Staffers wait (and watch) for the end of Tuesday’s presidential debate, in the media center at the Convention Center. Afterward, they are the ones who hold up the signs with names of the candidates’ surrogates in the “spin room” while they are interviewed by reporters.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
When former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris met at the National Constitution Center last week, the thousand news media covering the event were housed at the nearby Convention Center.
Since 1998, a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
September 9, 2024: Even on his “day off,” the busker known as “Etta’s Baby Boy” and his alto saxophone “Miss Nasty” turn heads (but probably not ears) at his regular spot at Fourth and Market Streets. The stencil of David Puryear, by the Philly graffiti artist who goes by Bad Luck, is a recent addition to the corner where Puryear, a musical institution in the historic district who turned 76 on Sunday, has been performing his improvisational melodies there for over a decade.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
September 2, 2024: Supporters line up outside Neshaminy Creek Brewing in Croydon at a political campaign event in Bucks CountyRead moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
August 26, 2024: Mahij Austin, 7, is among the young players attending a free kids basketball camp at Imhotep Charter High School, hosted by recent graduate and PIAA Class 5A Player of the Year Ahmad Nowell, before he heads off to the University of ConnecticutRead moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
August 19, 2024: A jogger runs parallel to the bike lanes along Columbus Boulevard, near the Race Street Pier. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
August 12, 2024: Security at Temple University’s Liacouras Center during Tuesday’s campaign appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
August 5, 2024: A window washer dangles over the (dirty) glass canopy at the front door of the Notary Hotel, in the former City Hall Annex, the neoclassical building designed in 1926 by architect P.H. Johnson across from City Hall. When the city moved out in 1989, the annex remained rat-infested, vacant, and boarded up for more than a decade. The National Historic Register building was restored — and the canopy added — and opened as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in 1999. It was later renovated again and the current boutique hotel opened in 2019.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 29, 2024: A pass-through in a parking garage in Old City. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 22, 2024: Some people dance with wolves, but Jere Neal is walking with birds, on the quarter mile track along the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J. Neal did ten laps (2-1/2 miles) in the mid-afternoon heat, something he tries to do two or three times a week, year round.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 15, 2024: Firefighter Kyle Conard (left), of Riverside Fire Co. No. 1, and firefighter Andrew Lloyd, of Beverly Fire Co. No. 1, take down a large American flag from a ladder arch along Bridgeboro Street, near Route 130 in Delran, on Tuesday following the funeral procession for firefighter Horace McCurdy, 95, of Delran. McCurdy, who died on June 29, was a life member of the Delran Fire Company No.1 Bridgeboro, joining in 1945 when he was 16, and serving a number of positions, including chief in 1959. In the spring, he was honored for his 80 years of service.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 8, 2024: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Dawn Staley (left) leave the stage behind Independence Hall after the presentation of the Mayor’s “One Philly Award” to the three-time NCAA a Fourth of July “Celebration of Freedom” event.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 1, 2024: The Historic District’s biggest flag (at the U.S. Courthouse at 6th and Market Streets, a block from Independence Hall) as we head into the week celebrating America’s 248th birthday. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 24, 2024: Following graduation ceremonies last week for the Philadelphia Police Academy Class No. 402, Commissioner Kevin Bethel remained on stage posing with any new officer who wanted a photo. As (slightly taller) graduate Julio Rodriguez-Perez stepped up, Bethel jokingly climbed on a chair.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 17, 2024: “God Bless America” (American Gothic) by sculptor J. Seward Johnson (1930-2020) on Klockner Road, near the Hamilton train station, along the way to nearby Grounds for Sculpture, the park he founded in 1992 on the site of the old New Jersey FairgroundRead moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 10, 2024: Shadows in North Wildwood signal the start of summer at the Shore.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 3, 2024: Abdelraham Shalan strikes the “Rocky” pose at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Better known in the Sumo World as Oosunaarashi, which roughly translates to “The Great Sandstorm” in Japanese, he will compete in the International Sumo League World Championship Atlantic City June 15.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
