Lindsey Scannapieco is obsessed with unearthing the “dirty workspaces” hidden within Philly’s historical architecture.
a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>“I’m really interested in how you respect history without being bound by it,” Scannapieco told the Inquirer. “You can’t allow these places to be museums. They were living, breathing buildings.”
Scout, are best known for transforming South Philly’s Edward W. Bok Technical High School at 9th and Mifflin St, shuttered and sold off by the school district in 2015, into the Bok Building, a thriving makerspace with over 220 tenants and a rooftop bar that’s become a Philly destination.
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initially controversial. But more than a decade later, Bok has become something of a model for breathing new life into the city’s old buildings, with occupants ranging from artists and designers to a James Beard Award-nominated bakery, a ballet studio, and a health clinic.
a similar vision to South Broad Street.
The view from the top of the Bok Building, which Scannapieco helped transform from an abandoned school into a vibrant makers space with 220+ tenants.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Village of Industry and Arts (VIA) inside Hamilton Hall, the former home of the University of the Arts. Scout acquired the building and the adjoining Furness Hall in a dramatic bankruptcy auction, beating out a New York-based real estate firm. Furness Hall, once a UArts dormitory, is currently being transformed into 45 units of affordable housing for local artists. Set to be complete next summer, Scannapieco called it the “largest affordable housing [development] for artists ever done” in Philly.
Now called the Village of Industry and Arts, Scout and Scannapieco have transformed UArts’ iconic Hamilton Hall into another makers space with a focus on artists.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
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a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>Admittedly, Scannapieco wasn’t always sold on building a life in Philly. After attending college at the University of Southern California, Scannapieco moved to London, where she worked on the Summer 2012 Olympics and fashioned an outdoor movie theater from a pile of discarded fridges.
Global Dye Works as proof that Philly has its own brand of cool.
Lindsey Scannapiecco, who lives in Queen Village, and her son browse the shelves inside Brickbat Books.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
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a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>Here’s how Scannapieco gets the most out of a perfect Saturday off in Philly — which, naturally, involves a Bok Bar sunset.
a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>Then, I try to get in at least 15 minutes of movement and 15 minutes of reading before the day really starts. Right now, I’m making my way throughDon’t Build, Rebuildby Aaron Betsky — an adaptive reuse expert who just so happens to live in Philly — and The Twilight of Bohemia, about an affordable housing project for artists in NYC.
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Together Athletics with [owner] Kate Connelly or a pilates private at The Balance Room in Queen Village. Both places are just bundles of wonderful energy.
Lindsey Scannapiecco and her son shop inside Queen Village’s Brickbat Books, one of her favorite local bookstores.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>First, I pop into Ace Outpostfor an oat milk cappuccino. I am “hot drinks, always” person, regardless of the weather, which I’ve been told is a little crazy. Then, I’ll probably head over to this children’s boutique calledNesting Houseto shop for George. Right now, I’m on the hunt for rompers and overalls.
Brickbat Books, but that’s really the warm-up for the main event: Second Street Thrift.
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Lindsey Scannapiecco prefers to thrift at Second Street Vintage’s South Street location, where she once found a pair of unworn Christian Louboutin shoes.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
12:30 p.m.
Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park. Biking around Philly is probably my favorite thing in the world — you’re kind of just breezing through the city. It’s freeing.
just too many things to try, but our non-negotiables are the beef skewers, the salted lemonade, and the [khao lam], or sticky rice in bamboo that you crack open.
got married there. It was during COVID, so we had a picnic in the meadows. It was lovely.
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Beef skewers — one of Scannpieco’s favorite snacks — on the grill at the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Sao, which I think is the best restaurant in Philadelphia. I wish I could just go there casually because it takes quite a bit of hustle to get a reservation. I could eat the oysters with the fish sauce mignonette endlessly. Same with the chirashi bowls.
to see the sunset. It still brings me so much joy. I love the feeling I get when I’m in the elevator and I overhear people say, ‘Did you know this used to be a school?’, or “Wow,” when they see the view for the first time. There’s just a magic in the air.
A sunset over Bok Bar when it first opened in 2015 under the name Le Bok Fin.Michelle Gustafson
a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>Bok is just this space where you see people from all over. Old people. Young people. People from South Jersey. I really want to see more places like that.
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Milk Jawn on Passyunk Avenue. I love the fact that their vegan ice cream is just as good as their regular ice cream, if not better.
Milk Jawn ice cream served in a cup, just the way Scannapieco prefers.Courtesy of Milk Jawn
a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-5 sm:px-4 font-medium”>We are cup people. I want to be cone person so bad, but I like to spend time with my ice cream. You can’t rush ice cream.
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I’m a food writer who covers how trends are reshaping Philadelphia’s dynamic food scene, from the growth of Philly’s restaurant merch to why venture capital-backed chains can’t stop coming to our city. I also cover labor dynamics — and changes to the workplace — within the hospitality industry.
