next few months on the PGA Tour.
LIV defector Brooks Koepka is back.
It’s the biggest moment in golf since Phil Mickelson announced he was joining the renegade league on June 6, 2022. Koepka, a five-time major championship winner, an all-American success story, is the first LIV player to kneel and beg forgiveness of the men that he betrayed.
This is biblical, if you will, in its importance to the golf world.
Briefly: Jesus, in Luke 15: 13-31, tells a tale in which the younger son of a rich man asks to have his inheritance immediately, so he can seek his fortune in the world. The son soon squanders the money, the economy collapses, and he hits rock bottom feeding pigs (sorry, LIV fans). The son then crawls back home, hoping his father will hire him as a servant. Instead, the father rejoices at his son’s return and calls for a feast, featuring a fatted calf.
In this analogy, Koepka is the son. New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is the father — or, perhaps the stepfather, considering Jay Monahan ran the Tour when Koepka followed dozens of other LIV defectors, all of whom Monahan banned, and who remain banned by Rolapp.
The feast of the fatted calf? That would be the Farmers Insurance Open, Koepka’s first tournament during his season of mild penance. It begins Thursday at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Harris English is the defending champion. Two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, ranked sixth, and U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, ranked seventh, lead a 147-player field that includes 25 of the top 50 players in the world.
But make no mistake: This is Brooks Koepka’s party.
But he’s bringing guests.
About 24 hours before Koepka’s marquee comeback tee time, golf’s biggest brat, LIV dud Patrick Reed, announced that he will return to the PGA Tour, too. Reed, who won just once on LIV, on Wednesday said in a statement that he will leave LIV and compete on the DP World Tour until Aug. 25, when he will be eligible to play in PGA Tour events. His DP performances have him ranked 29th in the world, which, along with his lifetime exemption as a Masters champion, virtually assures him entry to all four majors this year.
After careful thought and consideration, my family and I have decided that I will no longer compete on the LIV Golf Tour.
I am excited to announce that I am returning to the PGA TOUR as a past champion member for the 2027 season and am eligible to begin competing in PGA TOUR… pic.twitter.com/LFq61njCrh
The parameters of Reed’s imminent return are murky, and he has applied to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 as a past champion (he has nine wins), but he is not subject to the hastily constructed Returning Player Program (RPP) that Koepka’s interest spurred and targets only the biggest names on LIV.
One of the facets of the program produced a 147-player field at the Farmers. It would have been a 144-player field, but according to Rolapp’s RPP, the Tour couldn’t kick out an actual qualifier to add Koepka. However, adding Koepka made it necessary to add two other players to balance out the three-player groups. That meant alternates Lanto Griffin and Jackson Suber got spots.
The eventual return of Reed indicates that Rolapp is eager to build his business and to siphon talent from LIV, no matter how bad the optics or how minor the love. Reed, who won the Dubai Desert Classic last week on the DP World Tour, is a far less formidable presence than Koepka. Further, he has a reputation as a longtime cheater with a bad temper, a potty mouth, and little time for fellow competitors.
Patrick Reed, who won just once on LIV, is returning to the PGA Tour.
Rolapp might not kill the fatted calf for Reed, but, as Rolapp knows from his NFL days dealing with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, every sport needs villains.
With a 12:32 p.m. EST tee time Thursday and a 1:38 p.m. tee time Friday, Koepka will be part of the featured group with Ludvig Åberg, an inoffensive rising Eurostar, and Max Homa, the PGA Tour’s social media genius.
The program is open to any LIV player who won a major from 2022-25 and has been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years, a group that includes only Koepka, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith, all of whom have, so far, decided to stay with LIV. They have until Monday to change their minds, and then the application window closes.
So, for the foreseeable future, it’s the Brooks Koepka Returning Player Program.
As a punitive measure, the program restricts Koepka earning power from ancillary means, such as FedEx Cup bonus money and the Player Equity Program, for varied periods of time; makes sure that Koepka doesn’t bump anyone from any field; requires that he plays in at least 15 events this season; and demands a $5 million donation to charity.
None of this is especially “punitive” for the likes of Koepka, who reportedly made $165 million in signing bonus and winnings on LIV, added to his $43 million he made on the Tour.
Because it is the first real, tangible, important step into reconciling the best LIV players with the best players in the world, which is what fans deserve.
The Tour suffered from the absences of superb players in their primes such as Koepka, Rahm, DeChambeau, young Chilean star Joaquin Niemann, who has been the cream of the LIV Tour, and even Mickelson, whose game is garbage but whose name still would sell tickets on both the PGA and Champions tours.
