A Place To Live, 1941

[@BobbyJackShow]

I've heard for years that the Free Library has tons of old documentaries like this stored away (and they probably threw out even move over the years). Someone should digitalize them and post them for the world to see.

[@robertglotzer9665]

Yeah, Philly (And every large city) has violent crime and slums, but how can a young man make an honest living any more? Everything we did for work 50-60 years ago is GONE.

[@1946luke]

70 - 80 yrs ago, b l x still knew their place, and pretty much stayed in it. Thug crime wasn't anywhere near what it is nowadays. How do I know ? I was there !

[@MrButch-ls8vl]

Note the old gas street lamp on the left at 3:21. The last one was taken down in 1959.

[@steamgent4592]

My Grandmother loathed the loss of the gas street lamps in Manayunk. She said they were so beautiful to see lit up at night. She missed them My whole growing up even though they had been gone for decades.

[@nickschuima122]

back then, the farmlands were oxford circle, mayfair, Tacony, Castor Gardens, Burlhome, Fox Chase, Rhawnhurst etc.... Today the people who lived there or in N Philly live in the "Farmlands" and now call the suburbs the farmlands and there old homes the ''Badlands" 60 years changes everything

[@superskinneyskates]

Have you ever been to Philly, No so why are you bashing it, Its one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world.

[@Dablkwid0w2008]

Yes it is!

[@ButterfatFarms]

I spent the first twenty years of my life in the Delaware Valley much of it living in Northeast and Center City and you're full of crap about that. They don't call it filthadelphia for nothing. 😂 Why don't you go down to K & A and shoot some video showing us how beautiful the city really is. Oh wait many others already have and have posted their videos of Kensington on KZbin. Nevermind! 😂

[@22redsguy]

Philly is a great city - with typical urban problems found anywhere in the USA - and good and exciting things that make life worthwhile too. No it's not remotely like Detroit, but Detroit, too is just beginning to undergo a revival. This doesn't happen over night. It's clear some of the commenters here don't have a clue what is Philly is really like today.

[@Phills69]

I agree. Philadelphia is a great city. Naysayers get lost.

[@royce45678]

Born and raised in Philadelphia. I think it’s gone to shit. Looking forward to moving away.

[@davidmccann9811]

It's often a fine line between removing slums to give people better housing and removing the people and community with them.

[@juniatapark54]

The original Richard Allen Homes were later torn down after they became too dilapidated. Meanwhile some of the old rowhomes were fixed up and are now too expensive for most people to buy.

[@Roadtripmik]

Great point, fix what we already have first

[@johnhammond4535]

It really is sad knowing that this video was made in 1941. I'm not ever sure our country was involved with WW2 since Pearl Harbor wasn't attacked until 12/7/41/. Here we are 80 years later and things have only gotten worse. What happened? I've been to so many cities in this great country and I've never seen a finer city then Philadelphia. But man, can you imagine if we all came together? How great every American city would be? So sad.

[@notthebannerboys]

What happened? They cut taxes on the rich and killed the Middle Class.

[@steamgent4592]

Big Socialist Government thats what happened. It chased everyone away especially businesses.

[@kkeller3461]

The major factor is that the genetic quality of the people has gone down.

[@jasonw833]

What happened is our government spending trillions over the decades in foreign aid and crapping on its own people like all corrupt governments throughout the world past and present.

[@Stussmeister]

Indeed. I've always lived no more than a half-hour from Philadelphia, and it's where all of my grandparents grew up. I take pride in living near (and visiting) the city, and while there certainly are areas that I'd consider dangerous, the same can be said for most other major metropolitan areas.

[@MMacGM]

Actually, this film is from 1941, not 1947 - both IMDB and Wikipedia list it as being from then, and it was in fact nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short for 1941. At the time, conditions would still have been much effected by the Depression, whereas in 1947 the huge economic impact from WW 2 might have been more apparent.

[@jimboldcerveza]

Actually, most of those buildings only deteriorated further in the decade that followed this documentary. Most people were working during the war but all resources were diverted to the front lines so there really wasn't any material to build new houses, fix up old ones, and not enough skilled guys around to do the work. When the GIs starting returning in big numbers there was actually a recession as the factories retooled for peace time manufacturing. It really wasn't until the early 1950s that new housing was built.

