Welcome To Market East

In 2014, Michael Penn set out to photograph the area of Center City Philadelphia known as Market East. Market east was home to the Reading Terminal Market, The Gallery (a sprawling urban mall), the original Strawbridge & Clothier, John Wanamaker’s and other department stores, until gentrification plans demolished the seven block corridor.

“Welcome To Market East" documents urban decay, homelessness, the drug addicted, and troubled inhabitants that called the sidewalks, alleys, and entryways of Market East home. It is a timely marker of a city in constant reinvention, sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worse.

About the Artist:
Michael Penn is a Philadelphia-based street photographer. He is known for his high-contrast black and white works. Inspired by the Japanese Provoke Movement, Penn's street photography projects include the 1000-photo collection "The Philadelphia Project," Out of New York," "Lonely New York," "Month-Day-Year," "Graffiti Pier," and "Welcome to Market East."