The careers and games of all of the LIV players suffered, playing benign, inferior courses in 54-hole tournaments against laughable competition.
The game also lost personalities to LIV obscurity: Koepka’s surliness, Rahm’s earnestness, Dustin Johnson’s goofiness, Mickelson’s buttery condescension, and DeChambeau’s energetic petulance which, thanks to YouTube, has somehow transformed into energetic affability.
None of the LIV stars has sworn to never return to the PGA Tour, but no one is better suited to begin reconciliation than Koepka.
Brooks Koepka celebrates after a LIV win in 2024 with his wife, Jena Sims, and son Crew.
When he joined LIV in 2022, in contrast to most players who were clearly interested in only the sportswashing money offered by the Saudi-backed rival tour, Koepka was cast as a reluctant defector — a massive talent who feared that the injuries he’d been dealing with for months might derail the career of the most promising player since Rory McIlroy.
Koepka, mellowed by years of insignificance and decline, seemed repentant when he addressed his return at a Farmers news conference Tuesday. He was less like the Koepka who belligerently denied cheating at the 2023 Masters, when his caddie told Koepka’s playing partner which club Koepka had used, and more like the Koepka who, in 2018 at Shinnecock, won a second consecutive U.S. Open: reflective, appreciative, mature.
There are reasons for that.
Since winning the 2023 PGA Championship, which keeps him qualified for all majors, Koepka has finished inside the top 25 of his last eight majors just once. In 2025, he finished tied for 30th in the LIV rankings among just 52 regular players, many of them the definitions of “washed” and “obscure.” Koepka’s game is poor, and, at 35, time is running out.
His family life has changed, too. His wife, Jena Sims, suffered a miscarriage last fall.
Jena Sims has posted on Instagram that her and Brooks Koepka lost a pregnancy at 16 weeks earlier this year.
This is awful news and we’d just like to wish Jena, Brooks and Crew all the best 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NVsarKBVdD
Koepka, who has a 2½-year old son named Crew, enjoys fatherhood, and the international nature of the LIV Tour, combined with playing DP World Tour events in Europe to accumulate world golf ranking points, made a normal family life more difficult than he’d imagined.
“Just having my family around’s really important. I’ve grown up a lot over the last few years, and especially the last few months,” he said.
The timeline of his decision seems dubious on its face, both from him and the PGA Tour.
Koepka said Tuesday that he negotiated his release from LIV, finalized on Dec. 23, before contacting any PGA Tour entities regarding reinstatement. He said only then did he contact Tiger Woods, the chairman of the PGA Tour’s competition committee, and, voilá, just 19 days later, over the busiest holiday season of the calendar year, the PGA Tour had devised a comprehensive Return to Play protocol for the Koepka crowd.
It took five years for these guys to agree on how to limit golf ball flight. So, yeah.
The machinations that led to Koepka’s return are far less important than the reality of Koepka’s return. In many ways, Koepka was the PGA Tour’s biggest loss to LIV.
Rahm was more dynamic, DeChambeau was more interesting, Koepka was the best player, was the best athlete, was American, and was a major championship-winning machine.
Does McIlroy win eight times in Koepka’s absence? Does he complete the career Grand Slam last April if Koepka’s in good form?
More significantly, does Scottie Scheffler win 17 times, including three majors, if Koepka’s not honing his skills against Pat Perez on a burned-out course in Indiana? (Notably, Perez, Kevin Na, and Hudson Swafford also have been reinstated, sort of, pending unspecified penalties. Perez plans to join the Champions Tour when he turns 50 in March, pending penalties and fines.)
Maybe Koepka delays Scottie’s ascension, and maybe he slows Rory’s roll. Maybe not.
He isn’t likely to make much noise any time soon, especially at Torrey, where he’s missed four of five cuts at the Farmers.
At any rate, the game will be better for the presence of Koepka’s talent. His penalties aren’t nearly harsh enough, considering the hundreds of millions of dollars players like Sheffler, McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas left on the table by declining LIV offers, but that isn’t Rolapp’s main objective.
Rolapp, the NFL’s former chief media and business officer, oversaw much of the growth of the most lucrative league in the history of the planet. Don’t expect Monday to be the last chance for the biggest LIV stars to return. Rolapp clearly will do anything he needs to do to accommodate the return of any player who can help the PGA Tour heal.
Just after noon on Thursday, Koepka, the prodigal son, begins that healing.
For Cheryl and Jesse Jacobs, the three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom twin in Mount Airy had it all: friendly neighbors, good schools, nearby parks, and a short walk to the Sedgwick SEPTA Regional Rail station.
