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A small-staffed, neighborhood newspaper, the South Philly Review has certainly evolved its content, design and coverage since its early days as the So. 7th Street News, 2322 S. Seventh St.
In 1947, it covered the Seventh Street business district. Two years later Leon Levin, an ad salesman, bought the tabloid-sized paper, with about eight pages per issue. It was initially printed at Fifth Street and Girard Avenue and distributed for free on Fridays. On a tight budget, Levin, at one point, served as a writer, business manager and sales representative.
As the paper expanded its coverage area from the Seventh Street corridor to more of Southeast Philly, including the area bounded by Tasker, Broad and Front streets, as well as Packer Avenue, it took on the name The South Philadelphia Review and moved to 1646 S. Seventh St. in the fall of ’49. Its expanded territory meant more opportunities for advertising and community interests.
Looking through our very own print archives, we found that advertising took over the look of the paper in ’50, in black-and-white of course. The paper started to grow to 20 or more pages throughout the ’50s, as advertising sales and announcements increased.
Some early contests had photographers take photos of residents around South Philadelphia and offer a prize if he or she took the advertisement to the designated location to claim the prize. Known for covering local issues, the Review stayed on top of national issues as well, such as when the Korean War began injuring and taking the lives of South Philadelphian military members in the early ’50s.
Around ’52, the Review relocated its headquarters a block south to 1707-09 S. Seventh St.
On April 25, ’58, the paper expanded its boundaries westward, covering 17th to 34th streets between Reed Street and Packer Avenue, naming this area’s paper the South Philadelphia Review-Chronicle. In November ’62, the Review moved from Seventh to a building at 12th and Porter streets, where we still rest today.
In May ’64, the Review split its initial ever-expanding coverage area to create the South Philadelphia Review-East and South Philadelphia Review-West. The papers all covered similar stories, but based the story layouts and advertisements off of the population’s interest.
By the ’70s, the Review had about 30 pages per issue and a decade later it was printing about 40.
Levin launched the Welcomat, now Philadelphia Weekly in ’71, but he died eight years later at the age of 72. His family took over operation until current CEO Anthony Clifton bought the company in’86.
Spot-color printing became popular for the Review in the mid-‘80s, when the paper began using shades of red. In the early-‘90s it had a limited number full-color pages.
In the late-’90s, the Review topped its charts with the largest number of printed pages, with about 72 to 76 per regular issue.
The paper had its second makeover in two years on Oct. 12, ’95, debuting its new look and a few new columns. That same month, the newspaper began a biweekly television program called South Philadelphia Review Magazine on Greater Media Cable’s channel 66 for a season.
On Nov. 27, ’03, the Review-Chronicle, Review-East and Review-West joined as one, making the South Philly Review what it is today with sister Review Publishing papers Philadelphia Weekly and Atlantic City Weekly, which was founded in ’00 as Whoot!.
Now the Review publishes more than 40 pages per regular issue, with every editorial page in color.
Today, we happily celebrate our 65th year of existence with you, our readers. We look forward to coninuing our coverage of South Philly for as long as you’ll welcome us to your doorstep and computer screen. SPR
Longest-tenured staffers
| Brendan Moss | 36 years | South Philly Review Art Director | (Formerly South Philly Review Graphic Designer, Production Manager and General Manager) |
| Eleanor Puggi | 35 years | South Philly Review Classified Sales Representative | (Formerly South Philly Review Office Manager Assistant) |
| John Gallo | 26 years | Review Publishing Chief Operating Officer | (Formerly South Philly Review Sales Representative, Sales Manager, General Manager and Publisher and Vice President of Operations) |
| Mark Romano | 26 years | South Philly Review Senior Account Executive | (Formerly South Philly Review Sales Manager and General Manager) |
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