July 12, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local News

Orchestra concert enchants audience
by JENNIFER KATZ

Led by associate conductor Rossen Milanov, the Philadelphia Orchestra played one its illustrious “free neighborhood concerts” at Pastorius Park on July 2. The 104-piece orchestra played for over an hour before a crowd of 3,500 listeners. It was the first time the orchestra played in Chestnut Hill, although Pastorius Park has been the site of weekly summer concerts for nearly 60 years. The orchestra will play its next free neighborhood concert on July 21 at Clark Park in West Philadelphia. The Pastorius Park concert series continues July 18 with Melody Gardot. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

The world-class Philadelphia Orchestra made its Chestnut Hill debut in front of thousands at Pastorius Park last Monday. Both organizers and audience members were delighted with the event that brought the 104-piece orchestra to a makeshift stage on one of the summer’s most beautiful evenings.

Cake, Top of the Hill expand
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

If Chestnut Hillers think there is a lack of restaurants in the upper part of the Avenue, they might be pleased to know that two new projects — which aren’t bringing new eateries to the Avenue but are expanding two present businesses — will enhance dining options on the Avenue by the end of the summer.

Board opts to stick with ’06 audit
By PETE MAZZACCARO

The Chestnut Hill Community Association Board of Directors voted at its June 28 meeting to reverse a prior decision to secure a new audit of the CHCA and the Local for the fiscal year ending March ’06. It decided instead to accept a completed audit from Jebran and Associates and commense with securing an audit for the fiscal year that ended in March ’07.

Great dining options expand on the Avenue
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

If Chestnut Hillers think there is a lack of restaurants in the upper part of the Avenue, they might be pleased to know that two new projects — which aren’t bringing new eateries to the Avenue but are expanding two present businesses — will enhance dining options on the Avenue by the end of the summer.

Neighbors revitalize a Mt. Airy park
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Mt. Airy residents Bruce Murray and his wife Ronda Throne-Murray hold the sign a neighbor made for the renovated Ned Wolf Park, located at McCallum and Ellet streets.

Almost 30 years after its initial dedication and subsequent dilapidation, a small rundown city-owned park in Mt. Airy is receiving a makeover, and what started as a safety issue has become a larger community project helping to bring that corner of Mt. Airy together.

For years, the overgrown area at McCallum and Ellet streets — filled with weeds, unruly bushes, tires and metal spikes — was a bit of a mystery to Ronda Throne-Murray and her husband, Bruce Murray.

“We have lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, and we always wondered what that area was,” Murray said.