And for Jesse, a finished basement he called “my man cave,” where he played with the couple’s son.
The house had been in their family a long time. Cheryl grew up there. When her father died in 2013, they decided to make major renovations.
The home’s living room. There are working wood-burning fireplaces on the first level and in the basement.
They opened up the kitchen on the lower floor, reworked the primary bathroom to enlarge the shower, installed recessed lighting, and replaced the water heater and home heating system.
Now the Jacobs family — he’s a retired facilities manager for large corporations; she’s a semi-retired HR consultant — are downsizing to a home in South Jersey and planning to winter in Florida with their son.
The Mount Airy house, built in the 1920s, is 2,062 square feet and has a brick-and-stone facade.
The kitchen.
The main level has a large living room with hardwood floors, and the dining room has the original plaster detailing. Arched French doors lead into the kitchen, which has stained glass windows.
There are working wood-burning fireplaces on the first level and in the basement.
The three bedrooms are on the second level.
The basement could serve as a home office, media room, or in-law suite.
One of the home’s bathrooms.
The house has a covered front porch, a two-car garage with extra storage space, two green outdoor areas, and a rear patio.
Mount Airy Playground, Pleasant Playground, and Benjamin L. Johnston Memorial Stadium are all easily accessible.
The house is in the Henry H. Houston School catchment area.
It is listed by Cherise Wynne of Compass Realty for $600,000.
In college, he played the Division II national championship game with a broken hand — and went 4-for-4. He also has a habit of getting hit by pitches, 26 total last year, including four in a single game in triple A to set a Lehigh Valley record.
But even so, Kemp is hoping for a healthier 2026 with the Phillies. He underwent two procedures this winter to address injuries he’d been grinding through last year: a bone fragment removed from his left knee and what he described as a “shoulder cleanup.”
Kemp had been playing with the bone fragment since June, but only missed a single game.
“He’s just so tough. He really is,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He’s just one of those guys that can put all that pain and little dings behind them, and forget about it, and go out and play. Some guys are like that, and he’s one of them. He’s a phenomenal kid.”
Kemp expects to be fully ready for spring training. The Phillies’ first full-squad workout is set for Feb. 16 in Clearwater, Fla.
And it figures to be a big spring training for the 26-year-old. Over the offseason, Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski both emphasized the importance of injecting youth into the Phillies roster in 2026. The Phillies had the second-oldest lineup in baseball last year, with an average age of 30.3 years old.
Otto Kemp (right) worked with coach Paco Figueroa to get acclimated to left field last season.
One name that keeps cropping up? Kemp.
“We like a lot of things about him,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a good hitter, and the ball jumps off his bat. He’s a threat when he comes to the plate. … He’s a tough son of a gun. He’s a championship-type player. I mean, what he played through last year, injury-wise, I don’t think that there’s many people that would have done that.”
Kemp will likely have an opportunity in left field as a right-handed platoon partner for Brandon Marsh. He came up through the Phillies’ system as an infielder but played 63 major league innings last season in left field, logging significant time working with coach Paco Figueroa. Kemp recorded plus-1 defensive runs saved in the outfield in 2025.
But he also acknowledged that he still has a lot to learn about the position.
“Every place that you play at, the dimensions are different, the environment is different,” Kemp said. “So just learning how to play through the elements, and learning what I need to take away from any ballpark that we’re at, and how the ball bounces off the wall, what the dimensions are like. Learning overall feel in the outfield, I think, is just going to be the biggest part moving forward.”
The Phillies are most excited about Kemp’s bat, especially when he’s fully healthy. He had a .234 batting average and .709 OPS in 62 major league games last season, but the potential for more power is there. He hit 16 home runs in 74 triple-A games.
With a big spring on the horizon, Kemp is looking forward to the opportunity to be one of the young players potentially impacting the lineup and clubhouse.
Otto Kemp had a .709 OPS in 62 games with the Phillies last season.
“It’s awesome to be recognized for the work that we’ve been putting in,” Kemp said. “… Really just try and lean into that, and just be gamers, and play the game hard and do things the right way. Just seeing all of that kind of take shape and start to form something has been really cool.”
Kemp could share the outfield with another young player in Justin Crawford, who is the Phillies’ presumptive opening day center fielder. Kemp has teamed up with the 22-year-old at several minor league stops.
“He’s a gamer. He’s a game changer,” Kemp said. “He’s got speed. He’s just raw athletic. He’s just a grindy guy. He’s going to get the job done, and I’m excited to see what he can do at the big league level, because just playing with him over the last three years has been really special.
