In the time it takes to down a red eye (coffee with a shot of espresso) from Steel City Coffee House, new shops and restaurants open, musicians plug in for a Friday night jam, and ordinary streets transform into surprisingly artful streetscapes.
Hyperbole aside, this former steel manufacturing town is making rapid progress, distancing itself from economic and social hard times of the last few decades and evolving into a “live, work, play” community, one smart strategy at a time.
Movers and Shakers
Many people behind this grand vision have longstanding ties to the town or experience in community organizing or public service. Developer Manny DeMutis of The DeMutis Group brings perspective to the process of change. Growing up in Phoenixville where his parents and grandfather owned businesses, DeMutis has witnessed the town’s bright and dark days.
Main Street manager and self-described street bouncer, Barry Cassidy has spearheaded turnarounds in other towns and worked as a union organizer. A true community builder, Barry spends as much time in the businesses on Bridge and Main Streets, the hub of commercial activity, as he does in his office.
President of the Phoenixville Area Business Association, Jane Tucker came to know Phoenixville as a student at Valley Forge Christian College. Before opening Steel City Coffee House in 2002, she served as a police officer.
Mary Foote arrived in Phoenixville over 20 years ago, bringing years of community organizing experience with her. She saw Phoenixville’s potential and concluded that a place where houses often got passed from one generation to another was a fine place to put down roots. Now, she serves as the executive director of the Association for the Colonial Theatre.
Entertainment
Built in 1903 and undergoing restoration since the late 1990s, The Colonial Theatre is at the heart of Phoenixville’s arts and entertainment development strategy. Originally a home to stage shows and vaudeville, the Colonial skyrocketed to fame in the 1950s when scenes from the sci-fi film “The Blob,” starring Steve McQueen, were filmed there. Every July since 1999, the Colonial celebrates Blobfest, which includes multiple screenings, a re-enactment of the iconic “running out” scene, and a Blob Ball. As is the nature of blobs, Blobfest gets bigger every year — nearly 2,000 participated in the event in 2009.
Screaming of a different kind will take place when the third annual “Bringin’ Home the Bacons” concert rocks the Colonial on October 10, a fundraiser for the theater and French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. When not making movies, Kevin Bacon and brother Michael, a composer, join forces as The Bacon Brothers Band, wowing audiences with rock and blues numbers. Of the Colonial’s curious pairing with a land trust, Mary Foote explains, “Open space and downtown revitalization are both necessary to create a better quality of life. When we stop sprawl, everyone wins.” For the Bacons’ connection, the brothers spent summers in nearby East Pikeland. (For more information, visit TheColonialTheatre.com.)
Besides the Colonial, Steel City Coffee House brings singer-songwriters to its stage a few times each week and hosts open mic nights for poets and musicians as well. With admission ranging from free to $20, the 92 seats fill up fast, so best to buy advance tickets. (Tickets and schedule are available on line, SteelCityCoffeehouse.com.)
If spontaneity and entertainment in plein air are more your style, check out the annual Shakespeare in the Park Festival, held in Reeves Park in August, or just show up on Bridge Street for the Summer Street Music Festival. Held from June through early September, Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, the Festival showcases talented entertainers for adults and children.
The fun continues through every season with events hosted at restaurants, shops, and galleries, including the Phoenixville Village Arts Center.
Sometimes, nothing short of mayhem will do. Starting this past July 4th, Phoenixville hosted the Philadelphia-area Idiotarod, modeled on the colder and less amusing Iditarod dog race. Teams of five tether themselves to shopping carts and careen through the streets of Phoenixville, vying to be the first to collect stickers from nine different locations. Bribing judges with beer and sabotaging the competition with Silly String are not just permitted but encouraged!
A more majestic spectacle is the Firebird Festival. Each December the town celebrates its namesake with dancers, musicians, storytellers and the ceremonial burning of a wooden phoenix.
Dining Update
The phoenix may rise again but hunger pangs meet their demise in Phoenixville’s many restaurants. Quite literally, there’s an eating spot every few doorways along Bridge Street, and many are BYOBs. (For more on the Phoenixville restaurant scene, see County Line’s January 2009 Dining Guide, CountyLinesMagazine.com, plus a review in this issue of Seven Stars Inn, a restaurant with over 200 years of history.)
Since January, however, some newsworthy events have marked the town’s food scene.
In March 2009, John Mims put out his shingle at Daddy Mims Creole BYOB. Main Line diners are still mourning the closing of Mims’ Carmine’s in Bryn Mawr, but Bryn Mawr’s loss is Phoenixville’s gain. One forkful of Mims’ Shrimp and Boursin Cheese grits will transport you to the Big Easy. And for a glimpse into Mims’ genius, bite into a Johnny Pie (double pepperoni with Tabasco) at Johnny’s Cajun Pizza, the other side of the BYOB.
Changes are also afoot at the premier foodie restaurant, Majolica. While the emphasis is still on fresh, local ingredients, this BYOB now offers a new, less expensive menu including a $25 prix fixe dinner in a remodeled space.
Similarly, Baxter’s @ 101 Bridge has tweaked its menu to go along with its new name, adding what one server called “palatable to the pocketbook fare,” such as burgers and sandwiches.
Those who love a bite of this and a taste of that should sign up for a progressive dinner, held quarterly by the Phoenixville Area Business Association. For $49, folks at the September dinner sipped aperitifs at the Fenix, Phoenixville’s only martini bar; sampled appetizers at Bistro on Bridge and entrees at Baxter’s; and savored desserts at Artisans, an art gallery and café serving swoon-worthy gelatos and Italian pastries.
