Individual Film Price:

Higher Education Institutions & Government Agency DVD | $49.95
K-12 & Public Libraries DVD | $49.95
Home Video DVD License – Restrictions Apply | $5.95

Precious Places Compilation Price:

This video is available for purchase as part of a Precious Places Community History Project Vol.1 compilation DVD.
 
Higher Education Institutions & Government Agency DVD | $139.00
K-12 & Public Libraries DVD | $79.00
Home Video DVD License – Restrictions Apply | $20.00

Scribe Video Center Program:

The Precious Places Community History Project is a community oral history project inviting members of the Philadelphia region's many neighborhoods to document the buildings, public spaces, parks, landmarks and other sites that hold the memories of our communities and define where we live. Precious Places teaches the video production process to participating groups, fostering projects authored by those who intimately know the featured neighborhoods.

Production Consultant: Laska Jimsen
Humanities Consultant: Amy Bach

Film Summary:

Wedged between the Delaware River and the El train, Fishtown is a working class neighborhood northeast of Center City in Philadelphia. True to its namesake, the area was known in the 1700s as a prime fishing and shipbuilding site, built by German and Irish immigrants. Massive industrialization later transformed the neighborhood into the "workshop of the world," but the neighborhood grew poorer as the factories left after the second World War. By the 1970s, many residents were leaving for the suburbs. From the Del to the El: a Neighborhood Evolving tells the story of Fishtown's evolution through the history of four vital neighborhood churches: St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, East Baptist Church, Gallery Church and Circle of Hope. With their diverse histories, the churches are fixtures in this tightly knit community. They host a variety of neighborhood programs, and operate a pre-school and a thrift store. From the Del to the El shows church members reflecting on the colorful history of their neighborhood, which is shifting once again as an influx of young people and artists has increasingly begun to call the neighborhood home.

Press:

November 11, 2007 | “A thoughtful, thankful chronicler” by Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Public Screenings, Broadcasts and Festivals: 

December 14, 2007 | Broadcast on WHYY-TV

Film Stills: