A shift takes place in the streets of Philadelphia every September. Water ice is suddenly replaced with PSLs, Eagles fandom climbs to unapologetically obnoxious heights, and people suddenly start actually going into the office on a day-to-day basis. From those signs to a few more, here are many ways we know that summer in Philly is coming to an end.
Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
7 Ways You Know Summer in Philadelphia Is Coming to an End
1. The best water ice shops shutter their doors.
Suddenly, all of those “closed for the season” signs pop up on the best water ice and ice cream spots. So long C&C, somehow we’ll make it without you for the season. At least we have the bakery strongholds to get us through the upcoming dark months.
2. The streets become a sea of green.
It’s not like people rock blue the other months, it’s just that we tend to wear things other than Eagles gear at least some of the time during the offseason. But, as soon as September hits, every single one of us is layering our green on our green with more green. The fall is for the birds.
3. Everything becomes really crowded again.
Those sweet August weekends where we can get into any restaurant in the city and lazily stroll the near-empty streets are over. It’s back to two-hour waits and trying not to run tourists over in the middle of Center City. Well, except for the lines at that Fishtown pizza spot. Those lines will never leave us.
4. All of the boozy park pop-ups disappear.
Goodbye, sweet summer pop-ups. We love you, but we don’t need you anymore. We have tailgates to keep us company now. See you next year.
5. But they’re immediately replaced with other boozy pop-ups.
The Parks on Tap trucks may have disappeared, but they’re quickly replaced with those Oktoberfest ones.
6. Jay-Z is here.
Leave it to Philly to close out summer every year with one of the most epic hip-hop parties in the country. It may have been infiltrated by teenagers and their moms, but that doesn’t make us any less proud that Jay-Z chose us to host his annual concert series.
7. People return to their real lives.
After a few months of breezing through the city every day, it’s easy to forget what it’s normally like. This is the time of year when we remember that each morning involves sitting in traffic on 76 and fighting through crowded sidewalks in Center City. We all glumly return to the office and the commute, and give up those beloved summer Fridays. But there’s comfort in the fact that we’re all miserable together. 