“Fun to see him in the leadoff spot, just setting the tone, swiping bags, taking extra 90s [bases]. I think it’s all stuff that plays a big factor in winning baseball games, so it’s going to be fun to see him do that on the biggest stage.”
After Kemp’s whirlwind rookie year ended and he started to address the injuries he’d been playing through, he took some time with his wife to reflect on the journey. When he made his major league debut in June, he accomplished something that few other Division II college players and undrafted free agents have.
But he doesn’t want the story to end there.
“You get a lot of ups and downs in this game,” Kemp said. “And there’s people that don’t stick. And hopefully I’m trying to prove to be one of those guys that can get established up here.”
On Jan. 8, Andre Golsorkhi, founder and CEO of design firm Haldon House, presented plans for a revitalized town center, complete with historic architecture, green spaces, and businesses that “fit the character” of the area. Golsorkhi told a packed school auditorium that Haldon House plans to bring in boutique shops, open an upscale-yet-approachable restaurant, and create spaces for communal gathering.
At the meeting, Golsorkhi also revealed that the project was backed by Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest man, and his wife, Janine. Golsorkhi said the Yasses want to revitalize Gladwyne as part of a local “community impact project.” Haldon House and the Yasses, who live near Gladwyne, have spent over $15 million acquiring multiple properties at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads.
Renderings of a proposed revitalization project in Gladwyne, Pa. Design firm Haldon House is working with billionaire Jeff Yass to redevelop the Main Line village while preserving its historic architecture, developers told Gladwyne residents at a Jan. 8 meeting.
What is, and isn’t, allowable?
For some residents, one question has lingered: Is one family allowed to redevelop an entire village?
A petition calling on Lower Merion Township to hold a public hearing and pass protections preventing private owners from consolidating control of town centers had gathered nearly four dozen signatures as of Friday.
Around 4,100 people live in the 19035 zip code, which encompasses much of Gladwyne, according to data from the 2020 U.S. Census.
“Residents deserve a say before their town is transformed.No one family, no matter how wealthy, should unilaterally control the civic and commercial core of a historic Pennsylvania community,” the petition reads.
Yet much of Haldon House’s plan is allowable under township zoning code, said Chris Leswing, Lower Merion’s director for building and planning.
Plans to refurbish buildings, clean up landscaping, and bring in new businesses are generally permitted by right, meaning the developers will not need approval from the township to move forward. Gladwyne’s downtown is zoned as “neighborhood center,” a zoning designation put on the books in 2023 that allows for small-scale commercial buildings and local retail and services. The zoning code, which is currently in use in Gladwyne and Penn Wynne, ensures commercial buildings can be no taller than two stories.
The developers’ plans to open a new restaurant in the former Gladwyne Market and renovate buildings with a late-1800s aesthetic, including wraparound porches and greenery, are generally within the bounds of what is allowed, once they obtain a building permit.
The Village Shoppes, including the Gladwyne Pharmacy, at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads in Gladwyne on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
More ambitious plans, however, like converting a residential home into a parking lot or burying the power lines that hang over the village, would require extra levels of approval, Leswing said.
The developers hope to convert a residential property on the 900 block of Youngs Ford Road into a parking lot. Lower Merion generally encourages parking lots to be tucked behind buildings and does not allow street-facing parking, a measure designed to avoid a strip mall feel, Leswing said. In order to turn the lot into parking, the developers would need an amendment to the zoning code, which would have to be approved by the board of commissioners.
Various approvals would also be needed to put Gladwyne’s power lines underground, an ambitious goal set by the Haldon House and Yass team.
Leswing clarified that no official plans have been submitted, making it hard to say how long the process will take. It will be a matter of months, at least, before the ball really gets rolling.
Leswing added the developers have been “so good about being locked into the community” and open to constructive feedback.
Golsorkhi said it will be some time before his team can provide a meaningful update on the development, but expressed gratitude to the hundreds of residents who have reached out with questions, support, and concerns.
Map of properties in Gladwyne bought or leased by the Yass family.
From ‘110% in favor’ to ‘a tough pill to swallow’
Fred Abrams, 65, a real estate developer who has lived in Gladwyne for seven years, said he and his wife are “110% in favor” of the redevelopment, calling it an “absolute no-brainer.”
Many Gladwyne residents live in single-family homes that keep them in their own, sometimes isolating, worlds, his wife, Kassie Monaghan Abrams, 57, said.
“Here’s an opportunity for being outside and meeting your neighbors and, to me, getting back to spending time with people,” she said of the proposal to create communal gathering areas.
