Creating the street

From Thayer Street at Brown to Telegraph Avenue at Berkeley, many universities have unique destination streets with funky atmospheres and independent businesses that create distinct centers for campus life.

And while street life around Penn has undoubtedly become friendlier and more vibrant in recent years, many say it still lacks a unique central area that embodies the spirit of the campus.

"There are campuses where the appeal is in a street of just a patchwork quilt of stores and funky places -- not sanitized, not outlets of major" chains, Penn History professor Walter Licht said. "In Brown, down Thayer Street ... you are going to see whole batches of funky coffee shops, record stores, used bookstores, even little antique places, bric-a-brac stores. ... It creates a different kind of street traffic."

With the development along 40th and Chestnut streets and the redevelopment of the 3900 block of Walnut Street, the University has the opportunity to create such an area by bringing together a number of diverse, unique businesses in a concentrated area.

And, according to Senior Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik, that is precisely one of the goals of the redevelopment.

Bringing in independent businesses such as the Metropolitan Bakery and the used-book store the Last Word is not a simple endeavor. But Blaik said it is an essential element for a successful remaking of the area.

However, Blaik added that at present, development "requires developers to seek the comfort of brand-name retailers."

And that, along with the recent moves of filling the Moravian Cafes with national food chains --Taco Bell, KFC and Quiznos -- raises questions about whether a unique destination street will ever emerge at Penn.

Licht, who has stressed the importance of a "funky street" since the late 1970s, pointed to the 3400 block of Sansom Street -- which houses the White Dog Cafe and Avril 50 -- as the closest thing that Penn currently has to one.

But the block is isolated and small -- a far cry from a real university destination area.

Central to the success of such an area is a critical mass of varied retail. According to Licht's descriptions, it could include art galleries, coffee shops and places that would have live music or poetry readings, as well as ethnic restaurants.

Having seen the recent revitalization along 40th Street, he is cautiously optimistic that the University will decide to steer even more in this direction with the new development.

And those intimately acquainted with unique destination streets, like Sandi Torkildson, a co-owner of the A Room of Ones Own bookstore on State Street in Madison, Wis., know their importance and fragility.

"Independent retailing brings diversity," said Torkildson, who co-founded the business 30 years ago. "It's not like Everyplace, USA. ... You find things that you can't find elsewhere -- that's what makes it a destination area."

Such a street would create a sense of community through "constant casual interaction," said Urban Studies lecturer Michael Nairn.

"It's a great opportunity to meet people, meet friends, and that's what I think public space is all about," Nairn said. He pointed to University Square at 36th and Walnut streets as an example of a public space that generates a casual atmosphere.

But unlike University Square or 40th Street, routes like Thayer Street, State Street and Telegraph Avenue all have long histories -- something that Penn cannot generate overnight.

In fact, some see a lack of recent history of grass-roots business as one of the biggest impediments to the creation of such a street. In other words, funky streets cannot be simply created. They need to grown naturally, rather than being planned from the top down -- as Penn is aiming to do.

"Funky is organic. It's something that emerges over time, with people who have been committed to their retail outlets," Licht said. "You don't create funk overnight. There's history there."

Some, like Greg Schirm, co-owner of Penn's House of Our Own bookstore, stress that a major part of a street having a distinctive feel lies in the architecture itself being organic and individual, rather than sanitized. However, he says much of the new development will only further exacerbate this problem.

Schirm also expressed some doubt about the possibility of creating an independent atmosphere in an environment where one landlord owns the vast majority of retail space, preventing independent businesses from owning their properties.

"You don't get the sort of vibrancy when an institution owns all the commercial spaces," he said. "Planning doesn't work in these kind of ways."

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