I lived on the 10th floor for one year and, despite the many valid complaints about the building, the apartment itself was absolutely adorable and the location was in the heart of Center City. At 13th & Walnut, this building is the epicenter of the "Gayborhood." Each apartment (per floor) is laid out differently, so be sure you know specifically which one you're looking to move into. Mine was a one bedroom facing Walnut (north) and the view was great; very "city scape." No dishwasher, but the kitchen was white-on-white refurbished; very cute. The one-bedrooms will satisfy your desire for high ceilings, hardwood floors, bay windows, lots of light and a nice sense of space. The studios are extremely small, but still have the above-mentioned qualities.

The building itself is pretty awful. All the reviews that mentioned the garbage/laundry room are correct: it's gross. (12 floors with 6 apartments each and only four washer/dryers for the entire building!) The fire alarm goes off a lot (usually at 3:00AM) and the water gets shut off quite often. I had some cockroaches in my kitchen at first, but a covered flip-top trash can put an end to it. The one working elevator is regularly out-of-service. This is an old building and some things will just never get fixed (don't bother trying to upgrade windows, etc) but for plumbing emergencies and such, maintenance is fairly expedient. In Midtown, there is no one guarding the door and no management on site (the sister building is just around the corner). Also, the buzzer doesn't work for non-215 #'s, so no food or package deliveries here; this can be a pain.

My neighbors were very quiet, but if you have noisy neighbors you will be able to hear them---but the thick cement walls and high ceilings cut down on a lot of noise. The street noise can get EXTREMELY loud, both from car engines and from the general activity of the neighborhood.

Nearby is Starbucks, Potbellys, Cosi, The Naked Chocolate Cafe, many --- bars/clubs, most stage theaters and Joe Coffee Shop. This building is about 6 blocks from Independence Hall (just down Walnut St.) and Old City (where the hip, beautiful straight people live). It has a completely different energy from Old City and the rest of Philly. It's the Gayborhood! Very safe for women (but, I mean, it's Philly, so always be careful).

If you're new to Philly, be aware that there is a very high homeless population and some aggressive panhandling. In 2007, the moniker "Filthydelphia" was replaced with "Killadelphia." I feel it's much rougher than NYC (where I've also lived), but not everyone feels this way. 13th & Walnut is about as safe as you can get in the city.

Overall, I am so glad I spent my one year in Philly at this location, in this beautiful apartment. (I started out at a sublet near the Art Museum and that was AWFUL in my opinion: much more dangerous and infinitely less cool and convenient.)

If you like charming apartments in the heart of the city and couldn't care less about dishwashers, laundry facilities and the like, this is the place for you. The building is very diverse, with many theater and med students, but also some locals of all ages.

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