I love to shop and for years my go-to stomping grounds were the plethora of stores along Walnut Street beginning at 18^th and ending around Broad. Need is rarely a motivation for my used-to-be frequent excursions from one store to another. I say used-to-be because those fun, wonderful stores filled with new things to see, opportunities to play dress-up and squander time just because, are gone. Zara’s was the first major loss on Walnut, and that was before the pandemic and the riots in 2020, which seemed to kick off the beginning of a downward spiral. I still miss you Zara. 

And now, it’s just sad. Walking along Walnut Street today is like being in a canyon of boarded store fronts, and sale, lease and rent signs. Goodbye Free People, Steve Madden, Ann Taylor, Loft, Ultra, Modell’s, Stuart Weitzman, Cole Haan, Monaco and too many more. 

Next time my husband, Ben Zuckerman, is roaming the city taking photos, I hope he’ll find a host of new stores to showcase bringing Walnut Street back to its former shine!