“I think it’s a very thoughtful, beautiful design,” Monaghan Abrams added.
Some social media commenters called the proposal “charming” and “a fantastic revitalization.”
Others were more skeptical.
Ryan Werner, 40, moved to Gladwyne in 2012 with his wife, who grew up in the town.
“One of the things I’ve kind of fallen in love with about Gladwyne is the sense of community,” said Werner, who has a background in e-commerce sales and is transitioning to work in the mental health space.
“I’m less opposed to just the commercial side of it and more grossed out by the involvement of certain people in it,” Werner said.
Gladwyne is a Democratic-leaning community that voted overwhelmingly for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
On social media, some griped about the changes.
“The Village will be just like Ardmore and Bryn Mawr. Can’t undo it once they build it,” one commenter wrote in a Gladwyne Facebook group.
Golsorkhi said in an email that the “enthusiasm, excitement and support” from the community have been “overwhelming.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Despite widespread pushback, the Trump administration and the National Park Service removed exhibits on slavery from the President’s House, a recreation of the executive residence that once housed George Washington and John Adams.
The exhibits detailed facts about slavery in early America, including how Washington engaged in a human shell game with enslaved members of his own household. After the passage of Pennsylvania’s Gradual Emancipation Act in 1780, enslaved people were shuttled between Philadelphia and Mount Vernon every six months to obey the letter, if not the spirit, of the law.
The exhibits, part of Independence National Historical Park, also memorialized the nine people first brought into bondage to the city with our nation’s first president. It is important to note their names and their stories.
Austin was a waiter who died while traveling on one of those trips back to Virginia. Paris was a young stable hand whose tenure in the city was short. Hercules was a celebrated chef who eventually escaped from Mount Vernon. Christopher Sheels served as Washington’s valet. Richmond was the son of Hercules and worked various roles despite being just 11 years old. Giles drove Washington’s carriage. Oney Judge, a maid, famously fled bondage in Philadelphia, attracting the president’s ire. There was also Moll, a nanny, and Joe, a footman. Joe had to leave his wife and children behind in Virginia during his time working at the President’s House.
Evidence shows that the people whom Washington enslaved were well aware of the hypocrisy surrounding their situation. In a nation formed on the premise that “all men are created equal,” they found themselves bound by birth to a life of servitude, working in the household of the new republic’s first leader. Their stories once adorned the President’s House. Now, blank spaces stand in their place.
The Trump administration has cited a desire to avoid any historical marker that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living.” Washington is one of the most admired men in U.S. history. His military leadership and willingness to cede executive power are worthy of our esteem. But Washington, like Thomas Jefferson and many other founders, fell short when it came to slavery. Removing panels cannot change that fact.
A National Park Service worker removes panels at the President’s House site in Independence National Historical Park on Jan. 22. More than a dozen educational displays and illustrations about slavery were removed from the site.
What the desecration of the President’s House does is disparage not just the enslaved members of Washington’s household, but the millions of Americans who, in the words of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, “endured a great deal of pain so that America could realize its promise.” It also insults the efforts of the Philadelphians who fought to build the exhibit and have a vital part of America’s history recognized.
Thankfully, there is a strong local effort to fight the removal.
Parker cited a 2006 agreement between the city and the National Park Service, which her administration says requires consultation before any alterations are made. The city has filed a lawsuit to restore the panels and is hosting a public hearing on Friday. Perhaps while the court fight plays out, a temporary alternative can be installed at City Hall, by the Constitution Center, or in Fairmount Park.
Parker’s outrage is also a welcome change. While the mayor has mostly refrained from picking fights with the White House, she chastised President Donald Trump and park service officials, saying: “You cannot erase our history. You will not erase our history!”
Gov. Josh Shapiro has joined the city’s lawsuit. An amicus brief filed by his administration said: “There is no virtue in refusing to acknowledge certain aspects of our history because it is painful to do so. The removal of the slavery exhibit from the President’s House undermines this commitment and denies Pennsylvanians and others the opportunity to learn more about a part of our history that cannot be ignored.”
This sentiment is the right way forward.
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, Americans will undoubtedly hear much about this country’s triumphs. That includes those who fought and died — including many who had been enslaved themselves — to keep our country united and begin to address our nation’s greatest mistake.
Generations after the Civil War, Americans were a pivotal part of the coalition that defeated the forces of fascism in Europe. The United States has put people on the moon, helped vanquish diseases like polio, exported its diverse and vibrant culture, and inspired democratic reformers across the world.
Failing to acknowledge our failures can only undermine that legacy.
