Tommy Rowan

Reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer

Feeder of The Beast @PhillyInquirer.

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Articles

H.H. Holmes, of Chicago ‘House of Horrors’ infamy, was executed at Moyamensing Prison on this week in Philly history

5 days ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

As the sun rose on May 7, 1896, gawkers crowded outside the high stone walls of Moyamensing Prison in anticipation of the execution of one of the United States’ first serial killers. Policemen pushed the horde away from the gates, and the horde pushed back. Observers could neither see nor hear the proceedings, but they were nevertheless drawn to the fortress by a morbid fascination.
‘The Real World: Philadelphia’ started filming in Old City on this week in Philly history

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

Oh, it got real. The seminal MTV reality television show The Real World started filming its 15th season on April 30, 2004, in Philadelphia. The network would air the first installment of its 26-episode season that fall. The cast of seven strangers resided at the Corn Exchange National Bank building at Third and Arch Streets in Old City.
The 23 best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia

2 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Craig LaBan |Michael Klein |Jenn Ladd |Tommy Rowan

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Philadelphia helped put Earth Day on the map on this week in Philly history

3 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

The bow-tied W. Thacher Longstreth agreed to meet a few young people who wanted to celebrate Mother Earth. In the spring of 1970, they called it Earth Day. “I thought at first it was just a confrontation,” Longstreth, a longtimecity councilmember and president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily News in 1990.
Ben Franklin died, and most Philadelphians attended his funeral, on this week in Philly history

3 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

Of course Benjamin Franklin wrote his own epitaph. At age 22 in 1728, his dark humor stronger than his sense of history, he penned the tomb inscription that would eventually appear at his grave site. “The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms.
Barclay Prime, Live! Casino, and Shay's Steaks

3 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

It was a quiet Monday at the end of March, and the luxe Prime Rib steakhouse at Live! Casino in South Philadelphia was mostly empty. On this rarely observed yet aggressively marketed fake holiday, National Cheesesteak Day, the restaurant was touting its gilded take on the city’s working class sandwich, the Golden Cheesesteak, with “thinly sliced filet, mushrooms, caramelized onions, black truffle cheese sauce, and 23K gold leaves.”It came complete with a high roller’s price tag: $65.
Elton John’s Philadelphia anthem soared to No. 1 on this week in Philly history

1 month ago | mahoningmatters.com | Tommy Rowan

Upon this colonial-brick foundation and amid our solemn shrines to American exceptionalism, an Englishman with an attitude conjured up a rocking Philly anthem. He even called it "Philadelphia Freedom," but he wasn't being cheeky. It was a gift for a tennis player. King's courtBut not just any player. Over 20 years, Billie Jean King collected more Grand Slam titles than there are teams in Major League Baseball. She captured a record 20 Wimbledon championships.
Elton John’s Philadelphia anthem soared to No. 1 on this week in Philly history

1 month ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

Upon this colonial-brick foundation and amid our solemn shrines to American exceptionalism, an Englishman with an attitude conjured up a rocking Philly anthem. He even called it “Philadelphia Freedom,” but he wasn’t being cheeky. It was a gift for a tennis player. But not just any player. Over 20 years, Billie Jean King collected more Grand Slam titles than there are teams in Major League Baseball. She captured a record 20 Wimbledon championships. For five years, she was ranked No. 1 in the world.
The Philadelphia Daily News turns 100 this week in Philly history

1 month ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

The People Paper was born Jewish. One hundred years ago today, on March 31, 1925, the first edition of the Philadelphia Daily News was printed on the presses at the old Jewish World plant on Fifth Street near Locust. “The first edition of the ‘Philadelphia Daily News,’ a pictorial tabloid paper, made its appearance on the streets here at noon,” wrote the International News Service.
That time Taco Bell said it bought the Liberty Bell

1 month ago | inquirer.com | Tommy Rowan

Ann Marie DiSerafino sat down at her breakfast table on the morning of April 1, 1996, sipping from a cup of coffee and paging through that day’s Inquirer when a full-page advertisement featuring a photo of the Liberty Bell caught her eye. “In an effort to help reduce the national debt,” the ad read, “Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell.”“It will now be called the Taco Liberty Bell,” the ad proclaimed.