While its legality is “questionable,” almost anyone who’s grown up within the city limits has taken a dip in these refreshing waters at least once or twice. My aunt used to take me, my brother, and cousin there when we were kids and let us run wild. It was a place where, before frivolous lawsuits over too-hot coffee and people slipping on icy pavements, kids could be kids and people could relax and let their hair down, and if you got yourself hurt, it was your own damn fault for being stupid. These days it’s still in high use and demand as a place to cool off on hot days. On my walk there in August, I saw two guys hiking a slippery, rocky trail carrying a full-sized barbeque, followed by a girl with a huge bag of charcoal. The last guy in the train carried two coolers: one was probably full of meats. Talk about dedication.

The map below shows a loop walk I took with a friend recently, starting at the stone bridge on the Forbidden Drive side of the Wissahickon Creek, crossing the bridge over to the low creekside trail, walking past the Fingerspan, the Falls at Livezey Lane, Devil’s Pool, Valley Green, and around back to the bridge. This trail is pretty rugged, with some potentially slippery spots. Along the blue route are different landmarks, mapped out for your point of reference and access point… the actual location of the swimming hole is approximated – guessed by the bridge which runs over the Cresheim Creek. The actual map coordinates may be a bit different. You need to be on the Mount Airy/Germantown/Chestnut Hill side of the Wissahickon to access Devil’s Pool. Easy access locations are Valley Green (approximately 15 minute walk), Livezey Lane (approx. 15 minute walk), or paths down alongside the Cresheim Creek in Chestnut Hill.

View Larger Map

Devil’s Pool is formed where the Creshiem Creek runs down and spills into the Wissahickon, a pool of water about 4-5 feet deep on most good days collects. Some folks take their chances and jump off rocks into the pool, but it’s really a stupid place to try to do any fancy diving or high trick jumps - the water never gets more than 5 feet deep anymore, not even after storms.

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Ready? Click here to begin. ]]> http://citiesinpixiedust.com/2008/07/31/mighty-delhi-center-city/feed/ 0 http://citiesinpixiedust.com/2008/06/03/cpd-street-art-video/ http://citiesinpixiedust.com/2008/06/03/cpd-street-art-video/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:48:27 +0000 citiesinpixiedust http://citiesinpixiedust.com/2008/06/03/cpd-street-art-video/ This weekend past, Cities in Pixie Dust went to the South Philly Biennial, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, and rain-delayed until Sunday.

I really can’t say a whole lot about the experience, and actually describe it properly. You really had to be there. It was part Alice in Wonderland acid trip and part community art festival. A friend of mine walked by serendipitously, and had to leave because “I can’t handle this right now… It’s tripping me out…” Think glitter and rainbows meet saxophone versions of “Sweet Child of Mine” and Black Dog. Live Band Karaoke, tea tent, paper mache clusterf*ck and face painting. Plus a surprise solo acapella performance from the guy from the band “The Homosexuals.” Or as the kid who sang Danzig’s “Mother” during Live Band Karaoke said about the art, “What is all this stuff? It’s SO WEIRD!!!!” You really had to be there.

So, below the cut is some video!

More photos on flickr in “South Philly Biennial”

Northeast Philadelphia, or “The Great Northeast,” as some like to call it, is a wondrous place for a visit. It’s got Russian supermarkets with aisles devoted to pickles, trails that go for miles back in Pennypack Park, and wacky thrift shops almost untouched by hipsters. It’s got Franklin Mills Mall and suburban sprawl.

We’ve been there in the trenches… We understand that sometimes you just need to get the f*ck out of Dodge. You keep seeing the same people at the same places and it’s worn thin. Or maybe you just need to experience another place as an observer to appreciate how great your life is (or isn’t, as it could turn out to be). Getting away to a foreign land can sometimes be prohibitively expensive, or take too long to get you back in the office on Monday morning. When you’ve got the time, you ain’t got the money, and vice versa.

Cities in Pixie Dust is a big fan of exploration of “foreign” lands. Sometimes this means other countries, or other cities nearby. But just as often – it means exploring unusual parts of your own town. You don’t always have ten days and $1500 to go on vacation when you need it. We aim to someday share with you which Port Richmond bar has the best pierogie through experienced taste tests and photo exposes, which Korean BBQ in Olney has the best karaoke, where we found $3 drinks in Manhattan, and so on.

Today’s post is the first in a short series about Northeast Philadelphia.

We bring you…

The Twistee Treat custard stand. Unfortunately it was not open for us to sample their offerings… But CPD will be heading back soon (sometime after 12 noon daily by the way!) for a taste test. Welcome to summer. We know it’s not technically official until June 20th or so, but we all know Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial first weekend of summer.

Located at Frankford and Longshore Aves. (you can see it on Google Maps satellite!)

You may wonder why we visited a custard stand which was closed. We know we are a bit quirky, but that’s just plain weird.
It was for the “roadside architecture” aesthetic appreciation. Robert Venturi would call this building a “Duck.” Sure. He’s totally wrong, because we can all see it’s not a duck, it’s a giant strawberry ice cream cone. But you can read more about “Duck architecture” or “mimetic architecture” here. Consider it your summer reading requirement. For more examples of interesting roadside architecture, check out Agility Nut’s website or flickr blog. And just for your reference, this ice cream stand isn’t too far from the Grey Lodge Pub.

They also hand out free string cheese nearby.

Sent to me by Chris “Spam” White,

“These posters have been showing up in center city and south Philly for
about a year. They always have a model’s head and a similar style of
Christian ranting. They always mention demons getting in your blood
and defecating. They also exhort you to stay married, stop shacking
up, and listen to Christ radio. These new ones also mention that
angels will hug you forever in heaven.”

The poster reads:

“You must listen to Christ Radio 53AM on 24-Hours or the Devil will take you and your family and make bats out of all of you. Christ will protect you. Devil is Boogie Man.

Beautiful and Gorgeous Mary and Christ will hug and kiss you forever in heaven. For keeping the 10 commandments. It’s so easy to keep the 10 commandments. Teenages and people in hell are suffering terrible. Screams of horror forever.  Stay married or stop shacking up.  Or burn in hot lava in hell forever.  Beautiful Mary will listen to Christ radio 53AM with you. You will be so happy to know you will get to heaven for sure…”

The blue poster adds:

“You must stay married. Christ said one marriage. A face of a woman was on a bat’s face in a front page news. The Devil is the Boogie Man. It’s the God Truth. — Shacking Up. Stay Sober. Throw away filthy movies. Don’t — —- or burn in hell forever.

Real content is coming soon, promise!