Chester violence clouds soccer stadium's opener

Along with the soccer stadium near the Commodore Barry Bridge, the riverfront also is the venue for a Harrah's casino. It rises on the site of the old Sun shipyard, once one of the world's most prolific builders of ships. At its peak in World War II, the company employed as many as 34,000 workers. Since 1950, Chester's population has fallen from about 66,000 to fewer than 37,000.

Other employers once included Scott Paper Co. and Ford Motor Co. But the war's end and a changing economy ravaged the city's riverfront industries and, ultimately, the city, itself. Motorists getting off I-95 to head to the casino pass dilapidated housing and vacant lots.

Witomski said the city's problems with violence were not easily solved. "There are some negative aspects of Chester that are so insidious, and so difficult to correct," she said. "They are generational, and so deep."

Johnson, who runs the grocery co-op, likened the waterfront development to painting a deteriorated house.

"If the foundation is cracked," she said, "it doesn't matter how pretty it looks."

That said, some see cause for optimism in the city. Said Witomski, the McCall's owner: "Wonderful things have been happening in Chester."

Contact staff writer Joelle Farrell at 610-627-0352 or jfarrell@phillynews.com.

Inquirer staff writers Angela Couloumbis and Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.