The Bridge Repair Unit of the Philadelphia Streets Department repairs part of the Pennypack Creek Bridge that was damaged in a car crash. Photo courtesy of Rich Frizell/Holmesburg Civic Association

Repairs are underway on Frankford Avenue for a wall along the Pennypack Creek Bridge that sustained damage during a weekend car crash.

Not quite six months after the installation of a historical marker for the bridge, a traffic accident sent the hard-earned plaque to the ground and damaged the nearby stone wall. continue reading »

Former Holmesburg Civic Association President Fred Moore worked for more than a decade to get historical recognition for the Pennypack Creek Bridge. Photo/Jessica Lopez

Update May 9, 2013 ConRail has agreed to allow the Holmesburg Civic Association paint the bridge, and will waive the fees, registration and insurance.

The Pennypack Creek Bridge that connects Holmesburg with Upper Holmesburg has been cleaned up and remains under surveillance by town watch and police.

But as Holmesburg works to maintain the part of the park around it, the train trestle that crosses over Frankford Avenue is still an eyesore. continue reading »

The Pennypack Creek Bridge that’s part of what is now Frankford Avenue received a state historical marker Saturday. Photo/Jessica Lopez

More than 200 years ago, soldiers of the Continental Army marched across the Pennypack Creek Bridge toward a monumental victory in Yorktown during the Revolutionary War. Saturday, neighbors marched across that very bridge to celebrate its historical marker, an honor that Fred Moore and the community of Holmesburg have worked so hard to achieve.

A celebration was held to commemorate the bridge, built in 1697. A section of Frankford Avenue between Ashburner Street and Solly Avenue was closed for the residents to walk across the bridge led by Scottish bagpiper Don Phillips and the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard.

Moore, the chairman of the Bridge Celebration Committee and the former president of the Holmesburg Civic Association, unveiled the marker. continue reading »

Rich Frizell, new president of the Holmesburg Civic Association, leads the first meeting of the 2012-13 season. Photo/Shannon McDonald

Cars lined two full blocks of Ditman Street on either side Tuesday night. Children and their parents made use of the playground out the rec center as the Holmesburg Boys Club’s pee-wee football team practiced beneath the setting sun. Inside the rec center, Holmesburg Civic Association board members grabbed additional red folding chairs as the meeting room filled up.

And so began the group’s first meeting of the 2012-13 season. Members will meet once a month through June, and President Rich Frizell reviewed on Tuesday some of what members can expect in the coming months. continue reading »

Fred Clemens of Mayfair relaxes on the ledge of the old pavilion by Pine Road in Pennypack Park. Photo/G. E. Reutter

Yet another heat wave has hovered over Northeast Philadelphia.

Residents of the Northeast have been beating the heat at Pennypack Park since the 1800s when beaches dotted the slow-moving creek throughout the city. The beaches are gone but the residents still seek relief from the heat in Pennypack.

I visited the park at Pine Road where the creek slips into the city from Montgomery County. The park was a bustle of activity with bikers, joggers, walkers, families and those relaxing along the creek in the shade.

Continue reading to see our slideshow of park-goers enjoying a break from the heat. continue reading »

A car traveling on Krewstown Road plunged into Pennypack Creek Monday afternoon. Credit: Fox29 via Twitter.

UPDATE: Authorities confirm the passenger in the car, identified as Elizabeth Jones, died overnight as a result of her injuries.

An elderly woman died Monday afternoon after her car left the roadway and plunged into Pennypack Creek.

The driver, a woman in her 70s, somehow lost control of her 3006 Lincoln Town Car along the winding 8500-block of Krewstown Road. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her 71-year-old passenger was listed in extremely critical condition at Aria Health-Torredale.

The car was pulled from the creek Monday night.

UPDATE — At the Sept. 13 Holmesburg Civic Association meeting, the vote for the new bylaws, which included the expansion of the boundaries, was approved by the voting membership.  The vote was unanimous.

Following a meeting between the Holmesburg and Mayfair civic association boards, the two groups have decided the HCA will expand its coverage to include the area east of Frankford Avenue to the Delaware River between Sheffield Street and Cottman Avenue.

This area was previously not covered by any community organization. The HCA’s executive board has been revising its bylaws to incorporate the extra blocks, and those bylaws will be voted on by members in September. continue reading »

Residents are advised to avoid the area of the Pennypack Creek between Roosevelt Boulvard and Bustleton Avenue after a Fairmount Park ranger captured a rabid beaver there.

The beaver, suspected of three attacks between Wednesday and Thursday, will be taken to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Chester County and tested for rabies. continue reading »

So much for telling the city’s big news outlets to use Google Maps.

As Technically Philly reported last week, Delaware River is spelled wrong on Google Maps. The river is spelled “Daleware” in the popular mapping service, and can also appears in some spots in place of the Schuylkill River and Pennypack Creek (that has since been fixed).

continue reading »

The area in the creek where Saulius Kvaraciejus went under.

Friends of  Saulius Kvaraciejus recovered his body yesterday on the banks of Pennypack Creek.

The 20-year-old went missing Tuesday when he and two friends used inflatable swimming pools to go rafting in the creek and he fell into the water.