Ott's Camera shop closes, as new era begins on Castor Avenue
Customers crowded Ott's Camera shop on Castor Avenue for the final time last weekend, drawn by the 50 percent off sign in the front window.
Customers crowded Ott's Camera shop on Castor Avenue for the final time last weekend, drawn by the 50 percent off sign in the front window.
Some were longtime customers, some were photographers looking for a deal. And others wandered in, combing through the frames, greeting cards, and DVDs that remained.
"It's a giant job, cleaning a place up after 68 years," said owner Bob Ott, 69.
Ott's, known in Northeast Philadelphia for its retro storefront and large neon sign, is closing, following a trend of many older businesses shutting down on Castor Avenue in Oxford Circle, Castor Gardens and Rhawnhurst.
The store developed film and enlarged photographs. It sold cameras, film, photo albums, and local books. Ott's father, Joseph, opened it in 1948, and now his son is keen to retire.
Singers Appliance store, nearby at Castor and Hellerman Street, closed late last year after almost 70 years in operation. Further north on the avenue, such local icons as Hesh's Eclair Bake Shoppe and Nisenholtz Pharmacy have closed in recent years.
"A lot of things have changed," said longtime resident Harold Ott (no relation to Bob), 83.
Indeed, Castor Gardens, the smaller area wedged between Oxford Circle and Rhawnhurst, has transformed demographically, with an influx of immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
According to Census Bureau estimates, 23.7 percent of residents are foreign born in the 19149 zip code, which encompasses all of Castor Gardens and other areas nearby. By comparison, in Philadelphia as a whole, 12.5 percent of residents were born outside the United States. The number of immigrants in some Castor Gardens census tracts has doubled since 2000. Almost 40 percent of people in the zip code speak a language other than English at home.
Businesses along the strip have responded. One example: Neil Armstrong, 39, a Jamaican immigrant and graduate of Germantown High School, started Miracles, a Jamaican bakery and restaurant, with his cousin in 2011 after he saw a need.
"There were a lot of Caribbeans here but not a lot of restaurants representing them in the Northeast," said Armstrong, who moved nearby after starting the business.
Armstrong said he aims to replicate home for many customers. Miracles serves such favorites as oxtail, jerk chicken, Jamaican patties, and different flavors of porridge for breakfast.
Diversity reigns in the several-block span south of Ott's. There is Tio Pepe, an upscale Portuguese eatery; Picanha Brazilian Grill, a well-known steakhouse; La Poblanita, a Mexican grocery store; and Café Albania.
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission, in its long-term plan for the Lower Northeast, says Castor Avenue "should be marketed as a destination for diverse food offerings."
Castor Avenue, especially in Castor Gardens, "has a lot of opportunity to become an international commercial corridor that draws from a wider geographical area," said senior city planner Larissa Klevan.
The planning commission also recommends that the city change Castor Avenue's zoning code to "promote a pedestrian-oriented environment" and allow for taller mixed-use buildings with apartments on the upper floors and retail or commercial on the ground floor.
At Ott's, many locals were missing Castor Avenue's past, not embracing its future. It was a parade of goodbyes for Bob Ott, the personable owner.
Longtime customer Joanne Friel regularly brought her film to be developed at Ott's. She never switched to digital.
"You get nice one-on-one service," she said. "You just hate to see a place like this go."
Harold Ott, of Rhawnhurst, recalls when the area was on the frontier of development, bordered by farms on most sides.
Castor Avenue "has a lot of potential yet," he added. "[There's] a lot of new owners. Things never stay the same."
@JackTomczuk