Project Description

You know how some people, when they talk about meeting the love of their life, say something like, “I just knew, by the end of the night, that this was the one”?

Ian Cross sounds like that when he talks about his first-ever visit to Philly.

The year was 1987, he was living in Boston at the time, and he and a friend decided to take a road trip south, with no destination in mind. By the time they hit Philly, they needed a drink and pulled off I-95 right into gritty,  pre-gentrified Old City, where they landed at the tavern inside the Society Hill Hotel at 3rd and Chestnut.

The place was packed with fun and friendly people, the bartender was fresh-squeezing O.J. into the screwdrivers, and Cross was reveling in Philly’s blend of gritty warmth and charm when a commotion on the street pulled everyone outside.