You can find just about anything on South Street.

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In addition to three Top 50 cheesesteak places (Ishkabibble's, Jim's, Woodrow's), you can find antiques, boutiques, vintage clothing, Whole Foods, a game cafe, gold bullion, live music and theatre, bars, restaurants, lighting, fine wine, hats, comics, donuts, and a paint party studio.

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Okay, you cannot find Zipperhead (they closed several years back), but those in search of a punk outfitter should not despair. There is still Crash Bang Boom.

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It should come as no surprise, then, that South Street is also home to one of Philly's coolest art attractions.

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Magic Gardens, a nonprofit located on South Street between 8th and 9th, contains gallery space and an immersive outdoor mosaic labyrinth that contains everything from tiles to china plates to bicycle wheels. It also offers education programs, performances, guided tours, and workshops. The place is magical, all right - in a wild, Philadelphia kind of way.

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Magic Gardens is the creation of Isaiah Zagar, South Street's resident living art legend. He and his wife Julia moved to South Street back in 1968 when it was a rat-infested wasteland and helped spark the great South Street revival that still continues more than 50 years later.

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Zagar's outdoor murals and mosaics - literally hundreds of them - grace South Street and the surrounding area. Indeed, his work is even incorporated into the newly expanded dining space of Jim's, proving that fine cheesesteaks pair with fine art just as well as they pair with cherry soda.

 

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates Zagar's art. Zagar's 7,000 square foot mural "Skin of the Bride," which took him 9 years to create, once decorated the exterior of the Painted Bride Art Center on Vine Street. Sadly, that building was demolished in 2023 to make way for apartments. Fortunately, many pieces of the mural were removed prior to the demolition and preserved for future use or exhibition.