Enthusiastic home cooks should grab their reusable bags and head to the producers-only Phoenixville Farmer’s Market. Held at Bridge Street and Taylor Alley, the market runs on Saturdays, May through November, 9 to 1.
Artful Shopping
Bring along a few extra bags for shopping at Phoenixville’s independently owned stores.
At the Diving Cat Studio and Gallery, owner and artist Markels Roberts sells jewelry, pottery, clothing and wall art as well as offers pottery classes. Don’t miss a chance to purchase a piece of history: hand carved wooden replicas of sand-cast iron and steel works, such as wheels and propellers, that are genuine artifacts of the Phoenix Iron Foundry.
Scarlet Begonias carries new and vintage furniture plus home and personal accessories, and hosts “meet the artist” events every two months. Likewise, Country Charm Furnishings features crafts by local artists in its “Crafters’ Corner” and sells home décor items. The main attraction: reasonably priced custom-made furniture.
Shoppers in the market for organic goods rave about Hipster Home and Earth Mart. Hipster Home offers contemporary and organic décor as well as some clothing and accessories, while Earth Mart calls itself an “eco-smart department store,” carrying sustainable items produced by socially and ecologically-conscious companies.
Phoenixville Phasionistas love Best Friends. When this women’s clothing shop moved from Manayunk, its style became less conservative, more urban chic. For new duds and a haircut, make one stop at Philly Fades and Nu Soul, a combination unisex barbershop and purveyor of urban apparel. Not far from the center of town (and worth the trip), Earth’s Corner Jewelers has an extensive collection of unique gemstones in contemporary settings.
To wrap up your shopping excursion, climb the steps to Wolfgang Books, a loft-like space with inviting couches in the former Odd Fellows Temple. The proprietor, Jason Hafer, grew up near Phoenixville and says with quiet conviction, “Every town needs a bookstore.” Patrons wholeheartedly agree and praise his selection of used and new books as well as great reads impossible to find at big-chain bookstores.
What’s next for this small town staging a big-time comeback? There are whisperings on Bridge Street of a rail connection linking Paoli and Phoenix-ville, more restaurant openings, building restorations and exciting community events. Whatever the talk, be sure of this: Phoenixville is throwing a party and you have an open invitation. -CL-
Learn more at:
MainStreetPhoenixville.org
DowntownPhoenixville.com
DiscoverPhoenixville.com.
“Phoenixville . . . Back to Life” in Feb. 2008 CountyLines Back Issues.
Test Your PQ (Phoenixville Quotient)
1. Name three movies, besides The Blob, filmed in and around Phoenixville.
2. What important contribution did Phoenixville make to the Battle of Gettysburg?
3. Which famous magician appeared at The Colonial Theatre in 1917?
4. Who is Molly Maguire, and why does she own a restaurant on Bridge Street?
5. Name two major league baseball players who graduated from Phoenixville Area High School.
6. Which famous outlaw lived in Phoenixville?
Answers
1. “4-D Man,” “From the Terrace,” “Bright Victory.” Bonus: M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village,” which featured a scene shot at the 'G' Lodge.
2. The first shot fired at the Battle of Gettysburg came from a Griffen gun, invented by John Griffen, superintendent of the Phoenix Works.
3. Harry Houdini. This was the easy one!
4. Tricky! The two Irish MEN who own Molly Maguire’s named the restaurant after the late 19th century secret society of Irish coal miners and workers who didn’t hesitate to use force in labor disputes. The restaurant’s name is not a nod to the violence but to the Irish immigrants who settled in Phoenixville.
5. Mike Piazza and Andre Thornton
6. Henry Longabaugh, The Sundance Kid
Phoenixville Food Favorites
When Steve McQueen ate at the Columbia Hotel in the late 1950s, he declared their steak and apple fritters the best he’d ever had. Here’s what Phoenixville diners are raving about now:
• Brown’s Cow Ice Cream: Blobwich – Bassett’s ice cream between two chocolate wafers
• Handcrafted Cookie Company: lavender vanilla cookies
• Irish Joe’s: the homemade soups, especially broccoli cheddar
• Iron Hill Brewery: tuna tataki
• Columbia Bar & Grille: any of the specials
• Molly Maguire’s Irish Restaurant: wild mushroom pasta
• P.J. Ryan’s: grilled chicken on foccacia bread
• Club 212: chicken strips
• Becca: tuna filet mignon
• Thai L’Elephant: carved watermelon filled with fresh fruit
• Black Lab Bistro: Lobster mac-n-cheese
• La Creperie Café Bis: crepe L'Américaine (Nutella, peanut butter & bananas)
• Seven Stars Inn: prime rib
What’s in a Name?
Phoenixville’s names tell its history.
Phoenixville — According to historian John L. Cobbs, German immigrant Lewis Wernwag bought the French Creek Works (a nail factory) with dreams of building bridges. One night as he watched the factory furnaces, he “envisioned the phoenix bird of mythology, reborn of the fire and ashes of its own destruction. He renamed the firm Phoenix Iron; the town that grew up around it took the name too.”
Bridge Street — The main street in downtown Phoenixville got its name from the Phoenix Iron columns used to build almost 1400 bridges around the world.
Majolica — Phoenixville’s premier foodie restaurant gives a nod to the colorful earthenware pottery produced here in the late 19th century.
Scarlet Begonias — This eclectic shop borrows its name from the Grateful Dead song.
For a detailed history lesson, visit the Phoenix Iron Company Foundry, which houses the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, phoenixvillefoundry.org.