.......Philly Trivia from the thirdstory mailing list

  Over the years, many people have contributed to the thirdstory mailing list with trivia about the show thirtysomething.  The show was set in the city of Philidelphia, where Melanie Mayron, Melissa, was actually born.  The show was never filmed in Philidelphia, and accept for the first year when they shot several episodes in an actual house in California, the rest were shot on sets built for the show.  Hal, one of the list members and a long time resident sent in most of this trivia, along with Peter, Matt, Anne and other members.  Some of the notations are direct quotes from them.

MAIN NOTATBLE POINTS OF PHILLY INTEREST:

Acme is a chain of grocery stores in the Philadlephia area.  Broad St., Race Street, Walnut Street.

Hope and Micheal lived on Bryn Mawr ave in the city of Philaldephia.  Bryn Mawr is also the name of a town on the Main Line.

The Joshua Tree was a very popular restaurant on Lancaster Avenue on
 what is called the "Main Line" section of Philadelphia

Chestnut Hill, shopping at Wannamakers.

Broad St., Race Street, WalnutStreet,

And there was that visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences, with the animal dioramas.

Bala Cynwyd - which is on the "Main Line"

ACME grocery bags

 

QUOTES FROM FANS ABOUT PHILLY: 

Hal wrote in:  Today I got to speak with Jerry Stahl On the radio. He was on a local NPR program here in Philadelphia promoting his new book. His prior work is entitled ermanent Midnight.

That book detailed his fall into the depths of heroin addiction. Jerry wrote some episodes of Thrirtysomething. In the Episode " Housewarming", there was a character named Jerry Stahl. Hope supposedly had this passionate, physical affair with this character. When you finally got to meet Jery Stahl in the show, it turns out that he was a total dweeb. I asked Jerry about this episode. He noted that his ex was a producer on the show. They borrowed the basic concept from Woody Allen's Manhattan. Throughout the movie,Woody Allen's love interest kept on describing her ex-husband as this verile man...very good at love making. When you get to meet this person in the film, he was played by the diminutive actor Wallace Shawn. So, basically, the TS crowd was getting him back for being a total pain in  the ass, junkie that he was. 

Matt wrote in: Gary died on the Schuykill expressway. That would be the Schuylkill (pronounced SKOO-kill, SCHOOL-kill, or SKOO-kull) River, which runs between University City and Center CityIt's also know as interstate 76,

Hal wrote in: Michael talked about eating at Le Bec Fin"Le Bec Fin" listed as one of the best restaurants in the country!  The same place where Michael wants to take everyone out to celebrate (when he's yelling "Katherine" for his secretary and we all thought it was what's her name--I can't think of it now.)  I thought the place was ficticious!

Amy O wrote in: I am a transplant to the Philadelphia area for the last 8 years.  I live in Bala Cynwyd which is on the "Main Line."  When did the Joshua Tree close and where on Lancaster was it?

Hal wrote: The Joshua Tree probably closed in the 80's.  It was in a town called Devon and near where the Devon Horse Show operates.  It was a restaurant like The usty Scupper - kind of "yuppie-ish."  There is another restaurant there now but I don't know what it's called. From what Peter said, I assume Acme is a grocery store near Bryn Mawr. Acme is a local supermarket - very big in the Philadelphia area.  It was said that you could tell a "real" Philadelphian (pronounced "fluffian") if they said Ack-a-mee instead of Acme.  Think of "Giant" and you'll know what an Acme is.

Peter wrote in: Does anyone recall the episode where Michael and Elliot go to city hall to pitch an ad campaign to Ellen?  I think it was for the arts center.  They walk down a long staircase in City Hall and there is a crest on the floor.  It is supposed to be Philadelphia City Hall but the crest says a town in CA. I can't remember if it was Burbank or Santa Barbara? 

Peter H wrote:  Who is Ruben Amaro?  Is that a real person?

Mary W wrote:  He was supposed to be a home grown Philadephian who made it big as an actors in the episode "going Limp", where Elliot got his big directing debut.  In real life he was a short-stop for the Phillies.

Hal wrote in:  Gary died on the Schuykill expressway. It's also know as interstate 76.  Bala Cynwyd- Not exactly main line. Just off of City Ave. That section is also known as the golden mile.Chestnut Hill - Full of Million Dollar houses within the city limits. Was originally a place for the wealthy to escape the summer heat. The residents call it Chestnut Hill, PA.Wanamakers- Was a terrific, upscale department store. Now out of business. There still is the Wanamaker building on East Market Street in Center City area. Acme- A supermarket. Philadelphians call it the Ac-a-me. Broad Street- Main North South street in the heart of Philadelphia. The few blocks surrounding city hall if now known as the Avenues of the Arts. great performance spaces. The Kimmel Center, The Wilma Theater and The Academy of Music. Race Street- Non descript street in Philly. Walnut Street- Upscale. Runs east to west. Le Bec Fin- One of the best restaurants in the world. It can take months to get a reservation. The usually bill for a dinner for two is greater then $500.00. It is run by George Perrier. BTW: You can't call at the last minute and get a reservation.

Anne Wrote:  For those unfamiliar with Philadelphia, the large walk-through model of a human heart is a real exhibit at the Franklin Institute, a wonderful science museum in the city.  Most school children who live anywhere in the greater Philly area visit the Franklin Institute at some point and the heart model is usually built up to be "scary" by older children who have seen it before.  "You can hear it beating wherever you go...it's like the tell-tale heart...etc., etc.,"  Some even go so far as to say that there is real blood inside it...which of course there isn't.

Anne Wrote: There is absolutely a Bryn Mawr Avenue.  I lived in Philadelphia for a year and am just about to move back.  Bryn Mawr College, a women's college, is in Bryn Mawr a Main Line town just out of Philadelphia.  Bryn Mawr Avenue in Philadelphia sort of runs between West Philadelphia(where the University of Pennsylvania is)and the beginning of the Main Line.  There are lots of old houses there that need fixing up--just like Hope and Michael's.