[@johnjacobs1095]

it was and still is a shithole with too many minorities.

[@CANEsPappa]

define "too many minorities" and what, in your opinion, is not "too many?"

[@patrickoneill7636]

1940 liberal propaganda.

[@CANEsPappa]

You are a real genius...you and Lee Harvey John Jacobs. Can't get anything past you too.

[@invisiblepinkunicorn7626]

Thanks for posting this. I love to learn as much as I can about the history of the city. My mother told me how hard it was to grow up then, it was her, her older brother, and their mom. It was hard to find housing if you were divorced with children. They moved a lot, and her mom worked as a seamstress in the factories. I think there were/still are 2 realities in major cities like Philly...the areas of wealth and areas of poverty...and the working stiffs like us caught in the middle, some being squeezed out by gentrification. It's tough, no doubt...

[@onlyplayaseattacoswiththei9433]

Emily, you said a mouth full.

[@CANEsPappa]

Of course things were cleaner back then. There was no fast food, convenience stores and soda and beer and milk and OJ all were packaged in returnable bottles.My parents grew up in Swampoodle, and both had black friends and classmates in the late 40's, early 50's.

[@johnhammond4535]

When you say "Swampoodle" are you talking about the little section in Riverside NJ? If so man what a small world. Boost and the Rancocas Creek.

[@CANEsPappa]

Nooo, Swampoodle is section of North Philadelphia :)

[@wandawells5596]

@@Fongo91 never heard that either. That must be a very old term. In my 48 years never heard, not even from my mom. She grew up in north Philly. Learn something different every day.

[@mynameisyumyumgivemesum1412]

@@Fongo91 its definitely a thing , or was a thing. It's called "Allegheny west" now. I read it on Google. Most philly areas had different names back then. I'm from southwest, kingsessing area , back then it was called "eastwick village ".

[@lisaheisey6168]

@@mynameisyumyumgivemesum1412 I'm from the Kingsessing section of southwest Philly too, 56th & Chester Ave. to be exact. And, my dad grew up off of 58th & Chester. But, I never heard of it being called Eastwick Village. I later lived in the Eastwick section of southwest Philly. But, that was off of 73nd & Elmwood.

[@brendan555]

Philadelphia was once the capital of America back in 18th century but Philadelphia will always be the city of brotherly love.

[@vincentvango5338]

Not anymore !

[@ButterfatFarms]

The City of Brotherly Love is a euphemism today, the sort of Brotherly Love where siblings antagonize and grief each other. 😂

[@packykelly]

Strange film. By the end I gathered that the message was - Philadelphia is falling apart and needs to be fixed. Most of the viewer comments below seem to be about how Philadelphia looked cleaner 80 years ago. Honestly, it kind of looks the same to me. I just moved back to South Philly after 9 years away. Newspaper blowing in the street. Crumbling buildings and trash filled lots. It's all still here. So are the housing problems. Even still - it's a great city with a ton of character and awesome people. That's why I moved back. Loved seeing the strange south philly alley way @ 3:01 at the front of the house. I live in a house where that alley opening has been bricked over and is now a narrow storage room. My neighbor knocked on my door the other day and said "I need to get in your alley to find the cable wires" - I had no idea what he was talking about.

[@Guitarista129]

Nice musical score by local composer and conductor whose names I hadn't seen for decades...

[@onlyplayaseattacoswiththei9433]

Wow, my dad wasn't even born until '47.....you'll never see ppl sweeping the streets like these good ppl @ the start of the video anymore. Philly was probably so clean....I wouldn't even call it "Philly" back then. I'd say "Philadelphia"....w my pinky out lol.

[@thephoenix2176]

Yes, if we have to Luv.. except we do it with our own water hoses😘

[@mynameisyumyumgivemesum1412]

@@thephoenix2176 I'm the OP. 😘 back at you 🤗 Ps , I forgot I made this comment lol

[@Tzunamii777]

I've lived in Philly almost 30 years, and to say your both right, wouldn't be off the mark at all. I LOVE the cultural, historical Philly. Too bad it's full of a kind of cancer that takes much of that out of the spotlight.

[@NATHANGRAYTV]

Philly looks way better than it did ten years ago.

[@MK-fc2hn]

How about now, 10 years later?? 😂

[@liamhoward2208]

My grandmother still washed her white marble steps.

[@Dablkwid0w2008]

Streets were so clean back then you could eat off them

[@tedlahm5740]

Most everyone used public transportation. Going back to that in mid 21st century. No more gasoline powered automobiles.

[@LarryCebula]

Damn that is interesting--both for the street and apartment scenes and for the 1947 commentary. A late echo of New Deal thinking.

[@cdw3088]

Why does ever documentary I watch have to be riddled with racial comments?

[@KennethDAstonJr]

ignorance

[@FactsDominate]

@CD W Stupid coming from a Black person. You know good and well why race keeps popping up.

[@notsure6187]

The Truth Probably because people can't accept that 70 years have passed and it's time to look forward.

[@tedlahm5740]

Public housing projects were the downfall. Well intentioned, but humongous failure.

[@terri348]

I remember visiting my grandmother in the city. At the end of her block were abandoned factories- empty, decaying masses. And a little restaurant on the corner- all the furniture still there, but no one inside. Just the rats. Street full of kids playing, adults sitting on stoops, talking to neighbors. Felt so bad for her, but she refused to leave. It was her home, way before I came along. She died in that house.

[@transitdude3352]

I still love my hometown Philadelphia but with sections like Kensington it’s really embarrassing.

[@HarMageddo]

Wow so many places i recognized in the documentary. How they look so different yet they look the same

[@Dablkwid0w2008]

Mama put all them ribbons in baby s hair lmao

[@chrisradano]

That young mother is an old lady.

[@fjp912]

Ironically, the Richard Allen Homes, shown being built in this film, rapidly turned into one of Philly's most notorious public housing hellholes. It would have been better to rehabilitate the existing neighborhoods instead of bulldozing them to build projects that warehoused and isolated the poor. Today, the Allen Homes are gone, replaced by townhouses of the same scalwe as the surrounding historic neighborhoods.

[@LoNgShOt5250]

Nice surprise to see racial integration represented in a film at this time.

[@steamgent4592]

Pass, you can keep multiculturalism. All it breeds is disharmony and disfunctional community. Which is what most of America now is. Every neighbor hates, distrusts, ignores, and messes with his neighbor if they're a busy body bunch of karens.

[@elainebmack]

The streets and houses look just like London's East End.

[@ms.felonystrutter2472]

My Dad was born in 1938 and Mom1942....they always told me how horrible this city was and OMG I despise. At times it was an okay city, especially in the 70's and 80's but OMG....all this city nowand forever be will be under construction it seems. The people are the WORST. All my schools have closed up except for college. This city is really dirty, that has not changed at all.

[@mysharona6754]

Psh...I hate living here too. It's disgusting

[@stever3291]

The 1950s was the height of population for Philadelphia. Every decade since then, the population went down, down, down. It wasn't until the 2010s, 60 years later, that Philadelphia saw a slight increase. Damn, 60 + years is a long time not to have a population increase. No wonder Houston & Phoenix have surpassed Philadelphia in population. Philadelphia will NEVER have the population like it once did in the 50s.

[@edwinberrios5778]

Yes well those cities are much larger in size area then Philadelphia! If philly were the same size trust me it would pass them by hundreds of thousands even millions but these cities are very large compared to philly 🙃

[@stever3291]

@@edwinberrios5778 I hear you. But those cities weren't always larger in population, & my point being is that I doubt Philly will ever recover the height of its population.

[@briancordero7674]

Most cities were heavily populated in the 50s because of factory jobs and after WWII many fled the cities for the suburbs. The 70s and 80s suffered economic woes and crime skyrocketed with the crack era .Today the young are coming to the city for opportunities and adventure while the gun violence is out of control.

[@johnhungerford6073]

If people give up cars it might…

[@stever3291]

@@johnhungerford6073 What's the likelihood of that happening? 😂😆🤣

[@JustinaLynn]

60 years later the neigborhood got wrose.

[@russellcandy9850]

So did your spelling!!

[@elainelane1119]

@@russellcandy9850 😆🤣

[@mgcuniverse9037]

Reading Settling Accounts from Harry Turtledove And this gives me an idea of what the capital of the USA looks like in that alternate timeline

[@tedlahm5740]

1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925 TREMENDOUS new construction of row homes along the MFL public transportation. 15 cents round trip to ride in 1945.

[@loadedfun4764]

Wow... the 2601 on Pennsylvania Avenue hasn’t changed a bit. Maybe more parking at that time.

[@dalesamuels8667]

white people bought cars and moved to Levittown or Fairless Hills, where I grew up

[@billmeecham]

I lived in a Philly project

[@gryphonshire]

And, for some, nothing much has changed.....

[@rachelhildebrandt9570]

Are you serious? This film is from 1947

[@frankwhite3942]

So you know Keith

[@robertmcsorley4001]

1941

[@pondersoa8223]

ummm no the city has gotten better as time goes forward areas once thought of as a "shit hole" have really become high end many do not remember when south st was considered to be a "bucket of blood " and what is called old city was a slum !!....now fishtown ,south philly the market st corridor and yep even the dreaded norrrth philaaadelphia!!! have be come hip cool and trendy neighbor hoods change its is a cycle

[@frankwhite3942]

Fuck the hipsters they are making housing prices go way up

[@Charles-yq8vv]

@@frankwhite3942 Yeah man, but also fuck the lame ass status quo. So many grumpy Philadelphians who just hate on change and want would rather keep their city in a garbage condition then get off their asses and work. LAME.

[@mynameisyumyumgivemesum1412]

My city 🤗

[@voidforpurpose]

Trying to find a TV 10 (then CBS) half hour documentary, circa 1961-63, titled "HELL ON HEATHER ROAD" which I think was produced/hosted by Donald Barnhouse, a special reporter for the Philly station, about a black family trying to move into an all-white suburban row home neighborhood in Folcroft, Pa. and the response that resulted.

[@us13brother]

voidforpurpose I know about that

[@Contact_Info]

its here

[@notsure6187]

sounds interesting!

[@Rob774]

there's a doc on here about Levitown which is similar.

[@ΔημήτρηςΓαβαλάς]

The best place to live during the years 1940 1945 USA

[@darrellsadler2848]

iMAGINE WHAT HIS bLACK FRIEND WENT HOME TO AFTER SCHOOL BACK THEN?

[@tedlahm5740]

Now and in the long future a CITY OF RENTERS. Ownership no longer affordable.

[@BrandoNoCaps]

I was born in Philadelphia it's the hood now

[@frankwhite3942]

Richard Allen Homes turned out real nice 😓

[@onlyplayaseattacoswiththei9433]

If you're a murdering drug dealer...yeah

[@drink15]

Guess you never been to Philly.

[@chess1458]

There goes the white privilege philosophy lol

[@paddyoak1]

Is that N PHILLY; aka “Little Lebanon”? Where the letter streets are?! 😮

[@steamgent4592]

Back when Philly was nice and many other cities. I wouldn't step foot in any city nowadays. Ghetto dumps every one I've been too.

[@notthebannerboys]

Jesus Christ! TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!

[@tedlahm5740]

COAL hot water radiator heat. TOASTY all winter.

[@johnjacobs1095]

ok

[@mysharona6754]

So Philly has been a dump for years...I shouldn't be surprised

[@juniatapark54]

Parts of it. Other parts were lovely and well kept back then and are lovely and well kept now.

[@mysharona6754]

@@juniatapark54 like the ten block radius of packer park they actually keep clean and then three minutes away It's a cesspool

[@fawnnahh7438]

@@mysharona6754 chestnuthill is best neighborhood. makes packer park look like a slum in comparison

[@carolinacougar78]

WOW… all this time, the names and faces have changed but the roles are still the same (if not worse). Social Planning has failed year after year, decade after decade and now generation after generation. Whether then or now why focus on what “others” need to do or what the “government” will do for you… this is insanity. We should focus on personal accountability. What are you going to do for yourself, where are going to move to, so that you do not have to live is squaller or so that there are jobs, what are you going to do to feed your family. Stand up for yourself and stop enslaving yourself to “free” programs… for nothing is free

[@davidx5945]

What the government did for a lot of (white) American's was create the middle class we know today aka The New Deal aka welfare. They were the sole beneficiaries of many of those free programs. Either you're ungrateful or stupid. Now that's insanity.

[@Rob774]

@@davidx5945 I guess you too saw through his play on words what he was getting at.

[@warningsigns4526]

propaganda

[@matiszyszka559]

this is borring

[@notsure6187]

build your attention span.

[@Ashley_Cortez]

Fuck you