Goodisville: Germantown

"He wondered if there was a lot of crime in Germantown. If things hadn't changed there wouldn't be much police activity there, because long ago when he was at the University he saw Germantown as a collection of dignity, just a bit smug and perhaps unconsciously snobbish against the historical background and the old colonial flavor. It might still be quiet and dignified up there. He wished he had cab fare. The dime for beer left him eighty-three cents, and he knew a cab to Germantown would cost much more."

From: Black Friday (1954) by David Goodis

Photo: 6358 Germantown Avenue, June 20, 1957

About this series: Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London, wrote that Philadelphia is "the hometown [David] Goodis celebrates, described with almost maniacal attention to topographical detail and re-imagined in almost all his writing." So I thought it would be fun to tour the Quaker City through Goodis's eyes, pairing selections from his novels with photos of the city as Goodis saw it. Hence, "Goodisville," which will be updated throughout the coming year.

(Photo courtesy PhillyHistory.org, a project of the Philadelphia Department of Records.)