Parking advice in Philly (Randall Theater)

[sk8pics]

Hello all! Anyone from Philadelphia and familiar with the area Temple is in? In particular, Randall Theater? I’m going there with a friend next weekend and wondering about parking. Spot Hero only has spots a mile away and quite expensive. It looks like there are one or two nearby that I think are affiliated with the university, so I’m wondering how accessible they really are.

TIA!

 

[Deleted member 221]

The area around Temple is dicey, to put it mildly. You'll be fine as long as you're careful, but BE CAREFUL. This neighborhood is no joke - carjackings and shootings occur frequently within blocks of the campus, and sometimes on campus, including in broad daylight.

Drive only on main, well-lit streets and streets with campus buildings. Do not turn down any small or unfamiliar streets. Do not listen to GPS if it suggests a shortcut. Be prepared that there are often aggressive people hassling you - including pounding on car windows, etc. Be alert, including and especially at stoplights.

Unless you can find street parking on the block of the theatre, park in a secure lot (https://campusoperations.temple.edu/parking-transportation/event-parking) within the campus boundaries, and do not worry about the expense. Walk together with your friend, and do not stray from well-lit paths on main streets. Definitely do not walk a mile in that neighborhood - you could be in serious danger. Know where you're going at all times and take the quickest path. Don't have your phone out. Don't carry much cash or have valuables on you.

This is not Center City; this is not like Penn / Drexel / West Philadelphia; you're on the borders of some of the worst neighborhoods in the country, much less the city.

 

[paskatefan]

Louis' advice is VERY important. Please be VERY careful in that part of Philly!

 

[Taso]

This is real. I was mugged on campus as a student on orientation day. My brother lived nearby briefly when he went to Temple as well and a woman was killed in a driveby shooting right in front of his house at 8 am as she was waiting for the bus.

 

[sk8pics]

Oh yeah, I was not going to park on the street or far away. I know the neighborhood is not great. The play is over at 9 pm, hopefully we will be okay. I’ll keep my phone and my keys in my pocket and bring just one credit card with me and I will bring some cash, but not a lot.

 

[sk8pics]

So I found a notice that said there is often plentiful street parking right by the theater, and there’s a gated lot open weekdays (Diamond Lot) at the corner of 12th and Diamond Streets. The theater is located at the corner of Norris and 13th, so it’s just over a one block walk. But this particular site was updated in 2017. Probably still applicable. I do have an email in to ask about parking.

I also saw that tickets are still available for Sunday afternoon, and I was thinking of asking my friend if he wants to go then instead, but I was thinking parking might be even more difficult.

@Louis Do you think the walk I described above is okay to make at night? I figure there will be other people coming out of the theater, but it’s a small production so not a ton of people.

 

[sk8pics]

So the theater got back to me about parking and said there is almost always parking available right outside the theater, and also told me about the lot that I was thinking about parking in. I think we will be okay.

 

[sk8pics]

So, we survived, LOL! We had dinner at The Chart House by the waterfront first and OMG it was FABULOUS! Well worth the cost. Then headed over to the theater, which took about 20 minutes. There was no parking right by the theater, though I circled the block a couple of times, looking. But I already had a lot picked out. The entrance was on Diamond Street, the theater was between Diamond and Norris, and we parked at the end of the parking lot at Norris, so just had to walk a block which was very well lit.

The production was meh, but it was still fun. Very tiny theater in the round. There might have been 30 spectators, mostly other students and maybe some family members, and us random people, LOL.