Avi Wolfman-Arent
Billy Penn
Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Past articles by Avi:
The 1920s Broadway star who romanced a DuPont heiress and had a son in Philadelphia
The story of Libby Holman includes a tobacco fortune, a mysterious death, and support for civil rights. → Read More
How cross-Atlantic correspondence ties together a trio of 18th century abolitionists
Philadelphia was a center of the anti-slavery movement in the fledgling United States. → Read More
The iconic American cowboy hat was invented in Philadelphia
John B. Stetson's design took inspiration from sombreros worn by Mexican vaqueros. → Read More
Long live the automat, the Philly-made marvel that turned dining into an assembly line
The first one opened on Chestnut street, eventually spawning 150 coin-operated diners across the U.S. — and a short-lived children's show. → Read More
The Philly-area televangelist who attempted to broadcast from a pirate ship
Carl McIntire was a conservative talk radio preacher who went toe-to-toe with the FCC. → Read More
The 1980s Philly sweepstakes charlatan who swindled folks out of $2 million in prizes
After a federal indictment, Chuck Seidman went on to gain Donald Trump as a client. → Read More
That time Bookbinder's was raided for $50k in contraband
It was the early stages of Prohibition when federal agents discovered 358 cases of alcohol in the Old City bar. → Read More
Stadium deja vu? Remembering the opposition to the long gone Veterans Stadium
The former home of the Eagles and Phillies made South Philly neighbors bristle in the 1960s, when the stadium's future relied on an election. → Read More
The civil rights legacy of Horace Mann Bond, Lincoln University's first Black president
Bond's research helped make school segregation illegal, and his son would go on to co-found the Southern Poverty Law Center. → Read More
Remembering Ruffhouse Records, the '90s Philly music label behind hits like Cypress Hill, The Fugees, and 'Jump'
One of the era's biggest recording powerhouses was founded in Northern Liberties. → Read More
The Philadelphia Quaker who invented modern work's relentless drive for efficiency
Frederick Taylor began experimenting with "scientific management" at Nicetown's Midvale Steel. → Read More
A first in 1922: Two Pa. women secure major party nominations for Congress
One was a professor, while the other was related to Ben Franklin. → Read More
How a North Philly-born blind boxer rose to welterweight fame, then was forced to quit
Joe Harris hid his vision impairment through two dozen bouts, but when it discovered, the news cost him his career. → Read More
How the construction of the Vine Street Expressway uncovered lost Black burial grounds
The highway runs over a pair of cemeteries ran by the First African Baptist Church, which served a congregation of free Black people in the pre-Civil War era. → Read More
Baseball history: The Phillies and the A's faced off in the 'City Series' for over 50 years
The Athletics usually won, but in 1915 the Phils took the first game — and went on to win the National League. → Read More
Lani Guinier, the Penn law prof who was an early advocate of expanding voting rights
She eventually left Philadelphia to join the faculty at Harvard — but not before a now-famous colleague. → Read More
Transit workers in 1910 sparked a general strike that brought Philadelphia to a standstill
Upwards of 75k people walked off the job. → Read More
A 1960s state official claimed Pa. college students took LSD and went blind — and newspapers believed him
It turned out the story was a total hoax. → Read More
40 years ago, a legendary Philly columnist helped defuse a prison hostage situatoin
The Graterford crisis was one of many negotiated by well-trusted Chuck Stone, who spent two decades at the Daily News. → Read More
How racial profiling drove away Philly's first heavyweight boxing champion
"I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia." → Read More