Reflections On South Street The South Street Renaissance was a special moment in time — part of the cultural revolution of the 60s and 70s that occurred worldwide. Here we talk with former business owners Ruth Snyderman (Snyderman and Works Galleries), Philip Roger Roy (Grendel’s Liar), Dale Shuffler (Gazoo, Lickety Split), Joel Spivak (Rocketships and Accessories), Albert Malmfelt (TLA) and current business owners Mona Plumer (Plumer Real Estate), Cathy Blair (Rocker Head Salon) and Rita Gaudet deVecchis (deVecchis Gallery) about their memories of the Renaissance.
A candle is shown by Guy Campbell to customer Kathy Chamberg at The Beginning Shop in 1970. Candle is shown to customer at The Beginning Shop on South Street, [1970], Wasko, photographer. George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
What year did you move to South Street? Joel Spivak: In 1965, I worked for an architect named Frank Weiss and we designed the renovations for Theatre of the Living Arts. After that, I lived in Vermont for a while. [I was back on South Street] the weekend of Woodstock for the first Head House Crafts Fair. There, I met Julia and Isaiah Zagar and got involved with building the Crooked Mirror. Then I met Ruth and Rick Snyderman and they [needed help] building the Works Gallery. I wasn’t planning on staying but [I’ve been here ever since]. Dale Shuffler: In 1967, after Graduate School, I decided to go to Europe with two of my friends. What had been a plan to do a year in Europe turned into a trip through Turkey to the Middle East and then across North Africa. When we returned,
14 November / December 2018
we settled into a house on Gaskill Street. As it turned out, many [other] art students had found cheap space on South Street, since it was to be torn down. Ruth Snyderman: I moved my gallery, The Works Gallery, to South Street in 1970. We began working on the renovation in 1969 with Joel Spivak and set designers from TLA. I opened my business at 2017 Locust Street in 1965, moved it to 319 South Street in 1970 and kept the Center City space as well until 1972. Rick joined me in 1972. Albert Malmfelt: I came to South Street in June of 1971 to supervise the conversion of a shuttered live theater (334-336 South Street) into a cinema, manage the physical renovations, attend to advertising and publicity, hire a staff, and get the business up and running.
