It is hard to deny that there is a new vitality at the corner of 40th and Walnut.
With last week's opening of the long-awaited Bridge movie theater, the University's plan for the 40th Street corridor finally seems to be coming to some sort of fruition. Where there was once a construction site, there are now people -- lots of them -- taking in a movie and having a drink at the bar.
This corner, which not too long ago featured a condemned library, surface parking lot, a McDonalds and a Burger King, is showing signs of a resurgence. Now is the time for the University to take the momentum generated by the Bridge's completion to make the intersection a retail and cultural center for all of Philadelphia.
The infrastructure is certainly there. The Freshgrocer continues to do great business, and its parking garage beckons people from the entire region. Just last month, the gallery Slought Networks opened in a long-vacant storefront at 4017 Walnut Street. The beautiful Rotunda, the Bridge's next door neighbor, practically begs to be made a more active part of campus life than it currently is.
Retail space along both 40th and Walnut streets is just waiting to be filled with the right tenant. A new used bookstore recently opened its doors nearby. And the renovation of the Walnut West Library promises to make the intersection a thriving nexus between town and gown.
With the Bridge's opening, officials may be tempted to sit back and see how things shake out and allow the effect of the new theater to take its course on the neighborhood.
But that strategy has simply not worked in the past and will not work today. Now is the time for the University to actively and frenetically pursue the stores and locations that will make 40th and Walnut an even more vital spot. Bring back the indie rock club once located at 4040 Locust Street. Lure new restaurants to give moviegoers and others more late night dining options.
Now is the time to make 40th and Walnut a 24-hour destination.
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