• OKhen • WHOZ • CONGRATS • RUNNIN’ • ELSEWHERE • THEMZ •
RUMINATIONS
BSR⁶, Part 2 – by OKhen
= Broad Street Run1 ×
Basically Southern Route ×
Brotherly Sisterly2 Recreation ×
Buildings…Some Remain ×
Broad Street Rabbit-holes ×
Broad Street Rumination3,4
Author’s Note: This Broad Street 2-part Rumination is a bit of Philly history. With the references and links, you can explore as many Broad Street rabbit holes as you like. Editor’s Note: Read BSR⁶ parts 1 & 2, combined and online, with URL previews.
MILE 1: And the race begins…
Within the first mile, there is or was:
Toddle House19 – where my family would always stop for brunch after services at Rodeph Shalom (located at approximately BSR mile 4.7).
S & H Green Stamp20 store – where we could redeem filled stamp books (collected from grocery store marketing) for merchandise. The stamps were distributed per dollar spent at stores like Penn Fruit21 (many of its recognizable curved roof structures still exist in the Delaware Valley, such as at Holy Redeemer in the Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center) and Food Fair / Pantry Pride22.
MILE 2
In the second mile, there is or was:
Keenan Motors – (now Mercedes-Benz of Doylestown), which sold Mercedes-Benz and Rolls Royce (my rich Aunt Ruth always bought her cars here).
Mama Rosa’s BBQ – delicious but sadly now defunct.
Miles Fisher’s Restaurant23,24 – It served O.T.C.25,26 oyster crackers and horseradish on the table and had delicious chocolate chip ice cream with huge chips for dessert.
Also notable were:
Buery Building27,28,29 – perhaps as famous for its “Boner 4ever” graffiti (will it survive the renovation?) as for anything else.
Zion Baptist Church30, founded by Leon H. Sullivan31,32 – a significant historical figure.
Fun fact:
In 1971, Sullivan joined the General Motors Board of Directors, becoming the first African-American on the board of a major corporation. While there, he lobbied for GM and other large corporations to withdraw from South Africa while apartheid was still in effect. (On a related note, I once met both his granddaughter and his daughter, thanks to a connection through my cousin.)
MILE 3
North Philadelphia Station35 – where you could catch a train to New York City.
Joe Frazier’s Cloverlay Gym36 – now a furniture store.
Botany 500 Building37 on Lehigh Avenue – Originally a Ford Motor Company assembly plant (among other uses), it once stood directly north of the Phillies’ Baker Bowl in the 1930s. Its upper stories offer a commanding view of the city—ideal for an apartment house. When Philadelphia was a thriving garment center, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union38 had offices across the street.
Fun fact:
On Lehigh Avenue, eight blocks west of the Botany 500 Building once stood Shibe Park / Connie Mack Stadium39, home at times to the Philadelphia Athletics40 (Kansas City / Oakland / Las Vegas) and the Philadelphia Phillies.
MILE 4
In the fourth mile, there is or was:
Uptown Theater43,44 – which, to my recollection, has been both renovated and trashed multiple times.
Temple University45 – It has been amazing to see the growth and transformation of this university; the pep band always provides high-energy race music as we pass.
MILE 5
In the fifth mile, there is or was:
The Blue Horizon46 – Voted by The Ring magazine as the number-one boxing venue in the world.
The Met47
Rodeph Shalom50,51 – Established in 1795, it is the oldest Ashkenazic synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. It was here, in 1970, that I had my Bar Mitzvah.
Halfway to the finish line… maybe more to come.
Author’s Note: So far, putting this Rumination together took waaaaaaaay longer than it will for me to run the race.
Part 1: Prologue and Pre-race
–OKhen “Positively spelt (UK edition)” or “Positively spelled (US English edition)” or “Deletreado positivamente (US Spanish edition)”
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Kenneth Olsho (Ólshó), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Gratefully published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club, Shawmont Running Club website
WHOZ DOIN WHAT IN 2025
Through Next Month…
- 5/4: BROAD STREET RUN (Philadelphia)
- AGee
- Alan Bravo
- Java Mon
- KayCee
- Prof. Sandy
- Quietman Tom
And Just Gene…
- 4/21: BOSTON MARATHON
- 5/7: SEDONA CANYONS 125 (Black Canyon City AZ)
- 5/23-31: ADVENTURE RUNS (AZ & UT)
Followed by a training and racing sabbatical.
CONGRATS-A-MUNDO TO ALL!
Nuthin’ to report
SEND YOUR RACE RESULTS TO: TEDMILLER01@GMAIL.COM
RUNNIN’ OFF AT THE MOUTH
“No one ever drowned in sweat.” –Unknown
“I run because punching people is frowned upon.” –Unknown
“If the hill has its own name, then it’s probably a pretty tough hill.” –Marty Stern [Rerun from 11/23/24]
“There are many challenges to long distance running, but one of the greatest is the question of where to put one’s house keys.” –Gabrielle Zevin
Source: The Gigantic Book of Running Quotations, Higdon, 2008 (Skyhorse Publishing)
ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB – by Teddio
Humans Crush Humanoid Robots in Historic Half-Marathon
“Though most robots broke down early on, six managed to finish the race.”
“…The fastest robot, Tiangong Ultra, finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds—barely qualifying for the minimum time for a human runner.”
(https://www.thedailybeast.com/humanoid-robots-race-alongside-humans-in-historic-half-marathon/)
THEMZ WHO WUZ THERE (except those forgotten or missed 😊)
Stats – We track attendance and Shawmont. Loggin’ the miles is just for fun.
Records: Attendance – 39 on 6/23/18. Shawmonts – 26 on 2/10/18.
4/19
Attendance – 15. Shawmont – 3.
- Trail Name: Distance (Route)
- A.A.Ron (FKA Aaron P): 12
- AKA: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- All That Jaz: 5
- Barbara: 9
- Caiter (FKA Caitlin R, Kate R): 12
- GregLe: 8
- Jamie: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- Jimmy Dee: 12
- John NTT (No Trail Tag. FKA JR): 12
- Kenny Baby: 3
- Lakshmi: 9
- Prof. Sandy: 8
- Sure Sheila: 9
- Tall Dave: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- Teddio: 12
4/26
Attendance – 8. Shawmont – 3.
- Trail Name: Distance (Route)
- AKA: 10
- Alan Bravo: 8
- All That Jaz: 8
- Dr. Ned: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- Half Caff: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- Jimmy Dee: 10
- Rob Ray: 14 (SHAWMONT)
- Ying1: 10
Thanks for reading. Let’s have a great week!
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