Race Street Connector opens, Manayunk Towpath closing, lost brewery, volunteers reopen West Philly school libraries

It’s another glorious fall day, Philly. The city is going to be busy today and over the weekend: in addition to the Occupy Philly demonstration at Dilworth Plaza, keep your eyes out for the Phillies Rally Trolley today and the Million Man March‘s anniversary gathering over the weekend.

Last night the Race Street Connector opened, activating and illuminating the path between Old City and the Race Street Pier with signage, programmable lights, and video projection. PlanPhilly’s Kellie Patrick Gates was there to see the mayor flip the switch.

The Manayunk Towpath will close for repairs, and a detour will be in effect until sometime in December, the Bicycle Coalition reports. The Department of Parks & Recreation will install new stone screenings, repair four bridges, and improve erosion controls.

Philly’s rich and proud brewing history is memorialized in a neighborhood name, but not at any particular site. PhillyHistory points to the Engel & Wolf Brewery site in Fairmount Park, near Fountain Green, where the brewery carved out vaults from the rock to control their beer’s temperature. The buildings are gone but the site has been undisturbed for 140 years and is ripe for archeological exploration.

The West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) has reopened 11 closed school libraries since 2009, The Inquirer reports. The small organization staffs closed libraries with trained volunteers, aiming to increase literacy skills as well as a love of books.