Coming from Holland PA Will Rockenbach is trying to find out what South Street is all about

Not originally from Philadelphia, Will Rockenbach admitted he might not be an expert on the South Street area, but the sounds, smells and culture; he knew he wanted to be.

To this end Will decided why not tackle the area and learn all that he can about it. Making it his beat for the semester Will, Temple Junior in the Journalism field, seemed looking forward to getting better acquainted with the area.

•Where are you from originally?

Langhorne PA, more specifically Holland, PA. I tell people Langhorne because a lot of people haven’t heard of Holland.

•Where do you live now?

I live off campus right off Cecil B Moore and Gratz street. 

•What made you decide on your beat?

There is a lot that can go into the project with South Street, there are a lot of opportunities and concepts. The street is packed full of things to talk about.

•Are you familiar with South Street?

Not really, Senior Year in High school was the first time I visited. I asked where to get the Philly social experience and I heard South Street.

•Then why did you decide this was your best beat?

I saw that it really had everything Philly has to offer and wanted to experience that. I figured I could get a whole lot of different topics.

•What is your favorite location on South Street?

Probably the magic gardens if I wanted to look at some art, or Lorenzo’s pizza to get a slice of gigantic pizza.

•So you would say you are not familiar with South Street as you’d prefer to be though?

No, not as much as I’d like to be, I guess that is really why I chose it. I want to get more experience down there since I live in the city now.

•What are you most looking forward to finding on South Street?

History, I want to find new and exciting things out about South street and the city of Philadelphia as a whole. I want to find out why South Street became what it is now.

•Do you think that South Street is Vital to Philadelphia?

Yes I think it is great for tourism and really helps keep the culture of the city alive. When people visit Philly and they don’t have a lot of time they want to go somewhere they can see a lot of Philly culture at once.

•What is your own personal interests outside of this beat?

Sports, I love sports, I actually host a Sports talk show on WHIP the Temple University Radio Station.

•How do you think you can integrate this passion into the beat?

I will probably go check out some of the sports bars down on South Street, and also see how major sporting events being in town effect the culture and overall environment on the street.