I live in a neighborhood called Manayunk in the Northwest section of Philadelphia nestled alongside the Schuykill River and home of the first canal to be started in America. At one time, Manayunk was it’s own borough, but eventually the small town became absorbed by the growing metropolis about 150 years ago. Manayunk is known for its steep hills, cute Main Street district, and small-town charm with many streets still retaining their cobblestone and brick roots lined with two- and three-story row homes nestled up alongside one another. My home is 114 years old!

One thing I love about Manayunk, is how much our residents love holidays. All. Year. Long. In fact, sometimes people don’t take their decorations down! I have a long-standing joke going with a photography friend of mine about this very thing, and when I see a house showcasing several holidays at once (typically Halloween, Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day), I often text her a photo! Although almost any and all holidays are represented, with a core history of four Catholic churches attended from four different ethnicities (Irish, Italian, Polish and German), Christian holidays get the most exposure. My side of the neighborhood, technically called Germany Hill, was mostly populated with Hungarian immigrants.

Now that fall has arrived, in true Manyunk style, all things fall – especially pumpkins – can be seen on almost every stoop. Over the years, I’ve created a photo collection of these pumpkin stoops, which I thought I’d share with you today. Some pumpkins are very simple, like this plastic pumpkin, plucked straight from childhood, waiting to be filled with Halloween Candy.

Some pumpkins tell us about what was happening that year, like this one was taken in 2010 when the Philadelphia Phillies were on a winning streak, poised to go to the World Series, and the following one taken shortly before the 2012 Election. I’m sure you can guess who they supported!

Some pumpkins get crafty and creative, while others stick to the basics.

Did I mention that we have a large population of college students living in Manayunk? You can probably tell from this one!

I also love finding pumpkins that have other details nearby, like these two. Every year that same stoop has some kind of birds decorating their stoop along with their pumpkins. Others have harvest corn on the stops leading up to the door.

Last year I decorated my stoop too! I had so much fun photographing my morning coffee with my pumpkins. I’m hoping to have this year’s decorations up within the next few days. Follow along with The Mug Chronicles if you’d like to see how I decorate this year. Last year, We roasted all of our pumpkins for their “meat” and used it to make soups, pumpkin bread and other treats! In fact, I froze a batch and just made pumpkin bread with it earlier this week.

I hope you’ve enjoyed visiting my neighborhood today, and the variety of pumpkins I’ve collected over the years. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for decorating your own stoop from these photos too! Do you decorate for your house for fall? Are you a pumpkin fanatic? Tag your photos on Instagram with #viewfindersio and #octoberobsession, shared by Maite yesterday. We’d love to see them!

Until Next time,
Holly ~ Soupatraveler

ps. Congratulations to Sue Coulter-Armstrong and Tana Teel for winning a copy of The Bella Grace Field Guide in my giveaway last month! Thank you to everyone who commented too!