Fairhill, like most of Philadelphia, has a problem with litter. Almost ever foot of every block of not only this neighborhood but multitudes of neighborhoods in Philadelphia has some sort of trash on it. It's a level of litter that is unheard of in many other cities and that no amount of street sweeping will help.
A friend of mine lived in the fairhill area a few years ago. Their block decided to have a designated "block cleanup day" where everyone who lived there would come out and help take care of the litter problem there. By the end of the day, nearly all the trash was picked up off the street and the block looked pristine. By the next morning the street looked like no one had even done anything. That's the problem. The litter problem has become so bad that trash functions more like a weather pattern than a fixable problem.
Fairhill's cultural heritage manages to shine through the garbage in a way that not many of the other Philly neighborhoods can do, and walking around Fairhill one thing becomes immediately apparent. Everywhere you look and every corner you turn you will find the best murals in Philadelphia. For an area that is so economically depressed and covered in litter, Fairhill showcases some of the most vibrant and colorful public artwork of any nieghborhood in Philadelphia.
You don't have to go far to find it. In the heart of the 'Centro do Oro' murals cam be found on almost any bulding in a one-block-radius. Everything seems to have some sort of ornate decoration on it. From hand painted shop fronts, to hand decorated telephone poles, to the intricate mosiac pedastals that mark the edge of Fairhill Square, where we do most of our reporting. These works demonstrate the colorful nature, and the rich musically oriented ethnic heritage of the residents there.
Group 18 -- Fairhill -- Scott Fender, Steve Baro, Cortney Laird
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