🚧 New bill could hinder city’s building projects

Robots Continue to Take Over Philly With New Delivery Service

Uber Eats is rolling out three-foot-tall robots to deliver meals from dozens of Center City restaurants. To protect these $10,000 robots from meeting the same demise as HitchBOT, remote supervisors will intervene if the bots run into trouble. [🎧 City Cast Philly, CNN]

• With the expansion of the delivery bots and Waymo’s self-driving cars in Philly, let us know how you feel about the use of robots across these industries. Take our poll.

Plans to Redevelop Former Family Court Building Fall Through

After over a decade, the future of the former court on Vine Street is once again up in the air. The most recent plans for the site included a luxury hotel and a new home for the African American Museum of Philadelphia. But with the lead developer no longer involved and no new permits issued, the location will remain vacant for the time being. [🔒 Philly Mag]

Proposed Legislation Could Block Development Amid Calls for More Housing

Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr.’s bill would force developers to complete a project within six months — rather than three years — from the day they receive a zoning permit. But projects typically need way more time. [The Philadelphia Citizen]

• Related: Young has faced criticism for his use of councilmanic prerogative, a practice that gives councilmembers more power over development in their districts. Young’s proposal would affect the whole city. [🎧 City Cast Philly]

It’s Almost Time To Hit the Streets

The Center City District announced that Open Streets returns on April 5 and will close several blocks every Sunday until May 17. The pedestrian-friendly program will include additional closures in Midtown Village/Gayborhood and West Walnut/Rittenhouse later in the year. [Billy Penn]

What value is a bank that stores no money?

Enter the Ministry of Awe, the newest addition to Philadelphia’s art scene. The former Manufacturers National Bank, originally designed by architect Frank Furness, has been transformed into a surreal, immersive art experience that feels like equal parts bank, playhouse, museum, and escape room 一 while also being none of those things.

The space is the brainchild of prolific Philly muralist Meg Saligman, who serves as the "Ministrix of Awe" and executive creative director.

“What if we built a place that treats wonder like a serious resource?” Saligman said. “What do you value? What if we create a bank where your attention is the deposit, and your curiosity is the interest rate, and what you withdraw is something you forgot you were allowed to feel?”

The Ministry of Awe indeed requires your undivided attention. As you, the “account holder,” first walk into its lobby, you find yourself in what seems like an old bank. Until you notice something peculiar. Perhaps it’s the giant eyeball watching your every move. Or the enormous nose sniffing you. Maybe it's the disembodied head behind the bars of a teller booth.

The oddities only increase as you wander the nonlinear labyrinth within the six-story building. Each room feels like its own pocket dimension that you can enter by climbing colorful stairwells decorated with murals or venturing through hidden doors. It’s almost uncertain where the art ends and where the bank itself begins, if such a distinction even exists.

All the artwork was completed in collaboration with over 100 Philadelphia-based artists whose work ranges from live performances to set design. The worlds they’ve built explore themes of life, death, memory, connectivity, insecurity, and participation.