Precious Places Compilation Price:

This video is available for purchase as part of a Precious Places Community History Project Vol.2 compilation DVD.

Higher Education Institutions DVD | $139.00
K-12, Public Libraries & Select Groups DVD | $79.00
Home Video DVD License – Restrictions Apply DVD | $20.0

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 Facilitator: Kate Slovitch

Humanities Consultant: Neal Holmes

Film Story:

The Square, a grassy community park and garden at 58th and Locust is a tribute to the memory of Gladys Shoatz, a matriarch of this West Philly neighborhood that still inspires residents to take pride in their community--and to get involved. And residents here have much to be proud of indeed. The neighborhood has a long tradition of volunteerism and civic activism. Stalwarts like Shoatz and other neighbors were known for their investment in education and community revival. Years later, the Friends of Gladys I. Shoatz group still sponsors community programs: a drumming band, basketball events, and block parties are just a few of their projects. The Story of a Neighborhood, featuring a performance by jazz bagpiper Rufus Harley, shows longtime residents reminiscing about the history of this section of West Philadelphia and outlining their vision for their community's future. While the neighborhood had a reputation for crime and inadequate educational opportunities in the 1960s and 70s, residents say that local activism and volunteering is the only way to improve a community. "Get up, out of your house and out of your chairs, and come out: there's a whole world out here," says one resident. "The world will be better if you get involved."

Film Stills: