August 17: Trolley blitz over | Gallery recycling | Saffron on Cheesecake | SugarHouse expansion | Bridesburg demo

Welcome to the working week, Philly: Ashley here, stepping back in the Buzz seat to bring you the morning news so Jon can pay attention to being a new dad. Congrats Geetings!

This morning trolleys are back running between 13th and 40th streets after SEPTA completed 16 days of track, power and station work in the tunnel.

The Gallery is about to be gutted – and recycled. The Inquirer reports that when demolition begins this fall the Gallery’s owners will try to save money by recycling as much material as possible, from steel escalators to tons of concrete.

Though The Cheesecake Factory managed to lard up its new building at 15th and Walnut with gaudy finishes, Inga Saffron digs Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s serious addition to Walnut Street, saying “the sophisticated composition is also what elevates Cheesecake above the current crop of banal glass buildings.”

The Daily News has an progress report on SugarHouse Casino’s $164 million expansion: By 2016 expect a permanent poker room, 250 more slots, 40 more table games, seven TBD food and beverage hubs and a multi-function space. Perhaps most interesting: The emphasis is on “nongaming activities and amenities.” 

Bridesburg has lost a 167-year old landmark, the former Irving Consolidated Grammar School, due to a city-ordered demolition. The Star reports unsafe conditions, including a collapsed roof, put the building at risk. Unresolved citations dated back to 2011, and L&I pursued a court-ordered demolition this summer. The building was the neighborhood’s first primary school, served as a fraternal lodge, and more recently as clubhouse for the Trilby String Band. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the recently completed District Plan recommended it be listed in the Philadelphia Register as well.