An entire SEPTA bus shelter at Broad and Walnut was destroyed, the glass shattered and the metal mangled. Stop signs were ripped from their poles.
Trees and shrubs were toppled and revelers paraded up Broad Street with huge limbs and roots. Fires were set in trash bins and red P's were spray-painted all over the place.
"At a certain point, it wasn't about celebrating the Phillies anymore," said Tal Shtuhl, 19, who was in Center City and felt uneasy about the mayhem. "People were taking advantage of the situation and using it as an opportunity to do whatever they wanted to do.
"It's a shame," he said. "This would have been a good chance for the city to reverse some of its negative stereotypes, but instead we just enforced them."
Looters broke into Robinson Luggage at Broad and Walnut streets by shattering large windows and glass doors. Jim Sheil, general manager of the store, said he believes the fire at Broad and Sansom streets began when someone set a stolen suitcase ablaze.
Sheil was unsure of the cost of the damage and the merchandise stolen. "When it comes to this," he said, gesturing toward the broken windows, "It's gone too far."
Revelers said the dozens of cops on the street attempted to keep the crowds under control and did so without using excessive force. Seventy-six people were arrested, including 36 for disorderly conduct, 12 for assaulting police, 17 for vandalism, and three for theft, police said.
"There was a very small number of people engaged in activities that were not about celebration, but about destruction," Mayor Nutter said yesterday.
"We are actively and aggressively looking for individuals involved in the destruction; there were two officers injured as well."
