Industry Fieldwork

The areas surrounding Temple University’s campus are an example of post-industrial urban landscape. Before the train tracks at 12th and Berks lies Temple University’s campus which is heavily populated by students, staff and visitors during daylight hours. Walking down Berks toward the SEPTA regional rail stop, I was struck by the row of Temple banners down Berks. These banners seem to demarcate places that Temple University approves of. Everything that surrounds the banners is well maintained and always relatively populated including the public housing develop on Berks.

The first sign of industry I encountered was Philadelphia Management’s Kardon Building. The exterior of this building is in excellent condition. It seems as though it had been rehabilitated recently. What purpose did the Kardon Building serve before it was up-scale housing for college students? I don’t think the surrounding community stands to benefit much from the Kardon Building. The only benefit it could bring is perhaps some jobs to the area. What kind of wages does the Kardon Building pay? What is the living wage for some living in North Philadelphia? I wonder what kind of activities took place inside of the Kardon building and what was the relationship of the business to the surrounding communities?

Continuing down Berks I crossed under the train underpass. Past the underpass there are no more Temple banners, curiously this is also where there are many vacant lots and boarded up row home shells. The next sign of industry I encountered was the PWD building which is right after the under pass. The building is not nearly as old as the Kardon Building, however the style seems similar to my high school which would put it’s erection sometime in the 1960s-70s. Like Temple buildings, the PWD is looks like a small fortress with barbed wire fences, security cameras, and scan card entry doors. The building certainly does not add anything to the neighborhood, again except for jobs. How much skill, training and education does one need to work at PWD?

Across from the PWD compound there are a few row homes and vacant lots. The houses do not seem well maintained and the vacant lots are filled with trash and overgrowth. This kind of blight must be an effect of deindustrialization. What is the mean income of people who live behind Temple University? Where do they work? At the time I was at the corner of Berks and N. 9th there did not seem to be any people walking around except some within the PWD compound. This whole scene contrasts Temple’s campus which is just 2 blocks away. Temple’s campus is well-maintained and heavily populated. This area looks like its maybe even in another country. I am curious as to how the existence of the Kardon building has affected rent prices in this part of the city.

As I turned the corner onto N. 9th St. and then took a right onto Montgomery St. (heading back to Temple’s campus) I noticed an old Train track which pushed right up against the back of the Kardon building. This piqued my interest even more as to what purpose the Kardon building served when it was actually a functioning warehouse, factory or mill. These tracks like the Kardon building can no longer carry out their intended purpose. It seems that in the post-industrial city there are two options for obsolete structures, like Kardon turn them into housing or entertainment facilities for affluent people or let them rot like the train tracks.